Vol. 50. No. 5. MAN', 1945. Threepence

PRINCIPAL CONTENTS

PAGE

THE MYSTERY OF GERMANY. By S. K. Ratcliffe

THE RENFORKIION OF CULTURE. By H. S. Blackham 4

- PROSPECTS FOR CIVILIZATION. By Dr. C. E. M. Joad

THE CIVILIZATION OF MORAI.S. By Dr. J. C. Hugel .. 7

THE OUTLAWRY OF WAR By Archibald Robertson .. .. 10

SUNDAY AT HOMES .. .. 12

NOTES .. ..

AN AWKWARD QUESTION .. .. 13

CORRESPONDENCE. From Mary Unwin . 13

REVIEWS .. 14

. 1-HE SOCIETY'S NOTICES .. 16

THE MYSTERY OF GERMANY

There is no phenomenon of the modern age to set beside the mysteryof the German character and destiny. It is difficult, as we know, for thenormal Briton to measure or understand a foreign people, since no humanbeing is more casual and self-satisfied than he. Yet he does not commonlylook upon any European other than the German as incomprehensible. Eventhe Russian may not seem too complex. We have heard a great deal aboutthe Russian soul. Russian novels are full of gloom and violence, butEnglish readers go through them with enjoyment and almost without effort.Although we differ greatly from the French and Italians we do not findthem more perplexing than, say, the Americans. Germany is the oneenormous enigma, and we have lost the key to it. Disraeli said that thesingle obstacle to the prosperity of Germany was " the disposition of hersons "; and writing more than a century ago, he had none of our presentknowledge to go upon.

The Germany that is now plunged into the deepest abyss was thecreation of no more than 130 years. Napoleon had overthrown 100 pettyprincedoms and helped to release the forces making towards a united raceand nation. The people and their leaders, however, were suffering from thatpolitical infantilism which aroused the scorn of Goethe. They could makenothing of the nationalist uprisings of 1848, and Bismarck exploited hisopportunity to the uttermost. The new German Empire was an astoundingsuccess, unequalled in the world of States. Rightly guided and restrained,it would have become the dominant Power of Europe, exerting a greatinfluence in world affairs. This enviable chance was thrown away in 1914.No great country has been more completely crushed than Germany wasin 1918, and none ever made so rapid a recovery. Until the world depressionof 1929-33 (which would have been surmounted), the country was comingback, while holding the advantage of position between the Wcst and thethen dreaded Soviet Russia. But the National Socialists cashed in on thedepression and destroyed the Republic, being aided to an incalculable extentby the wretched condition of France and the deadness of Britain afterthe Lloyd George epoch. Germany, helpless before Hitler. absorbed hisfantastic dogmas and glorified in his leadership. Delusion, fanaticism, andinvincible ignorance were combined to bring about the national downfall,a doom beyond all description.

There were those among us who could not be convinced that anyGerman Government would be so insane as to start a second world war.They hoped that the nation had learnt its lesson from defeat and the horrorsof unlimited inflation. Some of us, moreover, were inclined to believe thatthe people's devotion to the Fatherland would be the decisive prudentialforce. Its cities and countryside provided evidence of a wonderful achieve-ment. In the general result, in balance and management. Germany was thebest of continental countries. Mr. Wells is not wrong in saying that if from1919 affairs in Germany had gine straight, Europe would have been saved.She had gone down before the most powerful alliance in history, whichwas certain to be built tip again if the necessity should arise. No fact couldbe more incontestable than that the United States would not stand by andsee Britain conquered. Air power, again, meant that destruction in warmust be without limit and that Germany could not escape. All this had thelook of hard common-sense, but it made no impression upon the nationwhich had allowed itself to be hypnotized by Hitler and terrorized by the

Gestapo. The science of historY was devised and elaborated in Germany.Such as it is, we can all see that it enforces at least a few plain truths--suchas, that there cannot be a master race, and that no single Power will everforce the peoples of Europe into slavery.

" The Germans are in love with death,- said Clemenceau. How fardoes this saying carry us towards an understanding of Hitler's Germany ?There did not appear to be much proof of it 25 years ago. Throughoutthe last war lives were expended as lavishly by the Allies as by the enemyPowers. Germany's suicide rate was highest, but until the advent of theHitler Youth there was no German cult of self-immolation similar to thatof the Japanese. The change, or the racial throw-back, came with theworship of Hitler, which has fulfilled in startling fashion Heine's remarkable

,prediction: "Come it will: and when you hear a crashing such as neverbefore has been heard in the world's history, then know that the Germanthunderbolt has fallen." Heine made one mistake in his famous propheticpassage. He saw the return of Odin and Thor, with their blood reliaion, asthe result of a Germany maddened by revolutionary freedom. What he 'didnot, foresee was a national mania of egoism and aggression, rooted inserfdom and centred in a leader who, judged by any accepted test, was notracially a German.

It would seem that from the days of " Mein Kampf " onwards Hitlerhas been no stranger to the fear that his system and theories might involve

:the ruin of the Fatherland. He was determined that the Powers should notforget his declaration that if Germany was destined to go down, the entireEnropean structure would be wrecked with her: and as we have long known.he is always true to his most diabolical word. Germany is a desert. Thedevastation of Central Europe, ravaging farms and towns alike, goes inarea and completeness far beyond anything known in the world's record

- since the conquests of Jenghiz Khan, while the speed of this hideousoperation would not have been imaginable even so recently as the outbreak

•of the present war.

