CURING WORLD ILLS

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20016, 15 August 1939, Page 15

CURING WORLD ILLS

CHURCHMAN’S PAMPHLET

LEFT BOOK CLUB TALK ‘•Ad Now,” the record" published pamphlet issued by the Dean of Canterbury, formed the basis of the fortnightly address given to members of the Left Book Club, the speaker being Mr. P. Hansen and the chairman for the evening Mr. J. H. Hall. Mr. Hansen traced the potation of the worker as he emerged: from feudalism to the present day and commented on the clear and concise manner in which the dean had dealt with his subject in the pamphlet. In his writings the dean had been fearless in pointing out what to linn were grave present-day wrongs in _ the system of things and stated tho claim voiced ‘by science that it could rectify the position and make life more pleasant in what was referred to by the dean as an age of super- . plenty. j

The pamphlet claimed that the potential wealth of the world was enormous and added that what Christianity had demanded as essential science had made possible. In every sphere science had provided machines which greatly reduced the labour requirements and had brought, in their train, unemployment and poverty, bringing .poverty in the midst of plenty. Causes of Poverty , The causes of poverty in an age of plenty were traced by toe speaker, who attributed the position to the passing into the hands of the few the factories, lands and means of production necessary in the daily existj ence of man. The cure, as advanced ! by the dean in his pamphlet, was for State control of lands, factories and the means of production. This, it was contended, would lead to a planned economy of the needs of the people and place the safety and welfare of the workers in industry as a direct charge of the State. Mr. Hansen said that the dean showed clearly that the Fascists had used the German business-man as a means of crushing the working man and claimed that the Christian principles of mercy, kindness and' humanity werS no longer respected and were, in fact, frowned on as a sign of weakness. Soviet System A picture of life under the Soviet regime was given by the dean, who claimed that the Soviet system absolutely abolished the exploitation of a man by his fellow-men and substituted the benefit of service to the community for private profit. Russia was not yet Utopia, but the results achieved were encouraging. The rise in the standards of life in the U.S.S.R. were proclaimed by the dean, who said that Russia’s gaol was peace and brotherhood, not war and'dominance. In conclusion, the dean claimed that no change could be effected in the world to-day until a British Government which would oppose Fascism was placed in power to oppose the war aims of Fascism, the disavowal of all that curtailed +he liberty of the individual, and the framing of a policy at Home which would give to all a sense of ownership in their country and a planned economy which, would give to ‘all material comforts and leisure to enjoy all which science had provided in rich abundance.