Mouseland
Encyclopedia
The Story of Mouseland was a story told first by Clarence Gillis
, and later and most famously by Tommy Douglas
, leader of the Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
and, later, the New Democratic Party
of Canada
, both social democratic
parties. It was a political fable
expressing the CCF's view that the Canadian political system was flawed in offering voters a false dilemma
: the choice of two parties, neither of which represented their interests.
The mice voted in black cats, which represented the Progressive Conservative Party
, and then they found out how hard life was. Then they voted in the white cats, which symbolized the Liberal Party
. The story goes on, and a mouse gets an idea that mice should run their government, not the cats. This mouse was accused of being a Bolshevik
, and imprisoned. However, the speech concludes by saying you can lock up a mouse or a person, but you cannot lock up an idea.
A variation of this story is told in Douglas Adams
' novel So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
, involving a democracy where people vote for lizards as their leaders. No one is happy with this situation, except for the lizards, but the people continue voting for the lizards "because if they didn't vote for a lizard... the wrong lizard might get in."
In 2006, Brad Wall
, Leader of the Saskatchewan Party
, the opposition party in Saskatchewan
, parodied Mouseland, a place in which the mice govern as destructive creatures, as an attack on the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party
.
Clarence Gillis
Clarence Gillis, MP was a Canadian social democratic politician and trade unionist from Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. He was born on Nova Scotia's mainland, but grew-up in Cape Breton. He worked in the island's underground coal mines operated by the British Empire Steel and Coal Company...
, and later and most famously by Tommy Douglas
Tommy Douglas
Thomas Clement "Tommy" Douglas, was a Scottish-born Baptist minister who became a prominent Canadian social democratic politician...
, leader of the Saskatchewan Co-operative Commonwealth Federation
Saskatchewan New Democratic Party
The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It currently forms the official opposition, but has been a dominant force in Saskatchewan politics since the 1940s...
and, later, the New Democratic Party
New Democratic Party
The New Democratic Party , commonly referred to as the NDP, is a federal social-democratic political party in Canada. The interim leader of the NDP is Nycole Turmel who was appointed to the position due to the illness of Jack Layton, who died on August 22, 2011. The provincial wings of the NDP in...
of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, both social democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
parties. It was a political fable
Fable
A fable is a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, mythical creatures, plants, inanimate objects or forces of nature which are anthropomorphized , and that illustrates a moral lesson , which may at the end be expressed explicitly in a pithy maxim.A fable differs from...
expressing the CCF's view that the Canadian political system was flawed in offering voters a false dilemma
False dilemma
A false dilemma is a type of logical fallacy that involves a situation in which only two alternatives are considered, when in fact there are additional options...
: the choice of two parties, neither of which represented their interests.
The mice voted in black cats, which represented the Progressive Conservative Party
Progressive Conservative Party of Canada
The Progressive Conservative Party of Canada was a Canadian political party with a centre-right stance on economic issues and, after the 1970s, a centrist stance on social issues....
, and then they found out how hard life was. Then they voted in the white cats, which symbolized the Liberal Party
Liberal Party of Canada
The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...
. The story goes on, and a mouse gets an idea that mice should run their government, not the cats. This mouse was accused of being a Bolshevik
Bolshevik
The Bolsheviks, originally also Bolshevists , derived from bol'shinstvo, "majority") were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction at the Second Party Congress in 1903....
, and imprisoned. However, the speech concludes by saying you can lock up a mouse or a person, but you cannot lock up an idea.
A variation of this story is told in Douglas Adams
Douglas Adams
Douglas Noel Adams was an English writer and dramatist. He is best known as the author of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, which started life in 1978 as a BBC radio comedy before developing into a "trilogy" of five books that sold over 15 million copies in his lifetime, a television...
' novel So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish
So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish is the fourth book of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy "trilogy" written by Douglas Adams. Its title is the message left by the dolphins when they departed Planet Earth just before it was demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass, as described in The...
, involving a democracy where people vote for lizards as their leaders. No one is happy with this situation, except for the lizards, but the people continue voting for the lizards "because if they didn't vote for a lizard... the wrong lizard might get in."
In 2006, Brad Wall
Brad Wall
Bradley John "Brad" Wall, MLA is a Canadian politician who has been the 14th Premier of Saskatchewan since November 21, 2007....
, Leader of the Saskatchewan Party
Saskatchewan Party
The Saskatchewan Party is a conservative liberal political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The party was established in 1997 by a coalition of former provincial Progressive Conservative and Liberal party members and supporters who sought to remove the Saskatchewan New Democratic...
, the opposition party in Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
, parodied Mouseland, a place in which the mice govern as destructive creatures, as an attack on the Saskatchewan New Democratic Party
Saskatchewan New Democratic Party
The Saskatchewan New Democratic Party is a social-democratic political party in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. It currently forms the official opposition, but has been a dominant force in Saskatchewan politics since the 1940s...
.
External links
- Video Animation of Mouseland
- The Story of Mouseland (Audio clip from CBC Radio Broadcast)
- Introduction, copy, clip, and description
- The dark years
- Brad Wall parody of Mouseland (RealPlayer required)