THE WORLD'S ILLS

Ellesmere Guardian, Volume LVI, Issue 41, 24 May 1935, Page 6

THE WORLD'S ILLS

FINDING A REMEDY.

SERMON BY ARCHBISHOP

AVERILL,

NEED FOR CHRISTIAN IDEALS

The need for a wider conception of the brotherhood of man as a means of deliverance from present-day ills was emphasised by Archbishop Averill in a sermon at Auckland recently. F "Attempts to restore world conditions to-day to what people call their normal position are bound to fail," he said, "because there is no standard of normality. The World can never return to the standards of prewar days, for they belong .to past history. Applied science has revolutionised the world and knowledge has outrun the development of character and the moral sense, both of which are of great importance if scientific invention is to be a blessing and not a curse to the world. "Science has made the world into a neighbourhood but cannot make men into neighbours. The nations are still clinging to the old, worn-out ideas of the deification of the State, of protective, isolating barriers, of the need for more and more defensive action,; and are putting their trust in power and force. They are more concerned with what is taking place behind their neighbours' fences than with what they can contribute to the world's well-being. Suspicion, fear and the dread of being outmanoeuvred in the race for the world's markets are resulting in a feverish increase in armaments, with its increasing burden of taxation and the utterly fictitious belief that nations are thus contributing to their own security and power.

POWER IN FRIENDLINESS,

"These ideas are obsolete. Real power and security do not he in national wealth, self-pro tec ting tariffs and more armaments, for they only afford a constant menace and challenge to others. Real power and real security lie in friendliness, goodwill, brotherhood and neighbourliness, in the spirit of sharing and not of grabbing, in regarding our neighbours as ourselves.

"The revival of the old spirit of suspicion and fear of trade rivals, of the inevitability of war when national rivalries become too pronounced and of the impossibility of changing human nature are among the world's greatest enemies to-day, and constitute the gravest hindrance to the coming of the new world which is waiting to be born. Men are. still clinging to anachronisms, to old ideas of power and security, to the exploded idea that preparation for war is the only road to peace, to monetary systems which seem to haye outgrown their usefulness, and are in danger of becoming so obsessed with what has been that they have no vision with regard to what is and what is still to come.,

CALAMITY OF UNEMPLOYMENT.

* "God forbid that I should lay the blame on statesmen, politicians, economists or anybody else for not finding a remedy at once for our social ills and for the great world calamity of unemployment, but one cannot but feel that there is a strange lack of vision as to the signs of the times and a strange hesitancy in adapting ideas and methods to the needs of the new age. It is useless to talk about returning to the 'good old days,' when the so-called good old days were laying that gunpowder trail which was fired by the war.

"It is useless to shut our eyes to the world conditions brought about by the dawn of* the mechanical age.

Scientific progress is as yet only in its infancy, and we cannot stop the wheels of progress. Men will never be needed again as they have been m the past in the sphere of industrialism. When men talk about better times absorbing surplus labour, we know perfectly well that, however optimistic we may be about the coming of better times and greater opportunities for work and service, it is inevitable that only a small per--12 t ge u available surplus labour can be absorbed.

ran *L S °rder 1S gone beyond reSL tli G WOrld is faced w«h the problem of adapting itself to new and changed conditions. Surely it is a^law of nature that the power of adaptation to new environment is the secret of survival. Can the world adapt itself to the new conditions consequent on the revolution brought about by applied science?

"THE LABOUR RESERVE."

One of the most pressing problems to-day is that described under the general heading of production and distribution. The irony of the Situation lies in the abundance of products and the lack of purchasing power to obtain and use them. There are more than sufficient foodstuffs and commodities to meet the needs of the world, and yet thousands and even millions can scarcely obtain the necessaries pf life. "It is intolerable that people should be brought to a state of poverty and even destitution because of their inability to earn sufficient money to supply their heeds, simply because they are victims of the machine age. Of course, the whole position is a vicious circle, for the lack of ourchasing power means that the wheels of. the producing machines must revolve more slowly and unemployment must be increased.

"Now, I submit that it would be wise if we ceased to talk about the unemployed when we mean those who, under present conditions, are deprived of the opportunity to work. I believe it has been suggested that such men might well be called and regarded as 'Labour Reserve.' There will always be a residue of unemployed, because for various reasons some men are unemployable, and as such have a right to sympathetic treatment. But should not those who are unemployed, but employable and anxious to work, be placed^ in a different category? They and their families would still require support, but support as a matter of right, during their time of waiting. Might it not help to maintain and increase their hopefulness, self-respect and morale if they did form a Labour Reserve, waiting to be absorbed into the .industrial life of the world' at a standard wage?" The Archbishop said he could see ho solution of ths world's economic difficulties apart from God and Christian principles. Inasmuch as politics must impinge on the moral and spiritual plane, the Christian contribution should not be withheld from the great social questions which came under the heading of politics. The attempt to separate the religious from the secular was utterly wrong.

"Brotherhood is the ; fundamental relationship of man to man," Archbishop Averill continued. "Until we get down to the realisation of our common brotherhood we shall continue to, have wars and strife and injustice and chaos. Man is not a mere pawn in the game of life, not a mere hand selling his service to the highest bidder for the sake of bodily sustenance. He is a member of they great brotherhood. He not only has a right to work, but a right to live, a right to be in a position to make the full contribution to the common good. The whole community has a responsibility for his welfare."