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1	From Governors to Grocers: How Profiteering Changed English-Canadian Perspectives of Liberalism in the Great War of 1914-1918 Targa, RYAN 20 September 2013 (has links) The war against Germany was perceived by the majority of English Canadians as a necessity to defend the British Empire, democracy and justice. However, it became increasingly evident to the public that some individuals were being permitted to prosper, while others — particularly those of the working class — endured immense hardship. These individuals who prospered at a level judged excessive became known as "profiteers." Initial criticisms of profiteering were connected to graft, jobbery and patronage apparent in government military purchases. However, as public sacrifices intensified, the morally acceptable extent to which individuals and businesses could profit came to be more narrowly defined. Criticisms of profiteering expanded to challenge the mainstream liberal notions of private wealth and laissez-faire policies as being inequitable and undemocratic. The federal government's unwillingness to seriously implement measures against profiteering led to rising discontent. Consequently, working-class English Canadians aspired to form a 'new democracy' that was worth the sacrifices of the war. / Thesis (Master, History) -- Queen's University, 2013-09-19 19:02:13.077 food controller world war one military contracts scandals 1914-1918 inflation profit liberalism patronage corruption profiteers profiteer conscription big interests income tax great war income war tax business profits war tax liberal order taxation conscription of wealth combines graft jobbery first world war english canada patriotism working class equality equality of sacrifice regulation shell committee imperial munitions board profiteering liberal trusts great war veterans association laissez-faire democracy board of commerce canada food board

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From Governors to Grocers: How Profiteering Changed English-Canadian Perspectives of Liberalism in the Great War of 1914-1918