Reconciling the Solitudes: Essays on Canadian Federalism and Nationalism

Daniel J. Robinson is a Ph.D. candidate in history at York University.

This collection of nine essays (all but one previously published or
delivered as speeches) serves both as an overview of Charles Taylor’s
philosophical development from the 1960s to the 1990s and as a timely
and thoughtful offering for Canadians, who no doubt soon will once again
tackle thorny constitutional issues. Many of the themes discussed are
established features of the Canadian political landscape, including
French-Canadian nationalism, collective language rights, provincial
autonomy, federalism, and liberal democracy. Taken together, these
essays provide a thorough grounding in the tension that exists between
the collectivist concerns of social and ethnic groups seeking to
preserve a particular way of life and liberal proponents exalting
individual rights. Taylor’s belief that a flexible form of federalism
can accommodate cultural and national diversity while guaranteeing
individual liberties will be challenged by some, yet these cogent and
provocative essays are likely to garner more converts that detractors.