MORE PRAISE FOR GARDENERS VS. DESIGNERS
Brian Lee Crowleys Gardeners Versus Designers is a refreshingly provocative analysis of the increasingly progressive trend in Canadian politics, which he sees as anything but progressive. Crowley juxtaposes the machine-like doctrines of experts (the Designers), who see themselves as all-knowing custodians of truth and are adamant about what is best for society, with those (the Gardeners) who claim no monopoly on truth but are inspired by the spirit of individual dynamism and a never-ending quest for knowledge. The book is a rallying cry in support of a society that prefers to act by accommodation and negotiation not by authority and command. Crowley explodes policy distortions prevailing on health care, the environment, mass transit and urban planning and explains convincingly why sensible resource development makes sense both for most indigenous communities and for Canada. A compelling delightful read that should command the attention of anyone concerned about the quality of our governance.
Derek H. Burney, OC, former Canadian ambassador to Washington
For all those despairing that choice, liberty, individual responsibility and free trade are in full retreat, Brian Crowley invites us to think more deeply about how and why we can make better decisions for ourselves, our neighbours and our nation in this important new book. Three cheers for the gardeners loving gratitude and respectful humility!
Tom Long, Mike Harris Campaign Chair, 1995 and 1999.
Gardeners versus Designers is at once provocative and hopeful. Brian Lee Crowley challenges Canadians to expect more from their politicians and civil servants, and to fight hard for a better future, and to rekindle their belief in the great Canadian experiment. This is uncommonly wise counsel. This book shows that effective and sustainable public policy is really hard work. But it must begin with a comprehensive understanding of the global landscape, a deep passion for Canada, and a belief that the people of Canada deserve better than theyre getting from politicians of all stripes and the institutions that have been hijacked by the designers agenda.
Ken Coates, Canada Research Chair, University of Saskatchewan
I am an entrepreneur, not a scholar, and I dont buy big books. But this one is different. Crowley helps me understand how the world works today with wit and useful examples.
Brendan Calder, Entrepreneur and Professor of Management, Rotman School of Management.
Crowley has done it again! He refuses to kneel for nonsense and bullying while working hard to rescue Canadian politics from progressives woke revolution. Gardeners Versus Designers revives the Canadian dream for those willing to work for it: innovation, diversity, and prosperity, all within a protected sphere of individual freedom. The chapter on Canadian health care alone is worth the price of admission. This book is not light but wraps challenging concepts in easy and engaging reading.
Shawn Whatley, former President, Ontario Medical Association, author No More Lethal Waits: 10 Steps to Transform Canadas Emergency Departments
Crowleys two previous books, Fearful Symmetry and The Canadian Century were so good I thought he would never be able to top them. Yet this remarkable book, Gardeners versus Designers, not only does so but draws the reader into a wonderfully complex, subtle and fun account of why Canada is a rare jewel in human experience. It then goes even further and shows how ill-informed politicians, often with the best of intentions, are endangering Canadas continued success. Astute and brilliant in its insights into politics, business and the conditions in which human beings flourish best, this book will restore your faith in this country, its institutions, its history and its future, provided we dont let the politicians mess it up!
Conrad Winn, founder and former CEO, Compas Research
This book provides a powerful, thoughtful, and intelligent discussion of competing political philosophies in Canada today. It holds a mirror that reflects two very different approaches to public policy, and provides a warning to us that our prosperity, our ability to innovate, and our ability to choose will be restricted by politicians and officials who think they know best. It is a call for citizens to be both active and vigilant. For thoughtful readers, this book advances an unvarnished critique of what is not working in current Canadian public policy and offers an explanation of why that is. I recommend leaders in all fields, as well as students everywhere.
Doug Black, elected senator from Alberta
Brian Lee Crowley has written a beautiful book which brilliantly asks us to think of governing as gardening. The gardener has a sense of what he needs to do and what he cant do, with the goal of growing a pleasing and beautiful garden. What hes not is a designer who tries to impose an abstract plan that inevitably results in something unpleasant and ugly. So too for public policy.
F.H. Buckley, Foundation Professor, Scalia Law School, author of The Once and Future King
Brian Lee Crowley helps us to think about old ideas and contemporary problems within a new and creative paradigm. Reshaping a conversation and long-held beliefs takes an unconventional thinker and a creative genius. Crowley hits that mark with clarity and accessibility. It is not left versus right or Liberals versus Conservatives but gardeners versus designers. On the surface, both labels have attraction and proponents. But Crowley shows us something new on every page as he majestically weaves together theory, practice, failure, and success. Storytelling is an art and Crowley is a master. But perhaps he is an even better gardener.
Bob Plamondon, author, The Shawinigan Fox: How Jean Chrtien Defied the Elites and Reshaped Canada
Brian Lee Crowleys metaphor of designers versus gardeners brings alive the wisdom of his intellectual mentors, Michael Oakeshott and Friedrich Hayek. They saw that society is, in Hayeks term, a spontaneous order that emerges from human interaction but cannot be consciously planned without catastrophic loss of information. Government should be the gardenerthe custodianof that order, not the architect. Progressives never understand this. They want to forcibly impose their own abstract and limited conceptions of order upon institutions such as social customs and the economic market, which amalgamate the choices of individuals without coercion. This book explains why the good intentions of reformers produce so much havoc. Everyone who cares about the future of Canada needs to read this book.
Tom Flanagan, author, Harpers Team: Behind the Scenes in the Conservative Rise to Power
Brian Lee Crowley has been a strong defender of the right of Indigenous peoples not to be an afterthought but to be incorporated as true economic, social and political partners in Canadas development. In this fascinating and important book, he incorporates Indigenous governments, people, and issues as central elements in his analysis of the forces shaping Canada. At last, a prominent Canadian thinker who recognizes that Indigenous people are no longer on the periphery but at the centre of Canadas future.
Stephen Buffalo, President, Indian Resource Council of Canada
Inspired by the deeply grounded wisdom of gardeners, Crowley invites his readers to recover their ambitions for Canada. He rolls up his sleeves and vividly demonstrates how ill-conceived policies have hindered our prosperity and our access to services that can actually make a difference in making our country a happier place. This book is not for unimaginative public servants or for politicians and their worn-out orthodoxies. It is for Canadians who demand better governance and better decisions. Reach for the policy tools and instruments that free the mind and the energies of this country, and discover a new approach to policy making!