The mystery of Germany culminates in this supreme development ofcollective madness, and in the unimaainable hell of Belsen and Buchenwald.The nation which embarks upon the horror of scientific warfare, infull preparation and resolve, has to realize that- the ruin thus invokedcan have -no boundaries. When Hitler announced, " We will -erase theircities." his Air Chiefs knew, if he himself did not, that air power muSthe fought by its like. Defeat in the Battle of Britain, therefore, led

-inexorably to the wiping out of German cities (to say nothing of greatnumbers outside the Reich). There could not be any let-up, since surrenddrwas impossible for the Nazi Government: and today.the desolation stretchesfrom Hamburg to Frankfort and beyond. from Aachen and Cologne toDanzig and Stettin. The list comprises-dozens of historic towns, many of

-them no less lovely than they were renowned. Hitler and his associateshad no care whatever for these places or for the tradition they -embodied.As Rauschning was the first to point out, Nazism is first and last the spiritthat kills, a revolution of sheer destruction. Nor could the German peoplethemselves do anything towards arresting the most appalling judgment thathas fallen upon a great people since the earlier Dark Age. it is inconceiv-able that the majority of German adults, or even one-tenth of them, canhave held the religion of Nazism as Hitler preached it. But they swallowedthe poison, and by so doing made the primal instinct of self-preservationitself of no effect. Germany, in a word, is the first and only modern landto prove that madness can afflict and ,destroy a whole nation. -

S.- K. RATCLIFFE.

SUNDAY MORNING LECTURES. .H. J. Blackham, B.A., on " The Restoration of Culture,"

March 4, 1945

.Readings from (I) " The Culture of Chies," by Lewis Mumforq,

(2) " The Natural Order." Essays in The Return to

Husbandry by Fourteen Writers, edited by

H. J. Massingham.

Culture •has two distinguished functions: to sustain the operations

providing the means of life, by developing and transmitting an inherited

body of skills and techniques; and to sustain the critical enjoyment of life,

by developing and transmitting inherited fine arts, pure sciences, and

established values. This latter, sometimes called the higher culture, some-

times culture tout court, is the product of a leisured class; at best its ideal

is the complete human being, but its constant tendency is to form the

finished person, perfected in the accomplishments and graces cultivated in

the social milieu. In modern times, specialization has disintegrated this

higher culture. Dominated by the ideal of knowledge for its own sake, the

student is trained and used as an instrument of research to throw objective

truth on the world market; great libraries become machines for the

systematic recording and hoarding of everything in print: knowledge

proliferates in minutely sub-divided research without organized advance.

Under similar influences, the fine arts have tended to drift into pre-occupa-

tions, endless experimentation, or cults. Thus the personal ideal of the

higher culture has been splintered into fragments, and " culture for the sake

of life " has been turned into " life for the sake of culture." The disintegra-

tion is paralleled in the destruction of the traditional crafts and skilled trades

by the division of labour and exploitation of resources for a world market.

Thc vanished crafts and the associated ' way of life ' are now idealized as

a lost culture, and George Sturt's The Wheelwright's Shop has become a

classic document. Both the higher culture, then, with its polite society and

personal ideal, and also the self-sufficient local community, with its inter-

dependent traditional crafts rooted in the land, have been destroyed by the

cumulative effects of social changes.

The restoration of culture is its application again to life: the new

integration is to be sought not in an intellectual synthesis but in a social

synthesis, not in the revival of traditional crafts but in the idealization and

Training of a new type of artisan and the creation of local communities on a

new basis. This restoration is already taking shape in the approach to social

planning over a wide field. The organization of scientific research and its

.application to industry, frustrated by the later contradictions of the world

.Market, has a promising new field in the concentration on social objectives.

The dwelling house, for example, is a complex of problems which can now

be solved in any locality by a team of specialists, not merely adequately

but creatively. And the house is not an isolated problem: architecture.

town-planning, municipal engineering, and the siting and equipment of

inclifstry are tending to form a practical synthesis, a body of interdependent

practices and techniques, involving of course the co-operation of a host

of other technicians. Although the old crafts have gone, within the factory

there are highly-skilled jobs, and the pace of improvements demands an

alertness of response which stimulates the aptitudes or the workers and

-affords greater opportunities of personal development than have been offered

by any previous system of industry. The preductivity of the least gifted

worker has .been multiplied many times: and the key posts in industry and

in town-planning and architecture offer a creative scope equal in grandeur

4

and audacious possibilities to that enjoyed by the great creators of the ItalianRenaissance. We are still too dazed by a stupid staring on the past to seeplainly the new culture which is taking shape.

This application (by social planning) of the arts and sciences throughindustry and professional services to the provision of the material equipmentof a complete social life is the foundation. The animating spirit comes fromeducation. Our education has been framed primarily for the proaucfMriof dons, for whom there was an alternative in the Civil Service. Thehumanist studies of the higher culture, according to the theory which justifiedthis practice, produced the completely trained mind apt for all highercivilized uses: and all minds were graded on this scale. Modern reformshave refounded education on a variety of curricula adapted to a variety ofhuman aptitudes treated on a footing of social equality. This reformationmakes a great contribution to the restoration of culture. It will be the mainfactor in idealizing and training a new type of artisan. For modern industryis saturated with the arts and sciences and its organization is itself. at best,an education in the discipline and the possibilities of human achievement.There is here material which, properly handled, can give the artisan in thevocational and technical schools a mental and social training suited to hiscapacities and founded on his practIce and his needs, and with an outlookon the great world. The machine, good organization, and social planningare both the liberal ideas in which he is educated and the means by whichhe is set free with the instruments of good living in his hands. The formsof association in which he finds himself take him far beyond the bread andbutter politics of the old-time trade union, and in the local community heis ready for the comment of art and philosophy which the intellectualworkers bring; he is ready for the examined and embellished life, the higherculture. And the productivity of his labour (it is already statistically demon-strable) provides the greater number of intellectual workers required tomeet his needs.

