Dominion of Debt: Centre, Periphery and the International Economic Order

Stephen J. Kees was Chief Librarian, Niagara College of Applied Arts and Technology, Welland, Ontario.

Despite the title, this book is not a treatise on economics. It is a collection of essays and extracts from larger works by the author during the past decade, mostly in the 1980s.

The author is a member of the economics faculty at McGill University. It would appear from the lengthy introduction that his views do not receive universal acceptance and that he has encountered some problems in getting them published.

Beginning with an essay on the early European influences on the Canadian economy, the work goes on to describe the effects of international investment on our scene. The effect of World War I on policies was to supplant the British by American influences, and this is documented. Moving to international finance in general, there are essays on the influence of the United States on the International Monetary Fund and a discussion of the new conservativism that is now being preached in some quarters.

The writing style flows easily and is free from economic jargon. Even if the views are somewhat unorthodox, they are well worth consideration and thought.