The Southland Times MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 1941. The Shaping of a World Order

Southland Times, Issue 24332, 13 January 1941, Page 4

The Southland Times MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 1941. The Shaping of a World Order

THERE HAS lately been a revival of interest in the question of war aims. The subject has never been altogether out of the public mind, even during the critical period of air battles after the surrender of France. Perhaps it is not surprising, therefore, that British victories in the Mediterranean and the growingvolume of American support should stimulate a belief in the need for more positive action on the political front. The British Government has responded partially to this pressure of opinion by setting up a committee of Ministers whose task will be to prepare in advance the transition from a war to a peace economy. Although this work will be concerned primarily with British finance and industry, it must obviously be related in many ways to the wider questions of world trade. The Times commented a few days ago on the arrival in London of Mr H. Hopkins, President Roosevelt’s personal representative, finding in hi- mission “yet further evidence of the keenness of American interest -in the issues at stake in the future.” A war which is affecting the whole world cannot be made the instrument of a merely national policy. “The task of reconstruction,” said The Times, “not less than the effective prosecution of the war will demand common economic planning and a common economic policy.” Social Changes

It would be difficult to decide how far a definition of war aims can be taken beyond this affirmation of general principles. There is in England, and in most parts of the British Commonwealth, a growing feeling that social changes brought about suddenly by the war should not be abandoned in peace lime, but should be incorporated into a new and better democracy. The war has revealed weaknesses as well as strength; it has troubled the conscience of the people and directed attention towards the nee " for re- | moving the anomalies of privilege. Danger- has brought the different classes nearer to a common level I than has been possible in the past. ' There is a feeling that co-operation and comradeship must not be regarded as virtues to be practised only amid violence and crisis, and shelved like redundant military equipment with the return of peace. Ar interesting example of this new attitude was given by the Headmaster of Rugby at the Archbishop of York's conference a few days ago. I He deprecated the belief, widely | held, that the public school headmaster would resist the extension of educational privileges to other than the wealthy classes. “Public schools,” he said, “should long ago have welcomed member;., of every class in England.” Similarly, in the economic sphere, there has been much heart-searching and criticism. The inadequacy of organization in English agriculture has been the subject of controversy, obviously under the pressure of food problems. In all departments of public life there is a new and healthy tendency to question the value of the status quo, to urge the need of extensive reform. Total warfare has brought the realization that only a nation which organizes its resources can hope to survive. Ideas and Events

The important question, however, is whether this mood of national stock-taking can be extended or translated into policies designed for an international field. A great many persons believe that they can, and some of these advocates are in the House of Commons. But it is not without significance that writers on post-war reconstruction are precise only in their treatment of economic problems. They plead for the removal of trade barriers, and in some cases for the pooling of resources which hitherto have been monopolized by single nations. Colonial development under international control is the only political suggestion which has been made widely or confidently. The major problems have not yet been separated from statements of principles. Up to the present all important changes have been attempts to remove immediate and urgent difficulties. An English-French union, boldly adopted in principle by the British Government, was a lastminute effort to save France from capitulation. The failure of the plan could not altogether' destroy its imaginative power. Similarly, Anglo-American collaboration has come about as an almost instinctive reaction to the discovery that the defence of the New World is at present in British hands. Theory is following action: the dynamic influence is to be found in events that confront the democracies with changing situations. It may be true, as many are arguing, that this is a war of ideas. Germany is striving to establish , new order based on the acknowledgment of a master race. Japan believes in Kodo, the Imperial Way, and in her mission as the Master State of the Orient. These ideas express the minds of nations that are striving to make force the decisive law in world politics. They cannot be defeated by arguments, for they have behind them the weight of armies, navies and a mobilized public opinion. British and American war aims, in their present loose definition, are essentially an extension of democracy. But the totalitarian peoples have been taught to hate and despise democracy, and it is hard to see how propaganda can bring them to a change of heart. A military victory remains the first essential need. Thereafter the security of the world must depend on the nature of the peace settlement, and on the extent to which ideals fostered in crisis can be given their practical expression. Much preliminary work can be donewhile the armies are still clashing. But the framework must remain provisional if it is to bear the weight of unpredictable changes.