There remains the humanist education of the intellectual, which cannotcontinue to be years of cramming followed by prostitution to research.It must begin at home and in the earliest years. If our education does notproduce parents who are capable of seeing their children through the earlyphases of a humane education, that is a failure which it cannot redeem.There is so much to be learned about the complex contemporary worldthat impressions of the great ages of antiquity must be formed as early aspossible, and that is the time for them: it is as easy for the child to becomea little citizen of Athens, of Rome, or of Jerusalem as it is for him to becomea little Red Indian. It is in these years that the foundations can be laid of anatural openness and universality of interests and sympathies; -and-this isthe time to apply the rich fertilizing compost of human religion and morals.The intellectual should have a break of two years in industry between schooland college. If he leaves the university not merely versed in his sub'ectbut also knowing how to read and how to think, and what a science is andwhat an art is; and if he has in him the enduring and immensely formativeinfluences of a well-educated childhood; and if he has an understanding ofthe modern world and a vision of its civilization: then he will be reldyto play his part in the general social order and in the life of the localcommunity: and he will meet the artisan on equal terms speaking the samelanguage.

Social planning by bringing together the results of specialization andthe division of labour .can restore the integration of culture and of thehuman ideal.

(Contributed by Mr. Blackburn)

5

De. C. E. M. Joad, M.A., on " Prospects for Civilization,"March 14, 1945. •

Readings from: lit "Essay on Science and Values," by Bertrand Russell.(2) "The Fate of Honlo Sapiens," by H. G. Wells.

- When, said Dr. Joad, he was reading those passages from Russelland Wells he felt that he ought to apologize for their unrelieved gloom.They were astonishingly depressing, but he thought not unrepresentativeof thought in England in the years immediately preceding the war. Whilethe war was being fought one had to be hopeful otherwise one could notgo on fighting. By now, people at large were anticipating a new worldas after the last war, Bfit with less hopefulness. He supposed we no longerbelieved in the doctrine of automatic progress. He had quoted before,Macaulay who, one hundred years ago was thanking the Almighty that hebelonged to the most enlightened generation of the most enlightened people.Imagine us saying that now ! Look at the conditions of the 19th century,continuing perhaps yp to 1914, which led to that view. There was theenormous increase of man's power over nature derived from coal, iron,steel and electricity. There was great increase in the amenities of living.A less spectacular revolution was the cheapening of cotton. Human beingsbecame clean. Cheap cotton gave women clothes which could be washedinstead of garments made of leather and wadding. In the 18th Centurypeople tended to wear their clothes until they rotted on their bodies.Increased power allowed streets to be lighted and crime to be reduced. Therewas thc progressive increase in the rapidity of travel by means of cycle,train, motor-car and aeroplane. Mankind has always regarded that kindof thing as a sign of progress. Disraeli said his contemporaries thoughtprogress came by the aid of a few scientific discoveries. We have inheritedthat Victorian notion. Speed hrts replaced comfort. The young will.alwaysregard it as a feature of the millennium.

Science has, however, showered blessings on us, among them thediminution of epidemics and painful diseases, much reduced infimt mortalityand much increased expectation of length of life. Housing is much improved.There is less overcrowding. A xpecial tribute must be paid to the benefitsto mankind which have flowed from the discovery of anaesthetics and theintroduction of X-Ray treatment and radiotherapy. It is a sad reflectionthat we know so little about the man who discovered chloroform and somuch about the destroyers of mankind.

Up till abOut the 1930s there was a general rise in the level of considera-tion for' human beings. This was checked by the war of 1914-1918, andsince 1930 has declined continuously on the Continent. The use of tortureto extract confessions is an example. , Nevertheless, making all allowances,comparison with conditions one hundred years aeo, and earlier, shows ageneral rise. in the level of humanity.

Dr. Joad then enquired why it is that we no longer take the sameview about our civilization. Is it that although we increase our masteryover means we have no great conception of ends? G. K. Chesterton onceremarked that progress not only involves movement, but movement towardsa goal. He thought that in our society there was no agreement as to whatthat goal was. No doubt, said Dr. load, we would all acree that it waspeace, prosperity and happiness, but when it came to methods would it beby a Lengue Of Nations. Federal Union, or by an Alliance of Great Powers;by pacifism -socialism or capitalism: by more law and discipline in theState, or by greater freedom of thought and belief'? These are qnestionsabout which our age differs most and We cannot talk about progress until

6

we reach• agreement. If we think of ourselves as organized in States itseems that as long as the mass of human beings remain what they havealways been the added powers of science are likely to be more of a liabilitythan an asset. As shown in Niebuh(s Moral Man and Immoral Society,organized man is animated by motives inferior to those which actuateindividuals. States in relation to each other are animated by fear, lust ofconquest, desire to exploit weaker States or inferior races. Thus, instead.of regarding scientific inventions and improvements as means to good living,governments tend to treat them as ends in themselves. Look at pilotlessaircraft and rockets. They may destroy civilized life everywhere: If.civilization is to go on, that sort of thing must be prohibited. By our scaleof values we are so overcome by our cleverness that we must put theinvention into practice. The Chinese who discovered gunpowder were

'wiser. They limited its use to harmless fireworks. •Samuel Butler inErewhon, published in 1870, said a halt to the invention of machines mustbe called.

