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CURRENT ISSUE VOLUME 19 NO. 3 MAY/JUNE 2008
 Winner Takes All
Confessions of a Recovering "Atlantican"
By Alec Bruce
Nestled somewhere between Paradise and Neverland is another country you won't find on any map. Still, its architects insist that it stretches from the northern tip of L'Anse aux Meadows to the southern reaches of Providence, Rhode Island, ignoring international borders as it extols the inestimable beauty of "gateways" and "trade corridors" and "continental integration."
From time to time, "residents" of "Atlantica" gather in the real world: In convention halls to dine on cakes and worship the roads and trucks and all the ships at sea that bring to their shores glossy, black coats and plastic hair and chintz rings and copper bracelets bought for a song at the expense of a factory serf earning less money in a day than dear, old dad spends in a week on breath mints. They pray to the gods of Asian export markets and gesticulate before their high priests and priestesses.
I should know. I was one of them, once.
In those days, I would spend hours puzzling over the repeated denunciations - in the mainstream press and blogosphere, and from all points on the ideological spectrum - of the "Atlantican" mentality. After all, I wondered, what's wrong with trying to restore the mercantile glory that was once the Canadian East Coast? What's deluded about recognizing, and attempting to rejuvenate, the historical partnership between the Atlantic provinces and the northeastern United States?
Nothing, whatsoever. Except, of course, the quality of the thinking behind the inspiration - which is why, for me, those days are gone. In fact, if you believe, as I do, that success in global markets requires intellect and rigour, not weary tropes and insupportable dogma, then your conclusion is also clear: Atlantica is an idea whose time will never come because its foundation is illusory, hovering just above ground, while its builders keep forgetting to pour the concrete.
The above excerpt was taken from the most recent issue of Atlantic Business Magazine. Our complete editorial content is available in print form only. To receive a free subscription to Atlantic Business Magazine,
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