Lived Fictions

David Laycock, professor, political science, Simon Fraser University:
In this book, John Grant accomplishes several achievements, any of which would be impressive on their own.

Yasmeen Abu-Laban, professor, Department of Political Science, University of Alberta:
This fascinating exploration challenges conventional wisdom and paves the way for thinking about belonging and inequality in new and constructive ways.

Melissa Williams, professor, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto:
Constitutionalism, the welfare state, multiculturalism, and reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous Canadians. Aren’t these the hallmarks of Canada’s basic decency as a democratic society? With sparkling clarity and philosophical depth, Grant shows how each of these “lived fictions” of social unity also functions to mask unjust exclusions and inequalities – and helps us to reimagine a Canada whose democratic promise might be fulfilled.

Warren Magnusson, professor emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of Victoria:
John Grant demonstrates once again how important it is to bring the full resources of contemporary political theory to bear on Canadian problems. With full attention to the complex legacy of Western political thought, he critiques the “lived fictions” of constitutionalism, Crown sovereignty, neoliberalism, and multiculturalism now manifest in Canada, and articulates democratic alternatives already present in our emergent political imaginaries. As such, he offers reasons for hope in what others have perceived as dark times.