THE NEW PHILOSOPHY

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 24, 30 January 1933, Page 3

THE NEW PHILOSOPHY

(Contributed.) "We're all mad here," said the Cheshire Cat. ' "I'm mad. You're mad."—"Alice's Adventure* in Wonderland." . .... "_so! This is not a suburb of Porirua," said the Hatter as they all stood up and moved one place further on. "Can't you see that it is a good thing for the country if there are live or six millions more to spend?" "But where is the money to come from'?" said Alice. "Well the exports are at present about £.40,000,000 and 15 per cent, of this is nearly six millions." "But who is going to pay the extra moneyi" asked Alice, "the people who buy our goods?" ■'■' "Don't be so foolish," said the- : Hatter. "What would they do that" for? That isu't business. Haven't the English public already agreed at Ottawa to let us off 10 or 15 per cent, which they make foreigners pay? How could they pay us another 15 per cent?" . "Then who is going to pay this six millions to us?" queried Alice.- "Tho banks?" - "What stupid things you do say;" said the Hatter. "Banks exist to make profits, and you don't make profits that way. Besides, don't you know that we are going to guarantee the banks against loss? No, it is the community generally who are going to pay the extra." "And who is going to get this extra £6,000,000?" asked Alice. "The farmers, of course," replied the Hatter. "Oh, I sec. You mean that it is the farmers who . guarantee the banks?" Alice thought that at last sho was seeing some light. "Not at all," said the Hatter. "You really aro very stupid. Why should the farmers guarantee the banks. They are the people,we are trying to assist" "But the farmers "must pay some of it, surely," persisted Alice. "Not more than they can help," was the reply. "I can sco that' you will have to take a course in .the new economics." "What-do they teach?" asked Alice, thinkiug that at last she might understand this difficult subject. "There are three cardinal principles in this new philosophy," said- the* Hatter. "They are: (1) The farmer must get the benefit of an inflated exchange; (2) the farmer mustn't pay any rates or taxes if ho can help it, and (3)" the other fellow must pay as much" as you can drag out of him." "You must have an awful lot of ' farmers,'' remarked Alice. — - "About 80,000," said the Hatter. "And how many unemployed?", queried Alice. "About 75,000." "You surely haven't any other classes of people," said Alice, "or else , your kindly Government would be bankrupt helping them all." "Oh, yes, there are a few business men, professional men, manufacturers, clerks, and others, but as there are only ..'. about a' quarter of a million of these they don't count under the new rules.-" .* _s that system called Bolshevism or body-line bowling?"asked Alice.,- not wishing to appear too ignorant. "Certainly not," said the Hatter. "The system is very similar to Russian Bolshevism; but the distinction is that here the controlling authority is called simply £a farmer' and in Russia they are called 'the proletariat." "- . "I would like, if I might," said Alice politely, "to return "to" the :qu'es: tion I was asking. .Do the farmers,get the benefit of the exchauge and all the community pay the money and guarantee the banks against loss?'' "Yes, of course," said the' Hatter. "That is the new philosophy." "But surely the other, people' get some advantage out of it?" said Alice. - • "Oh, yes," replied the Hatter, "they " buy butter, meat, eggs, and other "things 7 produced by the farmer." -■-;'• "At a lower price,'' said : Alice. "Now I see." " » "Dear, dear, of course not," answered the Hatter disgustedly. "You really get more and more stupid. What would be the use of inflating the exchange if the price of primary products didn't go up?" "Do the unemployed and the other quarter of a million people you mention have to pay any more then?" asked Alice. "Of course they do," said the Hatter. "Everything should go up in price." "But how is that going to help thai rest of the community?" asked Alice. "Nobody said it would," replied th. Halter. "But if things are dearer won't there -.; be fewer imports?" Alice inquired. "Of course, that is why the banks have to be guaranteed." "But I thought that if you didn't have imports you wouldn't have exports," said Alice very doubtfully. ... V "Yes," said the Hatter. "That was true, but the new philosophy has altered - that doctrine along with the others:" "Oh, dear," sighed Alice.' "I'm afraid that I don't understand-it." .-.' "I'm afraid you don't," replied the Hatter. ■■'-.- "Of course," said Alice, "this inflation of exchange will reduce the" farmers' production costs." "Now you aro extremely stupid," remarked the Hatter. "You really must take a course in the new economics. That rule about reducing-pro--duetion costs applies only to manufacturers and other people who sell goods "to farmers. It couldn't apply to farmers, because if it did we wouldn't inflate the exchange." "But why should we have to help the farmer anyway?" said Alice. "If ho has been such a failure why can't we let him go and get another'farmer?" "Oh, have another cup of tea!" said . the Hatter in disgust. "' .(With apologies to Lewis Carroll and H. Callender.)