A REMARKABLE BOOK.

Putaruru Press, Volume VI, Issue 238, 24 May 1928, Page 3

A REMARKABLE BOOK.

ON WORLD POLITICS. “ Bolshevism, Fascism and Democracy.” Liberalism the Saviour. (By “ Scrutator.”) One of the finest books it has been the present writer’s good fortune to read for many a long day is “ Bolshevism, Fascism and Democracy,” by Francesco Nitti, a former Prime Minister of Italy, and one of the outstanding delegates at the Peace Conference and also at the League of Nations sessions. The translator, Margaret M. Green, is undoubtedly a very able writer. Signer Nitti has two first-rate qualifications for the writing of a book—he has something to say, and he knows how to say it. Before giving any extracts we will briefly outline the principles the author so ably champions. He holds, and that very definitely, that both Bolshevism and Fascism are alike, inasmuch as each is a revival of mediaeval political methods ; also that ultra-conservatism, the policy of the reactionary party in politics, is likewise an unhealthy survival and largely responsible for the conditions that have bred Bolshevism, Fascism and Socialism. His policy is a return to Liberalism and free institutions, which, he considers, are the remedy to apply in those countries where reactionary tendencies are manifesting themselves to such an extent that freedom has succumbed to the rule of a dictator, calling to mind remote civilisations and primitive races. The New Rich.

After trouncing reactionary journals in Great Britain which, though they dare not advocate violence as a rule of government in a free coun-

try, yet glorify src’-i a policy where it does exist, he goes on to thrust a rapier through the wly- rich. “ The new rich,” he says, ' constitute the most immoral class 1 the whole of Europe. Wealth, also. needs education. To be rich without being vulgar one must have the habit of wealth.” Those of us who have had opportunities of viewing at close range the lives of the old aristocracy and of the new plutocracy will fully endorse this criticism. “In fact, the new rich are without scruples, and without conception of law. They are themselves corrupted and they live to corrupt others. Their fortunes are the outcome of bloodshed, or more often of fraud and speculation. I know several different types, but all are of a low moral order.” Order and Democracy. As one who is an exile from his country, it is natural, apart from his fixed principles, that Signor Nitti should be an ardent lover of freedom, and we can sympathise with him in this, for freedom is as the very breath of life to a free-born people. “ Modern peoples are too apt to forget that there is no salvation but in order and democracy—that is, in freedom.” One concludes that Signor Nitti would have no faith in government by Orders-in-Council, as is the favourite weapon of bureaucracy in New Zealand. “Of all forms of government, democracy is that which requires in a people the highest moral and intellectual standards. We should observe that throughout Europe the war has lowered intellectual and moral standards, and therein lies the explanation of dictatorships.” Perhaps that is also the reason for the apotheosis of the sportsman and the declension of the savant in the eyes of the multitude.

Cult of Nationalism. A proven patriot, yet Signor Nitti loathes that disease of patriotism that we call nationalism. “ More than any other creed, nationalism is a reactionary state of mind. It is the exaltation of cur country at the expense of other countries. It is a i-eversion to the past, alike in internal and international relations.” And here is proof of his patriotism : “ The love of country is sacred. The nation, seen as an historic growth and essence of the fatherland, is a noble conception.” But—“ the Nation State, as conceived by nationalism, is based on suspicion of other peoples, and on a programme of force and. exaltation of war.” The careers of the ex-Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany and of Mussolini of Italy are striking instances. Wilhelm set

the world ablaze with war, and Mussolini would do the same had he the strongest battalions. Mussolini, Dictator.

Throughout the hook the author gives very vivid pictures of Italy

under the dictatorship of Mussolini, a man who, starting as a rabid revolutionary, wields power despotic beyond that “ enjoyed ” by any monarch, past or present. “ Hundreds of people are sent to prison every day, simply because they uttered the least criticism of Fascism or Mussolini. At the will of Fascist leaders citizens are insulted, outraged, assassinated, and no legal proceedings follow. An opponent of the Fascist regime has neither judge nor barrister. Even if he does find a barrister and an honest judge who resists pressure, and if he is acquitted, he is not safe. He is always in danger, and whoever he is—Liberal, Conservative, Catholic, Socialist—he is in the power of the Government and its supporters, who can ruin him at any time.”

