IDEAL OF BROTHERHOOD

Evening Post, Volume CV, Issue 143, 18 June 1923, Page 7

IDEAL OF BROTHERHOOD

The Bishop of Manchester, preaching on the Any locally Known as "Industrial Sunilav".:—

''The special contribution of Christianity to the industrial and economic relations of men in modern society centres in the ideas of personality ' and fellowship. In the recent, history of political thought and movement in our own country two great movements have each of them reintroduced an element vitally needed, which is tending to be overlooked—the Liberal movement of the mid-nineteenth century, emphasising the freedom of the 'individual citizen; and the Labour movement, which more recently has brought into the forefront the .whole ideal of brotherhood of a unity freely willed by all the members united m society. This latter undoubtedly represents an immense advantage in political ideals, and one of the great contributions of the Labour movement has been insistence upon this ideal as an operative force in political action. .But a society which is to be Christian must refuse to be content with any conditions which exclude the operations" of the personal activities of every contributor on any of the main fields of life.. In industry, if men are more cogs iis^a wheel then the system is to that extent condemned ji-3 un-Christian. Industry, hnvover, is inovitaly cooperative i.'" ito inner nature, though it might be worker 1 competitively, but if we let the competition oust the co-operation we shall be working contrary to the very nature of industry, which, although used by us mainly as a means of obtaining profits or wages, exists to serve the community. From these two principles of personality and fellowship in industry follow another obligation which society has not yet fulfilled, namely, complete equality of educational opportunity for all its members."