Youth and Economics

Radio Record, Volume V, Issue 3, 31 July 1931, Page 6

Youth and Economics

SEEM fated not to hear Mr. Ross! Knowing that he, and some of his students were due for a discussion on economic topics last week, I took care to include the 4YA talk in my propos¢d schedule. ~ I was a minute or two late, and miss (Continued on page 29.)

Voice of Michael

(Continued from page 6.) the very opening. Hearing a male voice in discussion with a female voice, I said to myself::"Critic, beware! That may be a student, but the master, where is he?" He was not! Ah, well hope deferred maketh the heart something or other, still I'll go on hoping. The discussion really was -good! If only one could be as blunt as was this lady’s informant. Fancy telling a member of the fair sex that you had hoped these talks were making her more intelligent-and saying it in the tone of voice which made it abundantly clear that you had been disappointed! Some of our more ardent "Buy N.Z. Goods" partisans must have longed to join, issue with this young economist, wha! showed with such devastating logic that ‘independence of the outside world was a fond, but vain, hope of the past. His convert’s wistful "But I thought that nothing which happens elsewhere in the world could affect New Zealand?" was ridiculously symbolical of much of our national thought. There, I thought, speaks the voice of New Zealand. J fear that her "teacher" was only too correct in stating that his exposition would not be popular and would gain very few votes. The truth is rarely easy of digestion and indigestible mental food is never popular. However, the galling truth that we are not selfsufficient, that we are but a small cog in the universal wheel and not the hub, must be faced. The sooner all the various countries of the world realise that _ditter truth, the sooner shall we resume "& rational era of respectable intertrading of both goods and ideas, to the ultimate blessing of mankind in general. We are, by force of circumstances, primary producers. Not having even the nucleus of a monopoly in the goods we sell, let us remember that the sale of those goods depends yery largely on goodwill, and goodwill is not built on sentiment, but on hard trade. International trade is only exchange and barter. The outside world will not buy from us unless we prove our willingness to buy from them. The seeds of this teaching show signs of sprouting; the sooner they have grown into healthy plants the better for us all.