FIELD MARSHAL SMUTS: STATESMAN AND SOLDIER

Korero (AEWS), Volume 2, Issue 13, 3 July 1944, Page 24

FIELD MARSHAL SMUTS: STATESMAN AND SOLDIER

His Influence on Current Political Thought By 595939

Jan Christiann Smuts, the Prime Minister of the Union of South Africa, is known to the world as one of the greatest figures in the war effort of the United Nations, and as one of the greatest statesmen and soldiers of the age. But not so many, perhaps, are aware of the tremendous influence Field Marshal Smuts has had upon current political thought and of his part in shaping an international philosophy which has become one of the chief formative influences in the modern world. He is not only a soldier and a statesman, but, by profession a lawyer—a King’s Counsel, in —he is a man of highly-trained intellect and the author of several philosophical works of some importance, as well as a botanist and biologist of distinction. Field Marshal Lord Birdwood wrote, on the occasion of Field Marshal Smuts’ reception of an honorary degree at Cambridge, that “ had he never entered the service of his country and the Empire, he would have been honoured at Cambridge for his work as a philosopher alone.” As a statesman, Field Marshal Smuts owes much to his intellectual capacity, to his powers of analysis, and to his ability to see the relevance .of all aspects of highly complex problems. These qualities, together with a remarkable breadth of vision, have made him able to diagnose political trends in a way which seems almost prophetic. He foresaw, perhaps, better than any other, the conflicts of interests between the British Commonwealth and Japan when he addressed the Imperial - Conference of 1921. At Versailles he foresaw the new rise of the power of Prussia and warned the conference against the danger of destroying the south German power, in favour of the new Slav nationalisms, so that Vienna could not defend herself against Berlin. He advocated the conferring of complete

autonomy on the component races of the Hapsburg Empire, but the preservation of its entity within a federal constitution. Had his view prevailed, many believe that the present war might well have been prevented. This same breadth of vision has led Field Marshal Smuts to base his policies as Prime Minister of South Africa on what he terms “ Pan-Africanism." One of the most difficult lessons of this war to grasp is that for the future we must think in terms of continents in our politics where we have thought in terms of countries. Technical developments have made this inevitable. The American isolationists are the people who most conspicuously fail to understand it. But it is understood well enough in South Africa, and this is what Field Marshal Smuts means when he speaks of PanAfricanism. When the war broke out, General Hertzog and some of his colleagues maintained that this was a local European quarrel, but the far-seeing Field Marshal realized full well that it was world domination that Hitler sought, and that the Cape was as immediately concerned as Poland. The Ministry was split, but both Houses at Cape Town supported Field Marshal Smuts and war was declared. The invasion of Holland greatly strengthened his position, because of the Dutch origin of more than half of the European population of South Africa. But when Italy entered the war, his policy was truly vindicated. Within a few hours of Italy’s declaration of war the South African Air Force was - cooperating with the Rhodesian on the Kenya frontier, and since that time South African soldiers and airmen have acquitted themselves in the North and East African campaigns . with a valour surpassed by none. There is still proAxis feeling in South Africa, of course, but it is insignificant compared with the

pro - British feeling, for which Field Marshal Smuts is almost wholly responsible. But “ Pan-Africanism ” is merely one aspect of the philosophy of Field Marshal Smuts. His political action and his statesmanship, even his personal habits, illustrate a philosophy he has held since University days and which he outlined in a book in 1926. He calls this “ Holism,” from the Greek word meaning “ whole,” and briefly this argues that Nature abhors incompleteness of all kinds, and that the true nature of things is expressed in their union, their integration with their like. Field Marshal Smuts’ entire career has been devoted to

integrating sections and spare parts into workable entities —-a holistic enterprise. Possibly the most farreaching influence of holism on world politics is that exemplified in the League of Nations. During the last, war, Field Marshal Smuts wrote a pamphlet outlining the plan of the League of Natious, which was in the light of holism, just a logical step towards world unity. This pamphlet came to the eye of Woodrow Wilson, who

was attempting to work out a similar plan. Field Marshal Smuts was content to allow Wilson to sponser the League, with which, however, he had planned a generous treaty similar to the Boer War treaty which had worked out so well. The main plan of the League, and many of the details embodied in the Covenant, were entirely Field Marshal Smuts’ own idea. Wilson took over Field Marshal Smuts’ scheme lock, stock, and barrel. The Field Marshal was bitterly disappointed at the outcome of Versailles, forseeing that the harsh treatment of Germany would produce a later war, and believing that the Treaty made the League virtually unworkable. He thus tried to put holism into practice on a smaller scale in South Africa. His first

attempts were not very successful. In 1924, he was ousted at the polls, and the anti-British General Hertzog took his place. Field Marshal Smuts spent the next seven years in obscurity, developing his philosophy and writing his book on holism. In 1933, seeing that South Africa should abandon the gold standard, he fused his party with that of General Hertzog, and sat in Hertzog’s United Party Cabinet. In 1939, feeling that the interests of Commonwealth unity outweighed party unity, he acted accordingly. Since 1939 Field Marshal Smuts has shown that his abilities in practical

holism had improved from his years of meditation, and, as has been explained, his emphasis on the global importance of Nazi aggression was vindicated by the events and united the country behind him. Not only has he succeeded in giving South Africa a war industry and army which compare favourably with any others in the United Nations, but his use of the natives, who have collaborated in the war effort very ably with whites, has gone a long way towards

solving the racial problem of South Africa. The chief concern of this seventy-four-year-old statesman to-day, apart from winning the war, is the prevention of the disintegration of the world, and in particular of the British Commonwealth of Nations. His holistic philosophy sees in the British Commonwealth a unity which should be preserved as an aspect of the wider unity which he envisages in the future in an effective League of Nations. His concern with the preservation of the Commonwealth began when, after the defeat of South Africa in the Boer War, he felt, as one of the defeated generals, that South Africa’s future was inextricably bound up with that of the Common-

wealth. He not only fought for the Allies in the last war, but distinguished himself by helping Louis Botha in putting down the anti-British rebellion in South West Africa. In addition, he gave the Empire its present official designation as “ the British Commonwealth of Nations,” at the House of Lords Banquet in 1917. This famous speech, which was a redefinition of the Empire along holistic lines, contained the essence of all those principles later embodied in the Statute of Westminster. With the failure of the League, then, Field Marshal Smuts devoted himself not only to unifying South Africa, but also to the preservation of the British Commonwealth as an entity, in temporary default of world unity. His speech in 1943 in London summed up his whole philosophy and sounded a

note of confidence for the future settle; ment. In 1942 he had forecast the defeat of Rommel, the invasion of Italy, and the Mediterranean operations. In the later speech he significantly referred to the United States as a vital factor in the post-war application of holism to all nations. This distinguished man has passed through three important wars, and each seems to have toughened his character and to have confirmed him in his aim of uniting the nations of the world for the benefit of mankind. At seventy-four he is still active, springy, polished, sincere, and adroit. It seems very likely that he will play not only a large part in winning the war, but a very big one in making the peace. If so, this peace might well be a very sound one.