The Wilmington morning star., 1947-05-17
You Can fSecond Guess

Perhaps the most disturbing consloefatlon,
as one watches the increasing conflict pc
tween capitalism and socialism in the world,
is the fact that where socialism WINS the
action cannot be recalled.
For instance, in a democratic country such
as the United States, private ownership is
always on the uneasy seat. Election after
election can be ordered on the same issue
say, on government ownership Of power. Pri-
vate ownership may win overwhelmingly to-
day. yet tomorrow it faces the effort all over
again But public ownership if it wins Just
once is for practical purposes secure. not be-
cause it necessarily is more efficient but be-
cause ii buries it's mistakes under government
funds and meanwhile the capital, enterprise
and know how for private investment and
operation have been dissipated.
Suppose, for example, that the private pow
er companies of the Pacific Northwest were
all taken over by the governments power
pool, who could or would repurchase them on
a private enterprise basis under any circum-
stances?
So the victory Of capitalism in any election
is tentative; the victory Of socialism is vir-
tually final.
We do not cite this example because Of
any development hereabouts. Rather, we have
been watching the drift of much OF the world
into socialism-into a bloodless imitation Of
communism-and have been finding that the
issues involved are nothing more than mag
nified versions of local elections.
Take Britain as an example, now an avoWed
socialist state. (Australia and New Zealand
also are avowedly socialist, while South Afri-
ca is that in effect and Canada is going
through a lot OF the motions Britain Is re-
lentlessly pushing naturalization in spite Of
postwar problems, bad weather and public
wearlness, and apparently with the approval
of a considerable majority of the people. And
NJ N~- 10 @L-.-v, {Iis 49,
power Of the British government over the
economics Of the country without realizing
that no subsequent administration regardless
of It's desires, could restore the country to
even such a degree Of private enterprise as
existed previously.
In the first place, there would be no capital
tor such a restoration. Private fortunes &C
cumulated during the period of capitalism are
deliberately being wiped out through confis-
catory inheritance taxes; and the acquisition
of new fortunes is made impossible through
taxes on incomes, capital gains and dividends.
During the year ending March 81, 1946, only
forty-five cut of so, 000, 600 Britons had incomes
of over $24, 0~00--compared to 1000 on the 1899
report. Even those with incomes down to
Sic, 600 are being pushed ruthlessly into lower
brackets, where, clearly, they would have no
financial Importance in industrial enterprises.
Indeed, the process already has gone 50 far
that the refinancing of even a reasonable
part of the industries taken over by the
British government would be out of the ques-
ton for British citizens.
In the second place. private enterprise re-
quires more than financing. 1t requires, as
the name indicates, enterprise. And that can.
not be had from workers and management
trained in bureaus. If the people OF the United
States could be transformed suddenly from
a people trained as We have been trained and
made a PEOPLE trained under bureaus, the re-
suit to cur national economy would be dis
astrous. One finds it hard to imagine the
chaos which would result.
And yet it has to be realized that Britain
way of tninking-is rapidly becoming, under
the war impetus and the victory Of the Labor
party, a state in which there will be no
knowledge of free management. It is becom-
ing a state in which the reinstitution of free
enterprise would be most difficult, and per-
haps impossible, regardless of how dis
illusioned people might become.
We repeat that the decision for socialism,
or state capitalism or whatever one wishes
to call it, is one which under present circum-
stances cannot be recalled.
This situation makes it most important that
the people of the United States, who have
the greatest state in the worlds history,
Should examine with deepest concern every
movement toward state confiscation and con-
troll. In some instances these movements un-
questionably have been for the best, at least
temporarily. Some will be in the future. Right
at the moment, in view of the past election
and the makeup of congress, the problem is
not that of stopping the expansion Of govern
ment but of preserving what is good in pre-
vioJs expansion.
In the years ahead, however, the pressure
will be toward forcing the United States to
enter into the drift, whether gradual or vio-
lent. which has caught most Of the world
notably the most vital parts of the British
empire.
We should all realize how far Britain itself
has gone in abandoning the system which
made it a power and made ourselves great
And we should all realize, from watching
the British example, how irremediable the
situation becomes once the economy of a
country is surrendered to government.
The decision, in the end, will be made nv
the people. That is our way. But it is vital
that the people understand that they can
make the decision in favor of free enterprise
many times and still remain free agents:
they can make the decision in favor Of state
ownership only once without comrnittins
themselves permanently to tha+ .,,+.~