DOUGLAS CREDIT.

Auckland Star, Volume LXV, Issue 45, 22 February 1934, Page 6

DOUGLAS CREDIT.

If public criticism of Douglas Social Credit is to take the place of the pot pourri of criticism of New Zealand's history, geography, climate, scenery and people, which we are accustomed to expect from visitors to the Dominion, the least that should be looked for is that future visitors should have some nodding acquaintance with their subject- Mr. A. W. Dickinson, whom one gathers to be quite juvenile, brought out in that hotbed of Socialism, the London 'School of Economics, was recently stated by a Press interview to "have definite views on the Douglas Social Credit scheme, which is founded on a fallacy, that there is necessarily and continually a gap between total purchasing power in circulation and the aggregate costs of goods placed upon the market." Major Douglas has never so stated his theory, but has, on the contrary, explained in detail how factors, such, as bursts of capital expenditure on public works, production for export, war, bankruptcies, etc., have enabled the present system to work after a fashion. Mr. Dickinson apparently never heard of the Just Price Factor, since he gave vent to the usual stupidity about inflation. His statement. that - the Douglas theory is an. "arithmetical untruth" may be taken up with several professori of mathematics who are staunch Douglasites— one a vice-president of the movement in New Zealand. His further statement, "Every economist of repute condemned it," calls for the query as to exactly what disrepute Pro-, fessor Irvine, of Sydney, is in, since that professor of economics is a Douglas writer. Or is Mr. Dickinson in greater repute than Messrs. Kitson and Hattersley, for instance, whose names are household words wherever English is spoken ? Less loose, sweeping, dogmatic assertions and something in the nature of proof adduced 'by professional' economists would provide Douglasites with more to reply to. A. E. ROBINSON.