“FASCIST OR COMMUNIST?”

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26635, 4 December 1947, Page 7

“FASCIST OR COMMUNIST?”

Sir,—ln your sub-leader you castigated the National Council of the Federation of Labour for branding as Fascist the proposals of Mr Skinner regarding the New Zealand Communists. I agree, to cry “ Fascist" when someone has given utterance to views antagonistic to ones own is to be deplored. But equally objectionable and equally common is the tendency to cry " Communist ”or Leftist in order to discredit an opponent. However there were sentiments m your article with which I strongly disagree, indeed,'Which I find very disturbing—disturbing not because this is but an isolated example of their utterance, but, because you have suinmed- up attitudes which seem to be slowly gaining the consent of greater numbers of our people. I refer to your advocacy of intolerance, your plea that the liberty to hold and to propagate opinion should be diminished. It does not matter what the opinion is; it does not matter how mistaken it is; if freedom of opinion means anything at all, it means freedom of all opinion. For if freedom is to be limited, what criteria are to be set up to determine its limits? Supposing a Government established criteria up to which your editorials could not measure, would you be willing to accept expulsion from New Zealand for this failure? I think it extremely doubtful. Truth is a prerogative of no one person, not even leadei writers, and we would be wise to leave the judgment of the merits of opposing doctrines to God or to history. There is much in Communism I do not like, ana, indeed, there is much in the daily newspapers that fails to win my approval, but I think both should have complete freedom to say what they think. Lastly, I would like 1 to congratulate the members of the Federation, of Labour for condemning Mr Skinner’s views. Unlike you, I do not think it is necessary for them to be Communist or near-Communist. They may simply feel the need to guard jealously the case for liberty which was so well stated by Voltaire and J. S. Mill. I am, etc., Liberal.

[We are not aware of having denied Communists or others the right of free speech: but we maintain our liberty to comment upon “ tactics of disruption and anarchy ” where we descry them.—Ed., O.D.T.]

Sir,—ln your sub-leader you accuse Communists of subscribing to a viaious and foreign philosophy, though you make no attempt to show that Communism is either vicious or foreign. In the same article, Communists are accused of fomenting disruption and industrial anarchy. At other times, Communists are accused of aiming at intolerable regimentation. But the real aim of Communism, that of preventing the exploitation of the wage-worker by the capitalist, is carefully kept in the background by its opponents. For it is the loss of this freedom to exploit that the capitalist dreads. That is why they call Communism a vicious and foreign philosophy. The capitalist, however, has no scruples about investing his money in foreign countries, providing he can obtain cheap labour. Foreign profits are not regarded with contempt by the British capitalist.—l am, etc., H. Gow,^ Balclutha, November 30.