Abstract

In light of John Fekete's account of the effects of radical feminism, it is difficult to characterize what is going on in Canada and, to a lesser extent, the US. Perhaps a new hybrid — petty totalitarianism — is needed to comprehend this phenomenon. It is commonplace to refer to Italian Renaissance principalities as petty absolutisms. The princes were all-powerful within their small domains. Similarly, in its elitism, ideological dogmatism, intolerance, and punitiveness, Canadian radical feminism exhibits totalitarian characteristics. But this totalitarianism remains petty because of its limited range of available punitive sanctions and its narrow institutional scope.

Fekete has written an important book, perhaps an indispensable one, but what he writes about is rather unpleasant.