Evening star., 1932-11-06
EUROPE SPLIT BY RIVAL
THEORIES OF GOVERNMENT
Conflict Between Democracy and Autoc-
racy Throwing Nations Into Two
Camps and Affecting World Issues.

Holland, Switzerland, Esthonia, Latvia,
Finland and Austria.
Occupying an intermediate state of
mind. tending now toward the demo-
cratic side, now toward the autocratic.
are Portugal, Bulgaria, Rumania and
Greece.
States today under autocratic rule are
Russia, Italy Germany, Poland, Yugo-
slavia, Lithuanla, Turkey, Hungary and
Albania
1t is curious fact, though here also
there are certain exceptions, that de-
mocracy seems to go with advanced in
dustrialism and autocracy rather with
agrarianism In this connection 1t is
interesting to note that the present
autocratic regime in Germany emanates
almost entirely from the eastern land
owning classes not from the western
industrialistS.
These differences Of doctrine are hav-
ing more effect on international poll
tics than is generally realized. While
they differ in their forms of autocracy,
there is recognized to be sort Of SYM
pathy internationally between Russia,
Italy and Germany. Great Britain,
though in a sense Europe's Oldest de-
mocracy, has never been mllitantly so.
It is therefore to France that has
| fallen the role of democratic leader
ship, especially when France, as today,
is under a Left government. 1t can
safely be said that no small part OF
/ the friction between France and Italy
/ is due TO mutual hostility between the
4 Democratic and Fascist doctrines.
Similarly, a considerable part Of the
/ new tension between France and Ger
many can be traced to mutual sus-
picion between the French Liberals and
| the Prussian Junkers.
| When Spain was a dictatorship 1t
/ leaned toward Italy. Today, as
/ democracy, it IS leaning toward France.
| French Premier Edouard Herriot's visit
1 to Spain was significant, not only from
/ the viewpoint of foreign policy, but also
from the viewpoint Of Democratic doc
! trine. Again and again in recent
speeches Herriot has sounded call,
4 though without much apparent effect.
/ for the three great democracles,
France, Great Britain and the United
4 States, to stand together.
/ Poland and France are allies, yet
\ Polish Dictator Josef PilsudsAs gov
ernment Of colonels" has caused cool
1 ness on the French side. Poland IS
/ not popular in France today and
neither is France popular in Poland.
An outpost Of European democracy
toward the East at the present moment
/ is perhaps Czechoslovakia, which, with
/ Thomas G. Masaryk as President and
Eduard Benes as foreign minister, has
never swerved since its creation from
strong democratic principles. few
days ago Benes came to Paris and IN
a strong speech before the Academy
of Political Sciences appealed to France
to accentuate its role of active demo-
cratic leadership in Europe. The World
War, he said. was essentially shock
| between the autocratic Eastern ana the
democratic Western systems.
Eastern and Central Europe have
suffered greatly from the defeat, both
materially and morally, and conSe-
quentlv today are traversing painful
crisis similar to that which Western
Europe and the United States traversed
a century and half ago" declared
Benes.
In the latest period. revolt against
reason and the triumph OF passion, OF
psychological ANALYSIS, Of national and
racial instinct and Of social and class
mysticism have thrown the whole worlo
back into revolution and created the
present personality Of modern man:
Discontented. divided, restless. uncer.
tain, obsessed by sickiy subjectivity ane
by ridiculously exaggerated titanlsn.
The war strengthened this opinion
especially the opinion according tc
I NIIlCIl 6NC! lI4AlS 4lAONCo anu N44t-A4SSe
and there is nothing solid durable.
final. Everywhere reIativity is triumph
ant. Nothing absolute subsists. One
has only TO glance at contemporary Eu-
rope to see which nations are undertak-
ing this struggle or revolt Of passion.
instinct and collective mysticism against
reason: that is to say, struggle between
the ideas of estern European revolu-
ton of more than 100 years ago and
the ideas of the anti-democratic revolu-
ton in the rest OF Europe today
France. he observes. with Great
Britain. is the only European naticn
which has kept its balance, for its post
bellum evolution has remained steadily
normal despite the shocks which have
shaken Europe. It is France which viii
show Europe the true way Of the tu-
ture"
In conclusion, he says "in my opinion
the traditional nationalism Of the West
will win again over Eastern instinct
ivism."
(CaDyripht 1920