CIVILISATION TO-DAY

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21175, 28 May 1934, Page 10

CIVILISATION TO-DAY

_—+ - Lessons of Ancient Commerce CALL FOR NATIONS TO CO-OPERATE The responsibility of the present generation to use the advantages of modern commerce and systems of production in the right way and so prevent the present civilisation from going the way of all others was referred to by Mr G. Lawn, lecturer in economics at Canterbury University College, in an address to the Society for Imperial Culture on Saturday evening.' Mr Lawn referred to the failure of early civilisations through the lack of co-opera-tion, and said that he was optimistic enough to believe that the present civilisation was not going to break down as all others had done, but that by co-operation it would advance to a higher intelligence and higher standards. The subject of Mr Lawn's address was "Some Early Phases of Commerce." After describing the beginnings of commerce, as far back as the stone age, and the development of great trading peoples such as the Phoenicians, he referred to several lessons that could be learnt from ancient commercial systems in the preservation of modern civilisation. It was generally assumed that commerce did not enter into history until about the Middle Ages; but it was forgotten that the great civilisations in Asia and Africa, and their systems of commerce, very profoundly affected the later development of commerce. Complex economic and social conditions arose and systems of government were necessary. The history of these civilisations formed a background for consideration of the problems of modern times, and there were several characteristics of commerce in those times that could be compared to characteristics of the modern system. Effect of Specialisation Commerce brought not only resources from a wide area, but made possible a greater degree of industrial specialisation. At the same time, as a necessary consequence of specialisation, the greater independence of groups of the people was developed and there was a greater tendency towards the eruption of societies through some change in external trading conditions. For instance, in the early days of the development of the West Indies, it did not matter there whether there were booms or slumps, but the rubber industry had later made the West Indies part of a system of world economy. The economic welfare of the West Indies then depended on the world demand for rubber. The same tiling applied in Japan which had been secluded from foreign intercourse from the thirteenth century until 1860. The country had been thrown open to trade, and extension of commerce, making possible the development of an industrial'life, which in turn was able to maintain the population of 60,000,000 ' at a much higher standard of living; but with this advantage came the same vulnerability to world economic conditions. Japan was now affected by the trade policies of other countries. This threw upon the people the necessity to develop new institutions on international economic lines to avoid the irruption of its living system. Ability to Co-operate Something was needed to organise all special activities. The extension from national to international commerce threw a great strain on the ability of peoples to co-operate. In ancient times attacks did come from outside, and civilisations broke down because of their inability to stand in co-operation. The same attacks were being faced to-day. The international system to-day was quite young, and we had yet to find whether it would be able t establish the degree of co-operation necessary for the welfare of international commerce. In the ancient civilisations based on a high degree of international commerce there grew higher standards of culture; but like all other' means of production, the value of commerce depended upon the way it was used. All of those resources which provided a quick access to wealth could be either benefits or evils, as they affected material advance according to the way they were used. Mechanical production mjght free peoples, giving them more time for other things; but on the other hand it might throw people into difficulties. Commerce, like all other aids to production, was making possible higher standards of living, and just as the people of ancient times had had thrown upon them the respond ability of using its advantages rightly so were the same responsibilities thrown i-pon us to-day The world had to face the task of using its productive advantages to produce the maximum amount of wealth and distribute this wealth in the best way for all. Lessons from Past One lesson we could learn from a ;udy of past civilisations was the lesson of organising our human relationships in such a way that these aids to production should be a liberating rather than an enslaving facIt remained to be seen, said Mr Lawn whether human beings would be liberated from toil fSr j greater leisure and whether facili-' ties could be provided for the i greater use of leisure. There was a difficulty in the early days in mak- I ing the earth supply the needs of existence; but such conditions no longer obtained. There was an abundance—a superabundance —not only for necessities but for comforts, and facilities for the rich use of leisure, and we had command of productive means capable of developing all the earth's resources. It was the task of this generation to use these resources in such a way as to develop a richer and a permanent civilisation. He was optimistic enough to believe that our civilisation was not going to break down as all others had done, but that by co-operation it would advance to a higher intelligence. That was his article of faith. Mr Lawn was accorded a .vote of thanks for his address.