The New York herald., 1922-05-21
Problems of World Reorganization

EUROPE IN coNvALESCENCE. BY
Alfred E. Zimmern. G. p. Putnam's
Sons.
SOCIALISM AND THE AVERAGE
MAN. BY William H. Doughty, Jr.
G. p. Putnam's Sons.
nREcIsELY what is the matter
with the world to-day? Do the
widespread currents Of unrest
and the incessant industrial distur-
Dances indicate that we are in the
midst of an era Of transition which
shall see the end of the present social
and economic system? Or are con-
temporary disorders mere ripples on
the surface of the worlds life? Are
they due in large part to the strain of
the war and may we expect them
ultimately to subside without having
effected any radical or deep-rooted
changes?
Various phases of these problems
are discussed in the two volumes un-
der review. In Mr.. Zimmern's book
we have a discerning and illuminat-
ing analysis of conditions in postwar
Europe; we have a historical survey
of the events Immediately preceding
and during the conflict, a critical dis
cussion of the peace treaty, a study
of its effects, and careful estimate
of the prospects for the regeneration
of Europe. 1t is the authors conten-
ton that the war has brought havoc
not only in political and economic
fields but in the realm of ideas; and
in many respects, he implies. the
been the most severe. For recent de-
velopments have served only to
strengthen the material ideal" that
dominated the organized intellectual
activities of pre-war Europe; liberal
ism, which the world was ready to
accept as its standard, was dealt a
severe blow at the peace conference;
and the press, the church and the
university, institutions which should
serve for public instruction and ad-
vance, failed sfgnally when most
needed.
The press. declares Mr.. Zimmern.
has lost sight of 'its educative and
informative function" has become
commercialized and tends to deal in
MANUFACTURED opinions and ready
made ideas and arguments" The
church. likewise, has deteriorated.
has become "but little representative
of the true Christian spirit" and has
surrendered its influence to "the ma
terial and vulgarizing forces of the
age" Even more disheartening has
been the decline of the university; it
has lost it's freshness and vitality
through devotion to the German ideal
of efficiency; it has developed a me-
chanical faculty for putting live
ideas into cold storage; it has mani
tested a talent for exchanging
thought and originality for the dry
dust of knowledge and the desiccated
bones of ideas. 1.-The modern world"
We are told. "has. in fact, discovered
how TO organize factories and syndi-
Gates of knowledge. and how to use
students, and even graduates, as
mere laborers and helots without
either the abilities or the opportunity
for promotion to a worthier situa-
ton"
The same fallacies as effect the
press. the church and the university
have wormed their way even into the
w.de-reaching social movements of
the time. In this connection Mr.
Zimmern has some particularly per-
tinent remarks to make regarding
Socialism. AS an industrial prophet
and rebel. the author observes. Karl
Marx is immune from criticism; he
is the inspired leader of a movement
which has been pointedly described
as little more than a pocket edition
of the old Jewish Messianic idea: he
is the head of a social religion ap-
pealing to the emotions of those
whose cramped existence stimulates