WHAT HE WOULD DO

Evening Post, Volume CXVIII, Issue 91, 15 October 1934, Page 5

WHAT HE WOULD DO

NEW ZEALAND DICTATOR

MR. DICKINSON'S VIEWS

Systematic economic planning, tho nationalisation of various services, local body reforms, and the diversification of industries were among measures advanced as suitable for application to New Zealand by Mr. H. D. Dickinson, exchange lecturer from Leeds University, in an address given at Auckland on Wednesday under the auspices of the Workers' Educational Association. Mr. Dickinson gave tho first of a series of lectures arranged by the association on the subject of "Whither New Zealand.'" and, in accordance with the programme, presented the plans ho would put into operation if ho were made dictator of New Zealand for five years, states tho "Auckland Star." Basing his arguments on the assumption that the dictatorship would havo the passive acquiescence of the population, and would be non-revolutionary, Mr. Dickinson said that at the outset it would bo necessary to issue a proclamation on certain general principles. First it would have to be stipulated that the resources of tho whole country would be used to produce the greatest material welfare of its inhabitants. Then, for reasons of maximum efficiency and production, it would be necessary to overcome the existing right of ownership, but compensation would be given to those whose properties wero appropriated. While there was work to bo done, no one able and willing to work should be idle, but, if tho amount of work to be accomplished diminished, leisure should bo shared more or less equally all round. MOKE INDUSTRIES. That, said Mr. Dickinson, indicated the general lines of his policy, but the actual steps to be taken depended on an analysis of tho economic situation. First he would want to know if New Zealand was suffering from over-expansioa of its primary industries and placing too great a reliance on tho export market. In a way, New Zealand and Great Britain formed an interesting contrast, as they had both over-specialised, one in manufactures and the other in agricultural production. . From this arose the question of developing other industries. There were three ways in which this could bo brought about —laissez faire, capitalist protectionism, and Socialist planning. Under the first they would simply allow low prices to bankrupt farmers or drive them off the land by low earnings. Iti tho absence of tho Conciliation find Arbitration Acts, wages would be forced down to the point at which manufacturers would find it worth, while to expand existing industries or set up new ones. Under protectionism it would be possible, by sufficiently high tariff and exchange, to keep up both money wages and farmers' money earnings at tho expense of an extremely high cost of living. The effect of the two policies would bo very much tho same in the long run, but of the two the second would probably bo less deflationary and probably accompanied by less unemployment. Both of them, however, were subject to the disadvantage that the contraction of agriculture and the expansion of industry would-bo chaotic, unplannod and accompanied by great material waste — waste of resources and human hardship. LOWER STANDARD OF LIVING? It remained to bo seen whether it would bo possible by deliberate planning of tho economic life of the community to effect the transition. Even with the best 'precautions, however, there was a possibility that it would be difficult to maintain tho high standard of living of the last 20 years. There was also a possibility that there would be a fall in tho standard of living due to diminishing productivity. Further, if tho whole' standard was to bo maintained or surpassed, there was a necessity for] ;tfio most economical uso of productive resources. Mr. Dickinson next discussed the actual details of a scheme of economic planning which, lio suggested, was necessary under a dictatorship. He said that there would be no need to nationalise everything straight away. Tho State should keep what was at present State-owned, but some things should be immediately nationalised —the harbours, road transport, possibly coastal shipping, and certainly banking and insurance. He would also suggest the immediate munieipalisation of gas, water, and other local services that wero not already under public ownership, with possibly extension to the retail sale of milk, bread, and other necessaries of life. In the absence of a well-developed consumers' co-operative organisation in New Zealand, the municipalities would have to take over tlio functions which in England would be better performed by the eo-operativo societies. Then there would be a schemo of local body reform, the general idea being to have fewer local • bodies covering a larger population.' Undertakings which would bo nationalised or municipalised would be put under planning boards, which, would have full powers to amalgamate or close down 'existing plants, review costs, re-ceipts,-profits,-etc., of individual firms, allocate new capital to constituent concerns, and, in effect, replace the separate individual units of Capitalism by a public administration within glass walls. PLANNING ORGANISATION. Speaking of the co-ordination of industry, Mr. Dickinson said ho would set up a national planning organisation—the N.P.O.—which would be an organisation under a certain number of main divisions, with sections ia each division. At present he had thought of these divisions as agriculture, industry, internal trade, foreign trade, finance, and general co-ordination. In each of the four divisions there would be sections for different industries _or branches of production, and existing State-owned undertakings—railways, power, etc.—would become operating boards under the N.P.O. The divisions of internal and foreign trade would be organised in the same way under marketing boards. Division 5, finance, would havo the sections of national accounts corresponding to the existing treasury, local body accounts, banking and investment, and capital supply. Finally, there would bo a supreme economic council, which, would be the ultimate co-ordinating controlling body. This body would proceed to draw up a table of commuuity needs and of the total resources, and a provisional plan for production on the basis of using tho existing resources for tho maximum satisfaction and needs, and review the foreign situation. It would also answer freely questions: —What can New Zealand export, and how much will the world take? How much in terms of import goods will New Zealand exports command on foreign markets,' and what is tho relative cost of imports and of New Zealand-made goods? From previous estimates and reviews tho supreme economic council must determine what industries must be set up and expanded in New Zealand, and what output would bo required from the chief export industries. It; would be asked to set up appropriate planning or operating boards for these industries, giving each one a preliminary plan of capital construction output, etc. Then it would be requested to draw ug schemes for the. comprohea-

