Vol. 5 (1980)
Articles

Single Tax, Socialism and the Independent Labour Party of Manitoba: The Political Ideas of F.J. Dixon and S J. Farmer

Allen Mills
University of Winnipeg

Published 1980-01-01

How to Cite

Mills, A. (1980). Single Tax, Socialism and the Independent Labour Party of Manitoba: The Political Ideas of F.J. Dixon and S J. Farmer. Labour Le Travail, 5, 33–56. Retrieved from https://lltjournal.ca/index.php/llt/article/view/2519

Abstract

The Independent Labour Party of Manitoba was established in November 1920, mainly through the efforts of two English immigrants, F.J. Dixon and S.J. Farmer. Dixon was the I.L.P.'s first provincial house leader and Farmer was an I.L.P. M.L.A. from 1922 to 1949, as well as being Mayor of Winnipeg in 1923 and 1924. In their early years in Winnipeg both of them were strong supporters of Henry George's single tax doctrine and militant anti-socialists. This article has two purposes: first, to analyze the political ideas of Dixon and Farmer, and, secondly, to explore the influence of their Georgeite world view on the outlook of the early I.LP. Le parti indépendant ouvrier du Manitoba a été fondé en novembre 1920, surtout grâce aux efforts de Fred Dixon et de S.J. Farmer. Dixon fut le premier chef de parti à l'assemblée legislative provinciale et Farmer fut député de 1922 à 1949 aussi bien que maire de Winnipeg en 1923 et 1924. À leurs débuts à Winnipeg tous deux furent des disciples de Henry George et des militants anti-socialistes. Le but de cet essai est d'une part d'analyser le caractère des idées politiques de Dixon et de Farmer, d'autre part d'étudier les influences éventuelles de la philosophie georgienne sur l'optique de parti indépendant ouvrier.