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Political Science History & Theory

The Terrific Engine

Income Taxation and the Modernization of the Canadian Political Imaginary

by (author) David Tough

Publisher
UBC Press
Initial publish date
May 2018
Category
History & Theory, Post-Confederation (1867-)
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9780774836807
    Publish Date
    May 2018
    List Price
    $125.00
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9780774836777
    Publish Date
    May 2018
    List Price
    $89.95
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780774836784
    Publish Date
    Jan 2019
    List Price
    $32.95

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Description

What do we mean by left wing or right wing? People started using the language of a political spectrum when early twentieth-century political parties began to distinguish their platforms by offering different approaches to income distribution. The Terrific Engine examines how income taxation modernized political language over the period from the 1911 election through the Second World War. David Tough controversially argues that income taxation was established by popular demand, first to replace existing taxes and then to address income inequality through equalizing social programs. And, in establishing a clear basis for party differences, income taxation made elections significantly more democratic.

About the author

David Tough teaches in the School for the Study of Canada at Trent University and is the author of The Terrific Engine: Income Taxation and the Modernization of the Canadian Political Imaginary.

David Tough's profile page