LABOUR AND COMMUNISM

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22341, 3 March 1938, Page 7

LABOUR AND COMMUNISM

TO TUB EDITOR OF TUB PRESS. Sir/ —Your correspondent, "Catholic Labour," is evidently unaware of the Socialistic objectives of Labour. Mr Webb, at Wellington, on January 29, said: "The Labour Government stands unchanged in its principles from those it stood for 30 years ago, and it is still the same advocate of Socialism." Our Labour Party is of the opinion that Socialism can be legislated into existence through the State organs of present-day capitalist democracy. The Communist Party says this is impossible, that "the organs of the State must be transformed from one based on class domination into a people's State" before the foundations of the Socialist form of society can be laid. Therefore, there are no Communists in the Labour Party branches, though there are a large number of Socialists. There are no Communists outside of the Communist Party, according to the principles of this party. However, one must admit the correctness Of "Catholic Labour's" contentions as regard membership of the Labour Party. Many members of the Communist Party are members of the Labour Party through their membership of trade unions, which, are affiliated bodies. Still, this does not affect the posil.ion of "Catholic Labour" in his position of supporter of a Labour programme. As long as this programme is not along the lines of Labours Socialistic objective, then he can continue to support the present Labour Party. But if the opposite should be the case, then, as a believer in the Roman Catholic version .of political economy, he must oppose it. The following is an extract from "The Framework of a Christian State, by the Rev. E. Cahill, S.J.: "Socialism, no less than Liberalism, bears the stamp of irreligion, materialism and active antagonism to Christianity. On the term Communism, he says: Since their accession to power, the Bolsheviki have been commonly referred to as Communists, and have themselves accepted the name! Communism, understood in the sense of Bolshevism, differs in two special characteristics from ordinary Socialism. The Communists aim at establishing State Socialism by violence and terrorism rather than by constitutional means; and the ideal State which they have organised in Russia and propose to set up elsewhere is not a democracy but a dictatorship—the dictatorship, namely of the class of unpropertied workers, whom they term the prole"Catholic Labour" will see, therefore, how the teachings of his Church show a difference between Socialists and Communists, at the same time making it very clear that both are against the interests of the Roman Catholic Church —one could not say against the ethics of Christianity. As a believer in your own particular ism, your correspondent is in a position where it will be necessary at some time to choose between the Christian ideal of Socialism, based on the Christian ethic, and churchianity—Yours, etc., H. R. MacDONALD. New Brighton, March 2, 1938.