John Richards (scholar)
Encyclopedia
John Guyon Richards is a UK
-born professor at Simon Fraser University
(SFU) in British Columbia Canada
. During the 1970s, he served as an elected member of the legislature in the province of Saskatchewan
, representing the electoral district of Saskatoon University
from 1971 to 1975.
A member of the social democratic
New Democratic Party
(NDP), Richards was for a time the only elected official who supported The Waffle
, a group of intellectuals and students who tried to push the NDP further to the left. He left the NDP in 1973 over its refusal to nationalize
the potash industry, and sat as an independent socialist until the next election, when he was defeated in the new district of Saskatoon Centre
and turned to academia.
In recent decades Richards's views have moderated, and he became an early exponent of the 'Third Way' politics popularized by UK Labour Party
leader Tony Blair
. He remains one of Canada's foremost political intellectuals, writing and editing a series of books and articles that suggest the development of more pragmatic social democratic politics, in addition to work on aboriginal policy, the energy sector, language policy, federalism, and international development. Richards was instrumental in the creation of a new school of public policy at SFU and volunteers for a small university in Bangladesh
, a country he has been visiting since the early nineteen nineties. He has worked with the National Democratic Institute, an American-based democracy-building organization, in Bangladesh, Cambodia
and Nepal
.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-born professor at Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University is a Canadian public research university in British Columbia with its main campus on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby, and satellite campuses in Vancouver and Surrey. The main campus in Burnaby, located from downtown Vancouver, was established in 1965 and has more than 34,000...
(SFU) in British Columbia Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. During the 1970s, he served as an elected member of the legislature in the province of Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, representing the electoral district of Saskatoon University
Saskatoon University
Saskatoon University was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Canada, which existed from 1971 to 1975 and from 1982 to 1991....
from 1971 to 1975.
A member of the social democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
(NDP), Richards was for a time the only elected official who supported The Waffle
The Waffle
The Waffle was a radical wing of Canada's New Democratic Party in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It later transformed into an independent political party, with little electoral success before it permanently disbanded in the mid-1970s...
, a group of intellectuals and students who tried to push the NDP further to the left. He left the NDP in 1973 over its refusal to nationalize
Nationalization
Nationalisation, also spelled nationalization, is the process of taking an industry or assets into government ownership by a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to private assets, but may also mean assets owned by lower levels of government, such as municipalities, being...
the potash industry, and sat as an independent socialist until the next election, when he was defeated in the new district of Saskatoon Centre
Saskatoon Centre
Saskatoon Centre is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of Saskatchewan, Canada. It is one of 12 districts covering the province's largest city, Saskatoon.-Members of the Legislative Assembly:-Electoral history:...
and turned to academia.
In recent decades Richards's views have moderated, and he became an early exponent of the 'Third Way' politics popularized by UK Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
leader Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
. He remains one of Canada's foremost political intellectuals, writing and editing a series of books and articles that suggest the development of more pragmatic social democratic politics, in addition to work on aboriginal policy, the energy sector, language policy, federalism, and international development. Richards was instrumental in the creation of a new school of public policy at SFU and volunteers for a small university in Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, a country he has been visiting since the early nineteen nineties. He has worked with the National Democratic Institute, an American-based democracy-building organization, in Bangladesh, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
and Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
.