WORDS
Sir,-"Anti-Humbug" appears to be guilty of over-simplification when he asserts that Democtacy is something absolute and incapable of qualification, Democracy was born (we are told) in Athens — in a slave State! Is the Democracy of Britain based on a slaveState? Of course, Athenian democracy was "democracy for the few with slavery for the many." We may well ask ourselves whether the Churchillian conception of democracy lines up with that of Mr. Attlee, seeing that Mr. Churchill regards the Labour Government of England as a "major disaster." A certain man (dead these 50 odd years) discovered that there were different kinds of democracy and’ spoke of that obtaining in Britain as being a system in which "the oppressed were allowed, once every few years, to decide which particular representatives of the Tuling class should be in Parliament to represent and repress them," Again, F, Engels stated that when classes have disappeared (i.e., when there is no difference between the member$ of society in their relation to the social means of production) — "only then a really full democracy, a democracy without any exceptions, will be possible and be realised." "Anti-Humbug" writes of "free discussion under Communism, ..." Communism does not exist in Russia. There, the Communists have achieved the socialisation of the social means of production, which is only the first step on the road to Communism, Unfortunately, Communism in Russia is still a long way off. Then he mentions the "great Joseph Stalin" as saying that "the worker must be rewarded according to skill and out-put-not according to need." This is quite correct, and it is difficult to find fault with it. The slogan "from each according to his ability and each according to his needs" can be realised only with the advent of Communism. "Anti-Humbug" is not alone in regarding "democracy" and "socialism" as "fixed things." Neither is fixed. No social
state or phase can be fixed or there. could be no social changes. Surely "AntiHumbug" can see that it is possible to have "only POLITICAL democracy with empty tummies" and "only ECONOMIC democracy with full tummies" existing side by side.
STUDENT
(Christchurch),
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 14, Issue 343, 18 January 1946, Page 5
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353WORDS New Zealand Listener, Volume 14, Issue 343, 18 January 1946, Page 5
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