There is much fear that after the war there will be still greater servitudeto machines. When Dr. Joad saw the famous Chaplin film picturing thebelt system of a Ford Motor Factory he thought how superior was thelot of the agricultural worker. The mechanized factory may not requireworkmen to attend for more than a few hours daily, but even a short periodin it may render them incapable of enjoying leisure. Much leisure may haveits dangers, for the England of the future may be covered with golf links,tennis courts and noisy pleasure resorts. A completely machine-madecivilization is foreshadowed in which mass-produced amusement leaves noprovision for the starved soul of mankind.

Dr. Joad proceeded to discuss population trends with particular refer-ence to a pamphlet by Mr. Laurence Cadbury. The upshot was thatpopulation, broadly speaking, would substantially decline in Western Europe'during the next fifty years. rise slowly in Spain and Hungary and rapidlyin the Balkan countries. Unless these trends were arrested pressure ofpopulation from the east would lead to instability and war.

The over-riding prciblem for the future is that of peace. We cannotafford future wars and Dr. Joad feared that the settlement after the presentwar will not give any guarantee of peace. He was not optimistic aboutthe decisions reached at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference or at Yalta. Itwas, however, all to the good that in an anarchic world the least anarchicPowers should desire to work together. As long as fear of Germany persiststheir agreement will continue, but when it is no longer present, looking atthe seeds of war which the future contains, remembering our ever increasingpower over nature and our 'frequent failure to make benevolent use of it.Dr. load thought that the gloomy quotations he had read from Wells and

'Russell were not wholly unjustified. Ir. G. G.

Dr. J. C. Flugel on " The Civilization of-Morals," •March 18, 1945.

Readings from: (I) '' Preface to Morals," -by Walter Lippmann.(2 "Civilizailon," by Clive Bell.

CiVilization is 'notoriously difficult to define: The• (Word Dictionarysays it is an advanced stage of social development. But the whrd " advance "(like progress) means knowing the direction in which yoti wish to go. Thill;to attain an advanced stage of social development we must know somethingabout the desired direction. As regards'civilized morality if•must be basedon conscious ideals. We must know somethine of the:goals to which wehope to attain in advanced society.

One of the unsatisfactory features of our present society is that weare vague about the nature of these goals) upholders of traditional religionpoint this out with glee, and want to herd Lis back into the old pens. Theykeep on saying, " I told you what would happen if you give up revealedreligion. Return to it and all will be well." But this won't give us civilizedmorality, for that differs from the old authoritarian order in that it musthave clear ideas of the basis on which it stands, whereas the authoritarianethic simply requires us to do as we are told. The latter view of moralityis deeply ingrained. There seems to be a clash between civilization andmorality. To many moralists of the cruder kind civilization might seemimmoral. This appears if we look at the examples of civilization given .byClive Bell. They are the periods of Ancient Athens, the Italian Renaissance,and the 18th Century, particularly in France and to a less extent in England.In all these cases the way of life differed from the purely authoritarian type:it was not puritanical.

Thus there is a conflict between civilization and the credal forms ofmorality and we must consider what is involved in the civilization of morals.

Clive Bell says•that the two main characteristics of civilization are:(I) a sense of values; and (2) reason. He concluded that ultimately the onlyreal values are states of mind which can be enjoyed in a bed-sitting roomwith a well-stocked mind and a good book. This position opens interestingbut difficult problems. In the state of mind one feature will be happinessor pleasure. This question of enjoyment raises the old problems ofhedonism. Once one begins to say happiness is the ultimate good it issimple to take a quantitative view and refuse to admit there are qualitativedistinctions. Bentham said: " prejudice apart, a game of pushpin is ofequal value with the arts and sciences of music and poetry.- Mostphilosophers, however, whether they have played pushpin or not, are lothto assent to this proposition, among them J. S. Mill. He said that thequalitative aspects of pleasure must be considered; there are higher andlower pleasures, and he went on to say it is better, to be a human,beingdissatisfied than a pig satisfied. You thus give up the hedonistic doctrine,for good states of mind are not necessarily happy.

Wherein is the difference between higher and lower pleasures ?So-called higher pleasures arc of a more permanent character. They giveus a sort of happy general undertone. Happiness' is more permanent.Pleasures are something relatively fleeting, as when we enjoy a good mealin an unhappy state or mind. We may say too that higher pleasures arcthose that make some demand on our intellectual faculties. If we contrasthigher with lower forms of art we see that they involve more complicatedprocesses. Thus some people who cannot make the intellectual effort cannever enjoy the higher forms. Good artists suffer accordingly. But bymeans of education we begin to enjoy their work and our pleasure is moresatisfying than that derived from the cruder forms of art. Another differenceis that the kind of pleasures Mill was thinking of as higher involved onthe whole less conflict. Lower pleasures excessively indulged arouse someconflict within us and to that extent our enjoyment is lessened. Uneasyfear prevents us from enjoying these so-called lower pleasures, whereashigher pleasures involve the harmonious co-operation of our whole being.

These distinctions throw some light on what Clive Bell means by thehigher states of mind characteristic of a civilized person. They involve hiswhole being. This does not mean that the so-called lower satisfactionsshould be avoided. Bodily exercises, sports, good food and sex, shouldsurely be enjoyed by all. The ascetic is not a completely civilized person,for, like the voluptuary, he is without the controlling power of reason which

keeps us within bounds. This raises the question how far the emotions

and desires should be subordinated to reason. If devoted too much to

intellectual functions a civilized person becomes a mere thinking machine

without motives. There must bc emotions and desires to set the thInking

machine going. The excessive use of reason and toleration, and the atrophy

of desires, may in the long run prove suicidal, for if the civilized man

becomes over intellectualized, and loses his drive, he will tend to be

superseded by the less civilized. Some such idea as this.is held by leaders

of the Nazis when they assume German failures to be due to the intellectuals.

