THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, March 23, 1940. THE TYRANNY OF WORDS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24254, 23 March 1940, Page 10

THE OTAGO DAILY TIMES SATURDAY, March 23, 1940. THE TYRANNY OF WORDS

There is a tyranny exercised over the mind not only by dictators, but also by words. Dictators can prevent men from . uttering their thoughts, but they cannot prevent men from thinking. On the other hand words exercise their tyranny by restraining thought within unchanging channels. Quite recently a German official, who was denouncing the British Empire, declared that world imperialism necessarily implied two things—the exaction of tribute from the -dominions to defray the cost of administration, and the. holding-down of " the natives" by armed force. The old concept of empire made familiar by Rome and later by Spain and to some extent by Britain two centuries ago governs the thinking of many today. Unfortunately, even in the United States an educated man could recently inquire of a travelling New Zealander, "And what taxes do you pay to King George? " Even nearer home, in our very midst, there are those who —let us hope unconsciously—make political capital out of an implied wickedness in the very term " empire." The fact, of course, is that to-day empire and liberty are so far from being incompatible that the British Empire may be fairly regarded as the very palladium or sanctuary of human rights. Those who are under the tyranny of the obsolete connotation of empire may see under that a picture of ferocious Legrees flogging and defrauding a helpless race of Uncle Toms. In the same way, and largely amongst the same people the word " capitalism " is a mental tyrant. It is a word to shudder at, because it conjures up the picture of a human octopus, with a distinctly Semitic cast of countenance, extending its tentacles over the world and sucking the financial blood of the sons of toil! It may have been true that in its worst phases capitalism had no conscience, and that its one object was to make profits regardless of human suffering. But nowadays, in order to shake off the tyranny of the word, it is necessary to use the imagination to see things as they are. Unfortunately this is what some of our politicians cannot do. For them the phrase " capitalistic system" evokes the picture of a diabolic employer grinding the souls out of his employees for sixty hours a week. It is so easy to forget that under a capitalistic system even

the humblest man may be a capitalist with a deposit in the Savings Bank or even with an investment in the shares of such nefarious institutions as trading banks or joint stock companies. The word " capitalism," like "empire," has changed its significance with the evolution of the social system. Indeed it is quite possible to believe in empire, to be a capitalist, and yet to be a true socialist in the sense of one who supports every movement that is for the well-being of the people as a whole, but not a movement of pillage or confiscation or unfair imposts on the competent in order to support the incompetent. It may be remarked that " socialism" is itself a tyrannous word. Some old-fashioned people still regard it as a synonym for atheism and disloyalty. Others no less mentally hypnotised by the word go to the other extreme of seeing in it the assurance of the earthly paradise or Eden without the serpent of capitalism. The paradisal view of socialism is a mental tyranny. In Russia, the social paradise par excellence, the workers have the right to elect officials of their unions, but the trade union representatives in the Government are Government appointees who owe their allegiance not to the labour constituencies that elected them,- but to M. Stalin and his immediate political entourage. It is in that happy country, also, a crime for any workman to leave his job under pain of imprisonment and confiscation of property. Once a worker is discredited in this way, his comrades hardly dare intercede for his restoration. Truly a happy country! But those who are bewitched by the word " socialism" seem wholly unable to apprehend any significance in it but the ideal one of giving to everybody according to his needs and getting from everybody according to his capacity. Thus words exercise their fatal tyranny over all who are unable to use their imagination to see things as they are, and to recognise that although the words remain, the things which the words denote change from generation to generation.