IDEAL GOVERNMENT

Evening Star, Issue 22797, 4 November 1937, Page 17

IDEAL GOVERNMENT

MAXIMUM OF INDIVIDUAL FREEDOM SOCIALISM IS DICTATORSHIP “ If wo examine the conditions in those countries which have permitted a democratic form of government to be superseded by a dictatorship, we will find dictatorships m conjunction with a highly socialised state. Frankly, I do not see how the two can in practice be divorced. The principles of socialism appear to me to require that all the main activities of the people be directly controlled by a central authority. If this be so, the successful working of socialism is dependent upon a complete dictatorship by a central authority, and in a lesser degree the suc'■essful working of eum-socialistic legislation is dependent upon the degree of power vested in the executive of government.” These words were spoken yesterday at Timaru by Mr M. G. O. M'Oaul, in his presidential address to the annual meeting of the Associated Chambers of Commerce. He added :—To get down to bedrock, there can, I think, be only two main, root principles of government (1) Democratic, to attain which the Government must refrain as far as possible from interference in the lives of the people, leaving to all the maximum of freedom to work out their own salvation, and intervening only, so far as to prevent one man using his freedom to restrict the freedom of his neighbours. (2) Autocratic, where the Government accepts full responsibility for the well-being of the people, and as a logical result insists upon the right to control and direct all their main activities. In many democratc countres to-day w© find governments maintaining the outer shell of democratic rule, viz., the election by the people of their rulers; but in conducting the actual governance of the country they veer more and more towards- the adoption of the principles of autocracy. The result of this policy will, I think, be the gradual increase of the power of the state and a corresponding weakening of the power of the people. In course of time Government will accept more and more responsibilty for the welfare of the people, department after department will he created and staffed until all the chief activities of the nation are organised and supervised by civil servants acting on instructions from the head of the government. Concurrently with this development of social services, all inaugurated with the best intentions, the people will become accustomed to lean more and more on government and less and Jess upon their own efforts. It then will be but a short step to a dictatorship, Indeed the people will have become so enervated and lacking in ability to think and act for themselves that the time must inevitably come when a dictatorship will be necessary to avoid utter confuson. “ A sound philosophy is more important than right action because philosophy pertains to that which is everlasting, whereas action pertains to the ephemeral. On the surface, change decay appear to be continuous. We must, however,' not overlook the fact that the principles which govern all are unchanging and unchangeable, therefore if we hold fast to principles that have stood throughout the ages they will serve us as they served our fathers and grandfathers. “ We come of a race of free men. Other nations write of liberty; our forefathers won it and gave it to the world. Let us not exchange the freedom that our ancestors wrested from tyrant princes in times past for a mess of pseudo democratic postage cooked by a beneficent bureaucracy. _ “ May we ever remember the traditions of our race. It is only by looking back over the path we have come that w© can see most clearly the path we should follow. _ Traditions are like the helm of a ship. They are behind us, but they exert an inexorable influence upon the course we pursue.”