Goering said that the word " culture made him grasp his revolver. It is

possible for us to be at the mercy of those who have more elemental drive

left in them, so that while the civilized are philosophizing the less civilized

will be doing things which will put an end to civilization. The stressing of

the doctrine of non-attachment by Aldous Huxley is an indication of this

decline of drive. If a civilized person is non-attached and dispassionate

he will soon be at the mercy of those who are relatively barbaric.

Clive Bell is right in indicating that civilization involves appreciation of

values and the use of reason. Psychology helps us to define these values

and see how we should use our reason. But even if we have not solved

these problems agreement that values are states of mind saves us from error.

In the first place it makes it clear that nothing material can have value of

its own—riches, luxury, technical achievement are only of value in so far

as they help us to attain valuable states of mind. It is possible to be unhappy

in a luxury flat or in a Rolls-Royce car, whereas, we can be happy in a

bed-sitting room or in 'a public bus. We have to realize in particular that

as regards that kind of satisfaction which luxuries undoubtedly bring there

is a law of decreasing returns. Every fresh outlay put into luxuries tends

to bring in rather less enjoyment. That is an important fact to remember.

Nevertheless, although we have to bear in mind that ultimate values are

only states of mind, we must remember that comfort and leisure are

necessary for higher states of mind. They save us from boredom rather

than give us pleasure in themselves. Few people achieve higher states of

mind while doing domestic chores. Machines to reduce them should be

welcomed. The second great lesson is that states of mind are ultimately

states of the individual. If we accept (his philosophy, we cannot be

totalitarians and say that the group must take precedence over the individual.

Nevertheless, we are social animals. Civilized life 'involves some state of

society and mu.st provide means for satisfactory social adjustment. It is

difficult for the individual permanently out of harmony with the group

to attain higher states of mind. Harmony within the group, however, only

too often involves enmity towards other groups, and this is the great riddle

of the Sphinx which must be solved. We need group morality and a

civilized politics. We must realize that the great problems of civilization

are only just beginning to be tackled. It is relatively easy to behave morally

towards individuals but we often tend to be immoral towards an organiza-

tion. There arc those among us who would be ashamed not to psy their

debts to another person, but would feel less conscience-stricken if they

wangled out of their obligations to a municipal authority or a state. This

is a matter where our civilization needs improving. Perhaps it will help

us in future if we think in terms of an individual rather than of a corpora-

tion. It has been suggested that rates or income-tax demand forms should

be illustrated with the picture of an. attractive woman clerk asking " would

you deny me my wages ? " The biggest problem of all, however, is the

fact that corporations themselves tend to have no conscience. We tend to

lose our private conscience when we act for such a body. Here our morality

9

urgently needs civilization. Only when we begin to apply the relationsobtaining between individuals to groups and nation states can we beginto call ourselves civilized as regards our social and political morality. •

• F. G. G.

Archibald Robertson, M.A., on " The Outlawry .of War,"March 25, 1945.

Readings from: (1) "Surgeon's Symphony," by George Sava.(2) "On Living in a Revolution," by Julian Huxley

The term " outlawry of war " came into use after the First World Warin connection with the attempts made to assure world peace by suchmachinery as the League of Nations and the• Kellogg Pact. It was hopedthat if nations could be brought to regard war as a crime and to treat itaccordingly, war might be abolished. Those attempts came to nothing.partly because the participating governments did not seriously intend thatthey should succeed, partly because the well-meaning people who supportedthem failed for the most part to realize the revolutionary nature of thechange involved.

It was not until very recently that war began to be regarded by anyconsiderable mass of opinion as evil in itself. During the greater part ofhistory war has been regarded as a normal phase of human relations, andpeace merely as the cessation of war for the time being. We were nottaught in our school-days to regard war as a calamity: on the contrary, themost glorious pages in national history were the successful wars, and the mostimportant dates (next after the accession of sovereigns) were those of greatbattles. And this was entirely natural; for in the absence of any sovereigninternational authority empowered to treat war as a crime, we can hardly

-expect the ordinary human being to do so. Sovereignty means exemptionfrom the-control of any superior: and as long as States are sovereign, war,or armed conflict between States, may be brought about by any State withthe will and power to engage in it.

The outlawry of war, then, means either the• abolition of nationalsovereignty or its limitation to such a degree that the term will no longerbear the sense which it has hitherto borne. The League of Nations in itsinception was an attempt to hibject States to a system of law and orderanalogous to that to which men are subject in their several communities.'The citizen is forbidden to resort to force against other citizens.. if he does,the State intervenes and deals with him. In the same way, membership ofthe League obliged a State not to go to war with other member-States:if it nevertheless did, all the member-States were to take common actionagainst the offender. The weakness of the League was that whereas suchmachinery, to be effective, involved a drastic limitation of nationalsovereignty; in actual fact national sovereignty was left untouched. Whenit came to the point, every State remained judge of its own interests, andevery State retained absolute discretion in the matter of taking actiOn againstan aggressor or not. We know the result.

