Download or read book Staples and Beyond written by Mel Watkins and published by McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. This book was released on 2006-10-06 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection brings together Watkins' most important scholarly articles. In Staples and Beyond Watkins addresses the "staple thesis" of Canadian economic and political development and, in particular, the effort to extend Harold Innis' work by giving more explicit consideration to class relations and the role of the state. He considers the historical nature of Canada's economic dependency in relation to tariff barriers, foreign investment, the multi-national corporation, and wide-ranging free trade and investment agreements. He also examines the evolution of economics and political economy as academic disciplines and reflects on the relationship between intellectual scholarship and political activism.