Evening star., 1943-10-10
Radicals in Cunudo
A Constructive Force
BIZ James Waldo Faucet.

people of the Dominion, 1t seems to an
'observer from the United States, are be-
coming consistently more and more radi-
cal in their political and sociological
thinking. Current discussion among Ca
nadians Of all classes centers in the
problem of what will happen to them
and to their country when the war
finally ends
The Liberal party, headed by Prime
Minister w. L. Mackenzie King, admit
tedly has suffered some losses since the
general election Of May, 1910. If it were
obliged to go to the voters again in the
very near future it might experience
still more important defeats, but 1t prob
ably is stronger than its most vehement
critics may believe. The three branches
Of its opposition Progressive Conserva-
| tive, Cooperative Commonwealth Fed
Grafton and Bloc Populaire-do not pos
sess any basis of agreement and for that
reason are weak.
But it does not follow that the pres
sure now being brought to bear upon the
| Liberal administration is Ineffective On
the contrary, the impact of the opposi-
tion upon the Mackenzie King govern
ment is strong creative force. 1t is
driving the Liberals into more notably
liberal positions. The Prime Minister
himself is no reactionary. AS recently as
September %, he told the National Lib
eral Federation: The claims Of hu-
manity are superior to those of indus
try. They are superior to the special
claims of either capital or labor It Is
the general, not the particular interest,
that needs to be kept uppermost in the
minds of all today
The opposition groups of course, dis
sent from that view. Conservatives, il
faithful to their tradition, would not con-
cede that humanity every
body-is entitled to preference over in
dividual citizens in their strictly personal
integrity. The CCF, under the captaincy
of NJ. J. Coldwell, member of Parliament
for Rosetown-B -Biggar, is frankly demo-
cratic socialist organization. It has
some ideas in common with the Popu-
laire minority in Quebec, yet it is ac-
lively objected to by many Catholics who
lndorSe the complaint of the Toronto
Social Forum that: The whole CCF
scheme Is based on the socialist dream
which would have all persons contribute
to the common good according to capac-
ity and to receive from an all-wise and
h1Irn fot 70 tI,oir
needs. 1t aims at concentrating
both economic and political power in the
government, thereby establishing state
supremacy and reversing the natural
order by turning the people into servants
| of the state whose master they should
! be-
But the CCF is a legitimate develop
ment in Canadian life and it cannot be
disposed of by calling attention to its
unconcealed paternalistic character.
| There is in its record abundant evidence
to support its claim to represent "a pro-
test against the abuses of monopoly and
a strong popular will toward a more
equitable and a more democratic social
order in Canada" The Montreal Stand
ard in an editorial on What Is Ahead?"
sums up majority psychology when it
says: The war has produced in Can
ada a prosperity that has made people
determined they will not 60 back to de-
preston days. They want the war won
and over as soon as possible, but they
want security with the peace. For most
Of them it is simply a question of want
ing a job after the war that will pay
| enough to assure decent living stand
ard . The war itself remains the num-
Der one task for Canada today At
the same time the people of the Do
minion are looking ahead. They want
planning now to meet the needs that
must inevitably come after the war"
Fear, then, is part of the problem
fear of second period of unemploy-
ment and privation like that which be-
gan in 1929 and ended only when Hitler
marched into Poland 10 years later.
Canada never had a New Deal. The
suffering which accrued in Canada from
the worldwide dislocation of industry in
the 30's was not relieved by any make
work expedient like the PWA and the
WPA south of the border. Canadians
remember the bitterness of their ordeal
They do not intend to permit its repeti-
ton, if they can nelp it.
And the instinct to provide in advance
for postwar slump is not limited to the
proletariat. The very richest capitalists
in Canada are radicals in that respect.
Nobody wants another depression, In
the General Synod of the Anglican
Church at Trinity Church, Toronto.
September IT, two bishops-one from
Quebec, one from Calgary appealed for
social justice" without regard to parties.
A portion of the answer Of the Macken-
zie King administration may be discov-
cred in the social security proposals
drafted by DR.. Leonard c. Marsh of Nc
Gill University, gifted young disciple
of Sir William Beveridge.
The Marsh plan" as it is known, con-
templates full employment under peace
time conditions" based more or less
definitely on "a high degree of collabo-
ration between the United Nations" In
its simplest aspects, it is merely an in
surance scheme; in its more complex i'm
plications, it anticipates "a combination
OF right policies
DR.. Marsh personally is an optimist.
He believes that human problems can
be solved by human genius The pro-
gram which he has prepared and which
H., =