Secular Socialists is a comprehensive history of the NDP in Ontario - and its predecessor, the CCF - from its beginnings in the early 1930s to the contemporary period. It is also a provocative analysis of the survival of the CCF/NDP in the ideologically hostile environment of Ontario. Morley considers the party structure, the ideological forces that have shaped the party platform, the relationship between the caucus and the party executive and membership, the membership and ordinary conventions, and such factional disputes as the expulsion of Communists and the Waffle affair. Morley draws an analogy between the "party individual" and the "human individual." His description of party development has a biographical character and allows an analysis of the complex relationships that exist between the party and the environment in which it grows. That environment, generally the political culture of Ontario, more specifically labelled the union class culture of Ontario, shapes the party's organizational, ideological, and political choices. The author also critically examines several prevailing theories about CCF/NDP development, including the view that over the years the party has consistently drifted towards the right - a view that is specifically contradicted here.

Contributor: J.T. Morley J.T. Morley is a member of the Department of Political Science at the University of Victoria.