Abstract:
Using Marxist state theory as an analytical framework, this
thesis explains the problems faced by the Ontario New Democratic
Party government (1990-1995) in implementing a social democratic
agenda. Not only was the government constrained in its ability to
implement progressive policy, but it was also pushed to implement
a Social Contract (involving legislated wage cuts to public sector
employees) that alienated the party's base of support, making it
more difficult for the party to organize in the future. Although
this study relies predominantly on a reinterpretation of existing
research on the topic, some primary research is used in the
analysis, including interviews with members of the labour movement
and former MPPs and analysis of the news media's treatment of the
party/ government. Historical and class analytical perspectives are
used to explain the evolution of the ONDP's structure and policies,
as well as to assess the relative strength of the working class and
its ability to support a social democratic political agenda. It
was found that the ONDP' s unwillingness to develop a long term plan
for social democracy, and its inability to act as a mass party or
to build a strong working class movement, made it more difficult
for the party to succeed when it formed the government. Moreover,
the class nature of the capitalist state, along with pressure
exerted by a well mobilized capitalist class, worked to limit the
government' s options.
