Social democrats have always understood that business will act
differently if the rules governing economic life are changed: it is not
because they share a commitment to gender equality that Scandinavian
employers pay women and men wages that are virtually equal -- they do so
because those are the rules. A modern NDP government must take immediate
steps to define a coherent industrial strategy. It must devise new
policies and develop industrial arrangements to change the ways firms
behave, corporations invest, labour markets function, and companies
compete. Piecemeal measures, the contributors to this collection insist,
are not going to make the industrial sector more efficient. According to
them, a redefinition of industrial strategy will only work if higher
rates of growth in productivity are institutionalized and entire sectors
produce differently than they do now -- without cutting wages or making
labour markets more competitive than they already are. The social
determinants of productivity, the contributors argue, are key to a
different future -- especially in light of the wide range of issues
exposed by the feminization of labour markets, the rise of the service
industry, and the decline of the welfare state. The authors emphasize
the continuing importance of a full employment strategy and the urgent
need for income security for workers in highly fragmented labour
markets, and outline tough new measures designed to close the wage gap
between men and women. They delineate a fresh perspective on dealing
with deficits, make a strong case for wide-reaching social welfare
reform, and propose a framework by which Ontario can rebuild its
shattered industries. Getting on Track convincingly demonstrates that if
a modern social democratic administration expects to be dynamic and
socially effective it has to have an economic strategy to restructure
the economy while upholding its traditional commitment to social
equality.
