Evening star., 1952-08-05
To the Editor Of The Stor:

What then is Gov. StevenSon'S posi-
ton relative to the above issue?
Providentially, it seems to me. Gov.
Stevenson escaped the danger of be-
coming a captive of either the forces
of the right or left.
While we are not accustomed in
American politics to talk about the
center as much as we do about the two
extremes, it is probably safe to say that
to most Americans the center means
moderation. Actually. however, 1t means
much more than that. About the only
term which adequately defines it is
"universalism." in the sense that it is
from the vantage point of the center
that attempts are made to understand
the total situation whether In politics
or other spheres Of life.
OF necessity the above Is over
simplifed because Of limitations Of
space. What follows is also over
Simplif1ed. but believe it may throw
some light on Gov. Stevenson's position
at present.
In order to understand that position
one ought to have at least the be-
ginnings Of knowledge about the basic
PHILOSOPHERS Of the right as dis
CulSuISIlSU 1TOIu the le1C.
It is fact Of history that our society
has the highest ideals of any previous
society; but it also has the worst moral
habits.
There are many reasons for this. One
OF the most important is that the ma
Jority OF adults living today were formed
by basic system Of thought which
philosophers call "ide1lisna."
This is philosophy which would not
have had much social influence except
Tor the fact that In very subtle way
1t gradually became conjoined with ap-
piled science.
It was "idealism" as a philosophy
which dominated higher education in
America from around the time of Ralph
Waldo Emerson until about is years ago.
The basic errors Of this philosophy are
easy to identify. There are three: It
substitutes the ideal for the real; substi-
tutes the future for the present; and. it
makes system rather than love the
touchstone of knowledge.
While the errors Of "idealism" are
easy to identify, the influences which
this system Of thought has had upon
the thinking. verbalizing and function
ing habits OF the average person are not
easy to explain. One Of its many effects.
however, may be seen in the kind of re-
lationS you have when clerk in a store
pays about as much attention to you as
would be given an object or thing when
you are trying to make purchase. In
otner words, one Of the effects Of this
phllosophy Is that we have today. on a
wide scale. what might properly be
called abstract human relations"
Moreover, another effect is that people
acquire the habit Of thinking in terms
OF distractions from reality"
Most Of the people who have been
deeply influenced by "idealism" have a
mathematical rather than q sensible
philosophy OF human nature. Although
senator Taft is not the only one. he is
nevertheless very representative in pub
Ic life OF a mathematical philosophy of
human nature, and the Taft-Hartley
Act is an ideal" example of q type Of
social legislation in which there are
distractions from reality" when Il
comes to questions Of human freedom.
What we are trying to point up here
Is that it is "idealism" which remains
even in this year 1852 one of the basic
forms OF thought Of the forces of the
right. You can see this In concrete terms
when you consider that many business
men often. substitute the ideal (monev>
for the real (goods). Often. in fact
many businessmen live much more in
terms Of the future than they do the
present when they become preoccupied
with problems OF long range investment.
AND nnaly. 1t Is obvious that the third
error OF "idealism" which makes system
rather than love the touchstone of
knowledge is at the bottom Of the whole
trend. existing now for more than half
century. to state and experiment with
scientific principles of management and
enclency-thus creating. not only the
mass1hcation which we have in modern
industry. but the need for correspond
ing growth Of "the administrative state"
About 40 or so years ago John Dewey
initiated his challenges to conservatism
tthe right) to experiment in elementary
education. This was in reality rejection
OF "1dealism" by the forces Of another
system OF philosophy which is at present
called critical naturalism." This phi
loSophy rejects substance and system.
denies that there is any permanency In
laws and relationships. and sees man
and nature as process or change.
Any one with background in the class
ical tradition is able to point out the
errors Of this philosophy whose over
simplifications are at once its weak
ness and its strength: What is impor-
tant here is this: It is because we have
had several generations of Americans
which have been Influenced if not formed
by progressive education" that the dem
ocratic forces Of the left have such
immense reserves of strength in the
United States. The rub is, however, that
In this midcentury year Of 1852 they
are caught in a dilemma of their own
making. namely, the senseless idea Of
change merely for the sake Of change.
Now where does this leave Gov. Stew
enson and Gen. Eisenhower on this issue
Of change?
believe that they are really worlds
apart for the simple reason that Gov.
Stevensonis understanding Of this CEN
The 1n1 IT,