After this' war the question of the outlawry of war will again be amongthe burning questions of politics. It is essential that those who supportthe idea should this time face its implications squarely. It involves, on last

hnalysis, nothing less than the creation of a political unit superior to thenational State. There is no reasoh why this should not be done: the.nationalState itself in many cases arose by the aggregation of smaller sovereign units.But it will not' be dbne by frontal attack. The national State. as we haveit, is a tough.nut to crack. It consists of a political machine with an army,navy, air force, police force, civil service, and educational system of its own.10

vested interests bound up with all of these, and economic organizations to

which. they areLndispensable auxiliaries.; We shall not annihilate these by

'resolutions, nor by an " open conspiracy " conducted by Mr. H. G. Wells

and a few unknown engineers and airmen of his selection. In some way

the national State itself must be used in the cause of internationalism: Satan

Must cast out Satan.This may strike you as a fOrlorn hope. But it is only a forlorn hope

if we accept at the start the current superstitiOn which treats cach nation

as if it were a person with a single mind and will. A nation is not a person,

but an aggregate of many millions of persons with separate minas and

wills. The Nazis have done their worst to transform the many millions

of Germans into a Frankenstein monster,and to some extent have succeeded:

that is why we arc at war with them. But generally speaking, a nation

consists of individuals with their own lives to lead and their own brains to

think with. They are often duped and led up the garden path; but they do

not enjoy war. and to mobilize them in support of the outlawry of war is

not a forlorn hope:The mobilization of mass opinion is the real problem. Everyone knows

that the preservation of peace after the present war will depend first and

foremost on the preservation of the Grand Alliance between Britain, the

U.S.S.R. and the U.S.A. Here we have three sovereign States; but each ot

them has this peculiarity, that it embraces within itself a considerable variety

of national types, and that by reason of its size and resources it exercises

an influence over many national States outside its own frontiers. The Big

Three, if they stand together, are in a position to enforce world peace. But

they must stand together: And that is where the mobilization of mass

opinion comes in. The ordinary man and woman in the street, in the

factory and at the office desk has to be persuaded that the outlawry of war

is possible, that the Big Three have the means to do it, and that in their

continued co-operation lies the way forward to a new era of peace and

plenty. When they realize that, they will sweep away any who oppose it.

For some will oppose it. The dark forces are still with us: the people

who never meant the League of Nations to succeed; the people who inherit ,

the nineteenth century tradition of " every nation for itself, and the devil

take the hindmost "; the people bred in the old diplomacy: the people to

whom the national State is still, as it was to Hegel, the march of God upon

earth." The spearhead of reaction, now as always, is the Roman Catholic

Church. By certain signs you may know these reactionaries. Before the

war they lauded Mussolini and crabbed the League of Nations. They

appeased Hitler as long as Hitler could be appeased. Just now they are

taking a terrific interest in the eighteenth century claims of Poland. All the

time they are desperately afraid of Russia and of - world revolution."

The words " Europe" and " Christian civilization " are ever on their lips.

They stand for the bad past; and if they have their way there will be a third

world war.Such people are saboteurs of the future. They must be fought in season

and out of season, forced out of their hiding-places into the open, and made

to face the real issue. If we wish for world peace. We must work

for 'a new world order—not. a " new order like Hitler's, based on

the enslavement of the mass of mankind to a Herrenvolk, but a new

order based on co-operation between men and and between nations, on

the scientific exploitation of the resources of the gIbbe and on education

in world citizenship. Such a world order will be in fact, if not in name.

a new international authority and will be able to outlaW wan not in theory

only, but in practice.(Contributed by Mr. Robertson)

SUNDAY AFTERNOON AT HOMESThese monthly social gatherings continue to be well attended. On

March IS, the special attraction was an exhibition and description oflantern slides by Mr. C. W. Gamble to illustrate certain places of interestseen in the course of a pre-war journey from Rye in Sussex, through Franceand Italy to the Austrian Tyrol. The excellent pictures werc much admired.

On April 15, Mr. F. G. Gould gave another of his annual talks aboutSpring Flowers. He had staged a beautiful display in which many varietiesof daffodil were predominant, but there were specimens of flowering shrubsand of some lesser known herbaceous plants. After describing the exhibitsMr. Gould distributed the flowers as far as they would go among membersof the audience.

NOTESAs announced on page 16, the Annual General Meeting of the members

of South Place Ethical Society has been arranged to take ,place on Thursday.May 24. The Committee's Report should reach members by May 16. Themeeting is a pleasant social as well as business occasion, and now that thereis little risk of interference by enemy action, members will no doubt attendin strength.

After the adoption of the Reports and Accounts has been proposed andseconded, it is open to members to .ask questions and make comments orsuggestions. It is hoped that members will avail themselves freely of thisopportunity. Under Rule 10 the Committee are entrusted with the Manage-ment and administration of the Society's ordinary affairs, but note is takenof all suggestions and the practicability of adopting them is considered indue course.

On March 23, Messrs. Gerald Duckworth and Co. Ltd., of 3 HenriettaStreet, London, W.C.2, published an imptirtant Psycho-analytical Study byDr. J. C. Flugel, entitled " Man, Morals and Society." The price is 21s.A copy has been received by the Editor, who hopes to publish a review inthe June issue.

The Editor of World Digest has sought and been given permission toreprint in condensed form the shortened version of Professor G. W.Keeton's lecture entitled "Greek Ethics and Greek Law,- which appearedin the Montldy Record for April.

We are asked to announce that M r. Kennedy Scott's choir, The PhoebusSingers, will give a concert in aid of the Coit Memorial Fund at the EthicalChurch on Saturday. May 26. There will be a social meeting before theconcert at the joint invitation of the Ethical Union and the Ethical Church,with tea at 4.30. Those who wish to come are asked to inform the Secretaryof the Ethical Union, 41-42 Chandos House, Buckingham Gate. S.W.1, notlater than May 15.

The course of lectures on " The Problem of Freedom in a PlannedSociety,- at Victory House Hall, Leicester Square, arranged by the Progres-sive League. will commence on May 16, at 7.30. and continue weekly untilJune 20. The lecturers will be Prof. H. Levy, Major Adrian Stephen, ProLM. Polanyi, Prof. F. A. Hayek. Dr. C. A. Smith and Prof. D. Mitrany. Therewill be a small charge for admission. Full particulars can be obtained fromthe League's Office. 20 Buckingham Street, W.C.2.j-j

Mr. J. B. Coates calls attention to a misprint in the second paragraph

of the report of his address at Conway Hall, on Sunday. February 18,

published in our last issue. In the fifth line the word appeal should replace.

the word effect.

