The politics of truth, a case study of knowledge construction by the Social Planning Council of Metropolitan Toronto, 1957-1988

grantor: University of TorontoThis dissertation is a case study of knowledge construction by the Social Planning Council of Metropolitan Toronto (SPCMT) from its incorporation in 1957 to 1988 when the author became affiliated with the organization. An interactive and heuristic inquiry of texts and key informants has been conducted within a critical theoretical framework. The study assumes a three part model of society: civil society, the state and the economy. Civil society is defined as a crucial area of activity in which individual and collective actors contest the determination of needs and the allocation of resources. The Council is positioned as an association of civil society with a mandate of knowledge construction. Drawing on the work of Jûrgen Habermas and Michel Foucault, the research traces the power relations in the process of knowledge construction and connects the interests of those who create the knowledge with the method and outcomes. A classification of three kinds of knowledge construction is utilized to analyze the major research works of the Councit positivist, interpretive and critical. The study locates these approaches as sequentially dominant for a period of approximately ten years each commencing in 1957. The forces of influence that contributed to the different eras of knowledge construction are traced. The study describes how the economy and the state have shaped the norms and resources of civil society and how a practice of resistance has developed. The tensions and contradictions among the three spheres are explored. Strategies that support the pursuit of an emancipatory approach to knowledge construction are identified. The research will be of particular interest to academics and activists who study and work with voluntary associations and organizations committed to social and economic justice.Ph.D