Interesting essay. So it was the Manning fellas that actually turned Aberhart's tenets from what we today might call Socialism into what we see today as the UCP neofascist party.. The Manning Social Credit were essentially a fascist leaning party that supported racism, eugenics and control of people's lives. Witness the "Blue Laws" regulating activities on Sundays. If memory serves, those laws even extended to commercial truckers on the highways. I suspect that with the discovery of oil, the Social Credit saw where they could get in bed with Big Oil and we still have that connection. It actually seems that regardless of what party we elect in Alberta, the myth of OIL is there. The belief that oil is the savior of Alberta is firmly planted in the Alberta psyche.
You’re circling something real here—but you’re compressing a few different things into one label, and that actually weakens the punch.
Manning didn’t flip Aberhart’s model into straight-up “fascism”—that’s too blunt and people will bounce off it—but he absolutely redirected it. Aberhart’s version was rooted in a kind of Christian moral economy: shared wealth, collective responsibility, the idea that if the system produces abundance, people should actually see it. That’s the Social Gospel DNA.
Under Manning, that same language stays—but the direction changes. Instead of redistribution, you get discipline. Instead of community obligation, you get social control. And yes, things like eugenics policy continuing under Social Credit and the enforcement mindset behind Blue Laws show that shift toward regulating people, not rebalancing the system.
Where you’re really on point is oil. Once oil hits, the whole equation changes. Suddenly you don’t need a “National Dividend” to justify prosperity—you just grow it. And over time, that hardens into something deeper: oil becomes not just economic policy, but identity.
So it’s not socialism = fascism.
It’s something more subtle—and more powerful:
community economics = Cold War conservatism + oil-backed legitimacy. (Rockefeller connections)
yes. I often think that as you say, oil is the thing so many A;bertan's identify with. We as a province seem to worship at the altar of jackpumps while alternative energy is seen as sacrilege and those who promote it as heretics.
A very insightful history lesson. A religious democracy is an oxymoron. Oil is 'God' and Smith carries the 10 commandments. Hallelujah and pass the collection plate!
Interesting essay. So it was the Manning fellas that actually turned Aberhart's tenets from what we today might call Socialism into what we see today as the UCP neofascist party.. The Manning Social Credit were essentially a fascist leaning party that supported racism, eugenics and control of people's lives. Witness the "Blue Laws" regulating activities on Sundays. If memory serves, those laws even extended to commercial truckers on the highways. I suspect that with the discovery of oil, the Social Credit saw where they could get in bed with Big Oil and we still have that connection. It actually seems that regardless of what party we elect in Alberta, the myth of OIL is there. The belief that oil is the savior of Alberta is firmly planted in the Alberta psyche.
You’re circling something real here—but you’re compressing a few different things into one label, and that actually weakens the punch.
Manning didn’t flip Aberhart’s model into straight-up “fascism”—that’s too blunt and people will bounce off it—but he absolutely redirected it. Aberhart’s version was rooted in a kind of Christian moral economy: shared wealth, collective responsibility, the idea that if the system produces abundance, people should actually see it. That’s the Social Gospel DNA.
Under Manning, that same language stays—but the direction changes. Instead of redistribution, you get discipline. Instead of community obligation, you get social control. And yes, things like eugenics policy continuing under Social Credit and the enforcement mindset behind Blue Laws show that shift toward regulating people, not rebalancing the system.
Where you’re really on point is oil. Once oil hits, the whole equation changes. Suddenly you don’t need a “National Dividend” to justify prosperity—you just grow it. And over time, that hardens into something deeper: oil becomes not just economic policy, but identity.
So it’s not socialism = fascism.
It’s something more subtle—and more powerful:
community economics = Cold War conservatism + oil-backed legitimacy. (Rockefeller connections)
yes. I often think that as you say, oil is the thing so many A;bertan's identify with. We as a province seem to worship at the altar of jackpumps while alternative energy is seen as sacrilege and those who promote it as heretics.
thank you for this essay
A very insightful history lesson. A religious democracy is an oxymoron. Oil is 'God' and Smith carries the 10 commandments. Hallelujah and pass the collection plate!