AN AWKWARD QUESTION

In Memory Hold-the-Door, by John Buchan (Hodder and Stoughton

Ltd., 1940), the famous novelist and Member of Parliament, who, as Lord

Tweedsmuir, became Governor-General of Canada in 1935, narrates the

following incident which occurred during his electioneering campaign in

the Lowlands of Scotland:—Mr. Lloyd George's Insurance Act had just been introduced and at a

meeting at remote Ettrickhead, the speaker was defending it On the ground

that it was a practical application of the Sermon on the Mount. A long-

legged shepherd rose to question him, and the following dialogue ensued:—

" Ye believe in the Bible, sir ? "" With all my heart."" And ye consider that this Insurance Act is in keepin' with the Bible? "

" Is it true that under the Act there's a maternity benefit, and that a

woman gets the benefit whether she's married or no ?

" That is right."D'ye approve of that ?

" With all my heari."" Well, sir, how d'ye explain this ? The Bible says the wages of sin is

death and the Act says thirty shillin's."John Buchan does not record the speaker's reply.

Correspondence

FRANKLIN D. ROOSEVELT

Sir,—Surely the life of Franklin D. Roosevelt, whose' death occurred on

April 12, must mean much to the members of the S.P.E.S., for this great

man gave himself heart and soul for the ideals for which this Society

stands.Roosevelt achieved freedom in his own soul and he strove mightily to

give that freedom to others. He believed, as we do, that the human spirit

can achieve and bring about a better life for mankind and to that end he

worked unwavering and unafraid.For hundreds of years men and women have gone to church every

Sunday and as mechanically and quickly as possible repeated the words

of the Litany—that it may please Thee to defend, and provide for, the

fatherless children and widows, and to preserve all sick persons and young

children, and to show thy pity upon all prisoners, etc—in fact to ask God

to do all the things which we know we should be doing for ourselves. Is

this the best that man can do ? always shelving responsibility for this world

and putting it on the shoulders of someone else.

, As the Last Post rings out over his burial place, let us turn our facestowards the dawn, let us stand on our feet, and asking aid of the Divine

Spirit in man let us pray for insight, for enthusiasm for the right, for the

will-power and passion for Freedom which inspired Franklin Roosevelt.

MARY UNWIN.

13

REVIEWSFROM GODS TO DICTATORS. Psychology of Religions and their Totalitarian

• Substitutes. By Pryns Hopkins, M.A., Ph.D. Haldeman-hifius Publica-

tions, Girard, Kansas, 1944. (Price not indicated), pp. 168.Those who heard the Sunday morning discourses by Dr. Hopkins in

Conway Hall before the war or who are acquainted with his earlier workswill turn with pleasant expectation to this book, in which the authorambitiously attempts to make a general survey of religion from the psycho-analytic point of view. Such an attempt was clearly overdue, for previouswork in this direction has either been tonfined to relatively narrow andspecialized fields or has else been too exclusively concerned with the bearingof psycho-analytic findings on the truth or real:Ay-value of religious doctrines.In the present work interest is directed in turn to all the chief problems withwhich religion tries to deal, the various solutions it provides and the typesof satisfaction it affords.

The book begins with a brief survey of the main principles of psycho-analysis and the main features of the chief historical religions of the world,in the course of which it is pointed out that in recent times great politicalmovements such as Communism and Fascism have to a large extent takenover the role of religion. Indeed this comparison, which is followed up indetail in each section is one of the most valuable features of the work. Therefollow in succession a series of chapters dealing with such subjects as: thesearch for truth (in which the reality-evading characteristics of religion aremade manifest), the goals aimed at in the various religions, the methodsdevised for the attainment of these goals, the methods of dealing with " theproblem of evil," the motives underlying purification and sacrifice and thevarious rituals and myths (e.g.. the slaying of dragons by heroes) in whichsacrifice is symbolized, the religious attitude to violence, the various stagesor steps (the scala perfeclionis of the mystics) by which the devotees ofreligion hope to attain salvation.

In all this there is much that is illuminating and much that many willfind new. To mention two points almost at random: few perhaps will haverecognized any connection between the story of St. George and the Dragonand Hitler's persecution of the Jews, and yet both have much in commonas an attempt to kill evil in its " projected " form as embodied in a scape-goat; while surprisingly few Communists have recognized the ultimateinadequacy of the economic interpretation of history as revealed by thesimple fact that many revolutionaries are ready to submit heroically to theutmost sacrifice of their own welfare, even of life itself, for the sake of this

economic " doctrine.Dr. Hopkins in his own philosophy adopts the hedonistic position that

the ultimate goal should be " the greatest lasting happiness of the greatestnumber." In reading this book we are constantly brought to realize howfantastically human behaviour often departs from such a goal, and we mayperhaps feel that in spite of the wealth of material here provided we havenot been given an adequate account of the reason for such perversity. Some.further light might perhaps have been thrown upon this problem by a fullertreatment of the later psycho-analytic views on aggression, guilt and the• •" need for punishment as developed in recent years especially by the child.analysts.

In its present edition the book suffers rather severely feom the unattrac-tive small type and narrow margins to which we have had to reconcileourselves in war-time. The index (important in-a work of this kind) is.unfortunately inadequate, the names of several often quoted authors being,for instance, conspicuous by their absence. Minor errors and misprints are:14

also somewhat irritating in their frequency, while the illustrations here and

there provided are badly reproduced and insufficiently related to the text.