sive deflation of industries that had been over-cxrmnded. RATIONING PRODUCTION. It was this, said Mr. Dickinson, that, if anything, would cause a dictator's downfall. If it turned out, on a review of the foreign trade situation, that New Zealand could no longer maintain with advantage to tho whole community the volumo of exports of tho past, various schemes could be suggested for ratiining production. The difficulty was to reconcile the claims of humanity and efficiency. Mr. Dickinson outlined possible solutions of this problem. Finally, tho supreme economic council would have the task of supervising tbe distribution of national income, regulating wages rates and other social services so as to distribute to tho whole population the right to consume the goods that were to be produced. It would also havo to determine the division of the national iucomo between consumption and reinvestment and take steps, either by taxation or stimulating voluntary investment, to divert tho dcsirod portion of resources to the construction of capital for new industries. At the conclusion of his address Mr. Dickinson was asked by a member of the audience whether ho had observed anything during his "somewhat stormy sojourn" in New Zealand. He was asked to explain whether a Socialist plan could be constructed upon the capitalist system. "There would not be much of capitalism loft after my five-year plan," stated Mr. Dickinson. He proceeded to give a few of his impressions of New Zealanders, and said he was led to think they would be amenable to Socialist rule for several reasons. Tho people were willing to try experiments, and New Zealanders, or, rather, some of them, did not havo hidebound habits of mind. He thought there was a sufficiency of the experimental attitude for a plan such as ho suggested to receive a good beginning. "I find your economists aro free and unprejudiced—they have this attitude: Let's try a little planning or a spot of Communism," added Mr. Dickinson. (Laughter.) A voice: Anything but that.

Mr. Dickinson said that in various ways there was more chance of avoiding extreme class conflict in New Zealand than in almost any other country he knew.

Mr. J. L. J. Wilson, who presided, expressed the regret of the Workers' Educational Association at the forthcoming departure of Mr. Dickinson, whose presence in New Zealand, he said, was a benefit of the exchange policy of which perhaps Mr. W. P. Endean, M.P., did not appreciate the significance. Mr. Dickinson had been stimulating to tho organisation and to Auckland.

Mr. N. M. Richmond said that Mr. Dickinson was not altogether the firebrand his newspaper reputation had made him, and the Government could do much worse than havo him as an economic adviser.