(warning...anti-canadian sentiment may be detected ahead)
Well... on the upside of the american dream lie a couple of points:
There is something to be said for a guarantee of free speech.. (try going into canada with safer-sex pamphlets targeted at a non-straight audience and enjoy entertaining threats of prosecution for smuggling and obscenity-- whether or not the court has ordered an improvement on this long-standing issue the border-guards still routinely harass and hold-up shipments (and for that matter, visitors) with materials already judged 'not obscene' after being held by the local office of the purolator) (or for that matter, look to censorship in a variety of locales.. not to say that factions in the US of A don't try..)
Goverment subsidies of some industry (let's say dairy) makes for both an unhealthy industry (insofar as competition with extranationals goes) and a situation where the government is forced to suppress competition from within the state to avoid payment increase (alternative being a collapse of the industry to supportable levels)
There is the point that media 'bombardment' can go two ways (check out AdBusters for a bit of Canadian infiltration into the American meme-space).. but honestly, it doesn't seem as though non-Québécois Canadians have much of a distinctive culture to 'jam' with. (ok.. it was petty and misleading.. and the Canadian modern/post-modern dance scene is great.. but the 'artifact producing' media definitely seem under-represented.) (let's not debate whether American culture is any better)
Damn it... don't put me in the position of defending capitalism or the USA... It's not as though there aren't serious problems with both.. (not to mention some real upsides to socialist practices implemented (in part or in full) by a state-- hurrah for universal health care and universal education) But for goodness sakes let's not point out Canada as some eu-topia either..
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- There is something to be said for a guarantee of free speech.. (try going into canada with safer-sex pamphlets targeted at a non-straight audience and enjoy entertaining threats of prosecution for smuggling and obscenity-- whether or not the court has ordered an improvement on this long-standing issue the border-guards still routinely harass and hold-up shipments (and for that matter, visitors) with materials already judged 'not obscene' after being held by the local office of the purolator) (or for that matter, look to censorship in a variety of locales.. not to say that factions in the US of A don't try..)
- Goverment subsidies of some industry (let's say dairy) makes for both an unhealthy industry (insofar as competition with extranationals goes) and a situation where the government is forced to suppress competition from within the state to avoid payment increase (alternative being a collapse of the industry to supportable levels)
- There is the point that media 'bombardment' can go two ways (check out AdBusters for a bit of Canadian infiltration into the American meme-space).. but honestly, it doesn't seem as though non-Québécois Canadians have much of a distinctive culture to 'jam' with. (ok.. it was petty and misleading.. and the Canadian modern/post-modern dance scene is great.. but the 'artifact producing' media definitely seem under-represented.) (let's not debate whether American culture is any better)
Damn it... don't put me in the position of defending capitalism or the USA... It's not as though there aren't serious problems with both.. (not to mention some real upsides to socialist practices implemented (in part or in full) by a state-- hurrah for universal health care and universal education) But for goodness sakes let's not point out Canada as some eu-topia either..