DEMOCRACY'S DANGERS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 626, 1 April 1929, Page 14

DEMOCRACY'S DANGERS

WARNING BY ARCHBISHOP OF YORK The new Archbishop of York, Dr. Temple, in a, recent address at Deeds, uttered a warning on the dangers of modern democracy. It seemed, he Sciid, to be suffering a languishing existence and to have petered out altogether in a good many countries of Europe. There was need of better education in individual responsibility: It needed courage to stand up and oppose the views of a clear majority of people. “If democracy is to maintain itself,” the archbishop said, "it must be by our endeavours to foster real independence of thought with fellowship of spirit. What we have got is herd mentality with pugnacity of spirit. In England to-day it its very difficult to generate enthusiasm, except when there is somebody to be downed. Why. it is hardly possible to pass a measure through Parliament if everybody is agreed on it, beca/use it is of no advantage to any pavty to put it tlirougn. I would suggest that for one year in every twenty that party which is in a minority in Parliament should be maintained in power in order that it may pass into law the thing about which everybody is agreed. I am sure it is the duty of every intelligent citizen to read every day a newspaper with which he» does not agree. If we only read those with which we agree, our conception of the news of the day is merely a confirmation of our prejudices.

Another argent need was the spiritualising of democracy:

Democracy must be so far spiritualised that, people learn constantly to put first things first and learn to enjoy as Ttvuman beings, and not as animals. The basis of all sound thinking a.bout this question lies in the more equal division of good things. There are some good thngs of which it is true to say that if one man has more there is less for other people.

“But that i.- not true of the treasures of the mind and the spirit. The more of these one man has the more other people have on that account. Courage, knowledge, love of beauty, and love of peace are not used up in this way, but communicate themselves. As you rise from the material to the spiritual level it becomes more and more true that the good you are seeking are spiritual things. When men pursrue these things they are inevitably brought into fellowship and harmoi.iy because the success of one far from meaning less to others promotes az»<l fosters their increased welfare.” The “Guardian.” an Anglican church newspaper, commends Dr. Temple's counsels: Coming from so ?:>rofound a thinker rind so shrewd an observer of the tendencies of modern life, his remarks afford material for reflection. That democracy must be spiritualised if it is not to be discredited in the world’s history is a sound proposition, unlikely to be challenged by any intelligent student of human affairs.