Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-03-20
What of the Future of Democracy?

suspicion and threats of foreign aggression
So he confuses and defects popular anger
X X
And a party that represents wealth Is not
necessarily q party that represents stability
In a world of such swaying and uncertain
values today much of our wealth Is
adventurous wealth, and a heavy mass OF
business and financial operations are specuia
tive operations dependent on insecurity. IL
the party of the right does not want things
changed to any great extent, it may, neverthe-
less, find itself dominated by an active section
quite eager to see them very considerably rocked
about. No political party in any of the demo-
cratic countries of our contemporary world is
ANYTHING but a resultant of current social
and economic with traditional forces No poll
tcian produced by the democratic methods
stands for any authentic effort to order mat
ters better. The great democratic countries
of our globe are entirely without such political
leading at the present time.
Now this is in phase of the worlds affairs
when certain matters of tremendous practical
importance press for attention and can be
handled only through the political machine.
The art of war has come TO such q pitch that
civilization demands the establishment of war
proof relationships between state and state.
No such relationships forthcoming and
there no signs that any politician any
where is prepared to risk votes by even SEEM
ing to impair the national independence, as
such relationships must necessarily do
X
The financial and economic life of mankind
has become world wide and 1t Is suffering a
vast generalization by the universal insecurity
in monetary standards. There is no evidence
anywhere of democracy's ability to tackle this
difficult and urgent problem. The world needs
a common money or--what Is a slightly clum-
sier form of the same thing-moneys firmly
stabilized in relation one to another. 1t can
only get a practically common money when
every government on this planet displays the
intellectual and moral quality to handle the
matter magisterially.
Economic life, too, has ceased to be manage
able through comparatively small businesses
as individual adventures. Control of
staple products Systematically regulated pro.
duction and distribution In the case Of such
commodities as coal urgently needed
These things extend beyond national limits
The welfare of thousands of people in Italy
for example, depends upon the coal production
in France and in England Oil, cotton wheat
the bare mention of these words now conjures
up thoughts of worldwide operations. Democ-
racy seems incapable of producing politicians
competent to direct these big affairs Private
business alone is too chaotic and individualistic
TO direct them. 1t is powerful enough to
defect and involve democratic rulers and poll
ticians, but it is not united or powerful enough
to achieve efficient administration nor able to
free its creative and productive activities from
the destructive raids of mere moneymaktne
adventures Economically drift upon a
rudderlesS ship,
** X X
Such simple truths are being recognized by
growing multitude Of people and they are
felt far more widely than they are clearly
recognized. The discomfort with elected per.
sons gathers and grows. No politician is anv
longer hero to his fellow countrymen When
Lord Oxford and Lord Birkenhead strike atti.
tudes to remind the world of Gladstone and
Paimerston everybody laughs. And the dispo.
sition to push aside parliamentary governments
spreads daily. Russia has a mere pretense
or representative government entirely and
openly controlled by the Communist party
The Duma, which visited In January. 1914
and heard debating and dividing and rising
10 points or order about nothing in the best
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