Nevertheless this is a 'book that certainly deserves study by all who are

interested in the psychology of religion. J. C. FLUGEL.

TIIE PLAIN Vicw, for April, 1945. The Ethical Union. 6d.

The April issue of this excellent quarterly is specially to be commended

tor the long and important article entitled, From Liberalism to Socialism."

by our friend, Mr. Archibald Robertson. His conclusion is that there is

no reason why those Liberals who are not wedded by their principles to

the defence of big business interests should not co-operate with Socialists

in promoting what may be described as a Beveridge programme at home,

and in organizing world peace abroad. The political need of the immediate

future is unity on the Left.. Mr. Robertson's contribution is followed by one on " The Fundamental

Issue," by Mr. J. B. Coates. He raises the question of how to combine

planning with freedom. This he calls the major problem of our age, and

argues that it cannot be solved by merely political means. He points to the

finding of a solution through the growth of the true spirit of community.

ABOVE ALL NATIONS. By George Catlin. Vera Brittain and Sheila Hodges.

• Gollancz. 2s. 6d.This is a compilation from many sources of acts of kindness, courtesy

and consideration done to enemies throughout the present war by men of

many nations. It shows that chivalry is not yet dead, and it is encouraging

to those whose faith in the spirit of humanity has suffered a rude shock.

WORLD ORGANISATION—Federal or Functional ? Watts. 3s. 6d.

The book before us is in the main a verbatim report of a round-table

discussion on February 5, 1944. Those taking part were Patrick Ransome.

M.A. (Co-Founder of Federal Union), Prof. George Catlin, M.A., Ph.D.

(Co-Founder of the British American Council for World Government).

Dr. Edvard Hambro (of Bergen) and C. B. Purdom (Author of The New

Order). The Chairman was James A. Joyce, B.Sc. (Hon. Director of Research,

World Unity Movement). The book contains an introduction by Prof. D.

Mitrany and also includes a short article by Mr. H. G. Wells on " How

we are to get out of this War."

THE TURNINGS OF THE SHREW. By Charles Esam-Carter. Nicholson and

Watson. .5s. 118 pages.Here we have a brightly written, witty and kindly story for grown-ups

to read to children. Parts of it will probably tickle the reader more than

the listener. It is all about really friendly relations between a giant. a cat,

a shrew mouse, and all sorts of other living but more or less imaginary

creatures. The book is suitable for children from about six to ten years

of age. It is freely illustrated and can be heartily recommended to all who

like to have something to read to children which is light and amusing without

any suggestion of cruelty or religious superstition. .

New Memberr. RAYMOND W. HARWOOD, Enfield Middlesex,

New AssociatesKENNETHCOTTERILL. London S.E. I I Mr. H. W. LEATHAM ; GOda lining.

Surrey.IS

SOUTH PLACE ETHICAL SOCIETYSUNDAY MORNING MEETINGS AT ELEVEN O'CLOCK

May 6. — J. MCCABE.—Germany.

Bass Solos by G. C. Dow 34x9: The Trout SchumannStill wie die Nacht .. Carl Bohm .

Hymns: Nos. 63 and 90

May 13. — PROFESSOR G. W. KEETON, M.A., LL.D.—The Origin of International Law.

Piano Solos by EDWARD MANDEL

Hymns: Nos. 1 and 4

May 20.—WHITSUN—NO MEETING.

May 27. — ARCHIBALD ROBERTSON, M.A.-1918 and 1945.

Bass Solos by G. C. oowtvuov: When I was one and twenty.. SamervellMyself When Young .. Liza Lehmann

Hymns: Nos. 68 and 81

Admission is free. A collection is taken towards general expenses.

At Home for Members and Friends.—In the Library on Sunday, May 27. at 3 p.m.Tea will be served at 3.45, for which there will be the usual charge of 6d., Mr. C.Sleigh will give an account of his life in Russia 1921-1937.

Discussion Gin:le.—Wednesday, at 6.15 p.m., May 16, Mr. J. B. Coates, Aldints Hugley'sNew Navel, May 36. Mr. F. G. Gould, on Mysticism.

The Objects of the Society are the study and dissemination of ethical principlesand the cultivation of a rational religious sentiment.

Any person in sympathy with these objects is cordially invited to become a Member(minimum annual subscription 10s.), or Associate (minimum annual subscription 5s.).Associates are not eligible to vote or hold office. Enquiries should be made of theRegistrar to whom subscriptions should be paid.

OfficersHon. Treasurer: C. E. LISEER

Hon. Registrar: Mrs. T. LINDSAY Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, W.C.I.Secretary: C. J. TURN/a/GE

The Monthly Record is posted free to Membcrs and Associates. The annual chargeto subscribers is 4s. Matter for publication in the June issue should reach the Editor,Mr. F. G. GOULD, 45 Traps Hill, Loughton, Essex, by Saturday. May 19. Inclusioncannot be guaranteed.

The Society does tot hold itself responsible for views expressed or reported herein.

The Annual General MeetingThis will be held on Thursday evening, May 24, at 7 p.m. There will

be tea at 6.15 p.m. The attention of members is directed to Rule 4, whichstates: " Those members only who are twenty-one years of age or upwards,whose names have been twelve months upon the register, and whose subscrip-tions for the previous year have been paid, shall be qualified to vote andhold office." The Annual Report should reach members by May 16.

Conway Hall is registered for Marriages. Funeral Services can be arranged.Applications should be addressed to the Secretary.

FARLEIGH PRESS LTD. Beechwood Works, Beechwood Rise, Watford, Herts.