The Wage Workers. One wonders how Labour in British countries would like a taste of Fascism. The workers must join a union, a Fascist union, and part of their compulsory contributions are used to pay for the training of hoys, from ten to twelve years of age, for military service. No non-Fascist unions are permitted. Persecution of Catholics. The most reactionary of all forms of persecution, that of religious persecution, is the order of the day. “ Though Fascism proclaims itself nationalist and Catholic, it hates with special bitterness the opposition which comes from Catholic quarters, and the persecution of Catholics is often the most cruel of all. Priests have been flogged, and even killed, and not once have the criminals been brought to justice.” An Atavism. “ From the point of view of our civilisation, Mussolini is not a forerunner, but a loiterer. In his speech and his gestures he reverts to the long-past forms of primitive civilisations ; not only is he far removed from thoughts of the future, he is even far removed from our present civilisation ; he is an Italian of the fifteenth century in the midst of an irresolute and hesitating crowd. He is not a man who will go far, but a man who comes from afar.” Not Italy’s Saviour. ' After a visit to Italy by their proprietor, Lord Beaverbrook’s London papers told us that Mussolini saved Italy from chaos and bankruptcy. Signor Nitti tells a different story. His version is that Italy had her post-war problems as had other countries, our own included, but that Italy would have pulled through as we have done without any dictatorship. He asserts that Mussolini repudiated just debts and used the money that former statesmen had saved to carry out his nefarious purposes, and spent millions of pounds in trying to develop Libya and other barren colonies, whereas the money would have been better spent in developing Italy’s water power. He ridicules the contention that colonies are needed for surplus population, and points out that it is private capital that seeks colonies first and people follow. His citation of the facts of emigration is convincing. What of the Future 7 Perhaps the most interesting deduction for British readers is that pertaining to the future of Fascism. Signor Nitti is very emphatic in his belief that Fascism cannot last. To the query, why tolerate it longer then ? he answers : “ The order which reigns in Italy is only the semblance of order. Beneath, it is nothing but hatred. All the most honest minds feel the utmost aversion to Fascism ; the people, tortured, crushed and insulted, submit because they must.” He goes on to draw a parallel between Fascism and other slave states that have existed, and concludes that, as in previous cases in history, the crash will be sudden and violent, because power is gained by force and not by the free will of the people. The revolt of slaves leaves their masters destitute. Foreigners visiting Italy think Fascism is firmly established, but that is because none dares to utter a word against the system. Spies and informers abound, and it is not safe to “ think aloud.” “ I am very sure that, if people could vote freely in Italy, the Fascists and Mussolini would not receive a fiftieth part of the votes—only a small minority of excitable Blackshirts and malignant reactionaries forming a decadent society. If it were not that everybody is inclined to abuse Fascism and Mussolini, why was it necessary to pass a law decreeing the imprisonment of any citizen who speaks ill of Fascism or Mussolini? ” Unanswerable !

Elections Abolished. So thoroughly despotic is Fascism that all elections, both Parliamentary and local body, have been abolished. How would the people of, say, Morrinsville, Matamata and Putaruru like an official sent up from some

dictator in Wellington—often a low, bullying individual—to run their civic affairs ? One may well believe that there are only two solutions of Fascism—“ revolution or war, or the one following the other : the longer Fascism lasts the greater is the danger of war or revolution.” “ Military dictatorship makes a practice of falsehood ” is another pungent truism. Reform of Democracy. Signor Nitti is not under any delusions about the weaknesses of democracy. Here is a paragraph that might well have been written for New Zealand consumption : “ Party considerations, too, often override the test of competence. Too often Ministers not only lack technical knowledge but are even unfitted for administrative duties. This causes a slackness in public services and perpetual waste, to say nothing of other bad effects. Thus parliamentary government often becomes too costly.” Don’t the taxpayers of New Zealand know it to their cost ! And : “ What is most disastrous is instability. Ministers are too often obliged to live in a perpetual attitude of selfdefence, and to devote their energies far more to defending their own position than to the work of administration. Too often Parliament becomes an oratorical tournament, where quickness of tongue, ingenuity, and sometimes less worthy qualities, count far more than real talent and ability.” We are not so sure about the oratory, but for the rest the Ministerial tours from the Three Kings to the Bluff, and the extremely wasteful and fatuous bluff of the Address-in-Reply are proofs of the assertion. One more pithy sentence : “ The Bolshevik nightmare is proof of the intellectual poverty of the reactionary classes.” The Gravamen. Running through the whole book is the very wholesome principle that what the world needs is a thoroughgoing return to peaceful policies, the reduction of irritating high protective tariffs ; the re-enthronement of true Liberalism, functioning through free institutions. There can be no greatness or happiness without freedom, individually, nationally and internationally. Bolshevism, Fascism, hide-bound conservatism and also bureaucracy are alike inimical to the peace, welfare and happiness of mankind.