Harold Innis-A Canadian Communication Theorist

Harold Innis was a Canadian economic historian who, through a series of books traced the growth of our communication systems with the history of the development of Canada. He recognized Canadian society as being "in-between," trapped between the cultural legacy of it's European past and the expanding space of the American empire, and consequently there was a growing dependency of Canada on America . He argued, "With their powerful communication system American cultural imperialism is imposed on Canada " (Innis 1952). Fear of cultural disintegration and the ultimate survival of a Canadian culture was his great concern.

The survival of western civilisation was the theme of his historical thesis The Bias of Communication This is a very rich and profound study of the development of the dominant communication technologies in succeeding empires. Innis concluded from his research that "stable and creative civilizations were those that successfully balanced time factors and space factors. Time factors involve transmissions of culture and values from one generation to another creating a sense of continuity with its historical predecessors, while space factors refer to institutions and techniques for the governing of given territory" (Siegel). The method of communication plays an integral role in the development of civilization , and changes in communication technology reflect the cultural traits of that society and at the same time mold it. He regretted the passing of oral tradition to written and then print culture, as people within a society must be able to interact with each other to develop and maintain a stable culture.

From his perspective as a Canadian he wrote about the inner workings of the advanced capitalism of America . "The cultural disturbance which follows in the wake of capitalism, primitive and advanced, is so intense, because it is moved from within by an understanding of the implications of modern dependency...." (Kroker).

In relation to Canada , Innis was well aware of the control or domination possible to an advanced society like the United States through the relationship of technology and culture. As Innis so aptly stated, "We may dislike American influence ......but we are compelled to yield to American policy..... they have the American dollar." In his essay "The Penetration Power of the Price System, " Innis was indeed a prophet when he warned that Canada would be fighting for it's life to preserve it's tradition of western culture against the overwhelming commercial interests of our neighbour. United States is our greatest trading partner, and therefore it is the driving power which dictates the rise of new industries and the fall of obsolete regions.

Canada is still a frontier society and "survival" was and may be still the main concern of our country. Innis recognized this inter-relation of technology and geography. He was a realist and concentrated his energies on the development of a strategy for the survival of Canada. He stated that Canada's subordination to the price system of capitalism had been more political than economic. Canada, he claimed, had now entered the American Age--exposed to a discourse on power quite unpredicted in the history of western civilization.

Innis was convinced that "neotechnic capitalism" with its expression in mechanized communication-for example, print , TV, and radio--would precipitate a profound crisis of civilization. In his essay "Industrialism and Cultural Value" he writes, "Constant changes in technology particularly as they affect communication ....increase the difficulties of recognizing balance let alone achieving it." He contrasted the Greek standard of culture, "nothing in excess," to our modern machine age--always in excess. The conditions of freedom of thought are in danger of being destroyed by science, technology, and the mechanization of knowledge.

He died in l952 before the advent of satellite communication in the mid-70's, which may have allayed one of his concerns for Canada as we entered into new global relationships. Paradoxically, the "conquest of space" would have underlined his concern for American cultural influence imposed on Canada . Innis was not anti-American since he recognized we have received many benefits from our relations with the United States, adopting some of the political attitudes from their republic, but he also viewed America as a great threat to our national culture.

References

Kroker, Arthur. Technology and the Canadian Mind. Montreal: New World Perspectives, l984.

Siegel , Arthur. Politics and the Canadian Media. Toronto: McGraw-Hill, l983.