LETTERS
Editors: I read Stuart Hampshire's article, "In Defense of Radicalism," (DISSENT, Spring '56) with great interest and agree essentially with his notions of the function of the radical in...
...Now if we assume a socialist government advocates the planning of the economy and at the same time espouses coinplete freedom of choice for the individual, we are, it seems, beset with an inconsistency...
...BILL...
...Hampshire seems to have overlooked the conditions which produced the concept of freedom in the 18th century and consequently bypassed one of the basic problems of 20th century society, especially as viewed from the ideological framework of the socialist...
...Similarly, "to respect the right of minorities to vote and equality before the laws" seems to me inadequate conditions to guarantee individual freedom...
...Hampshire's article, I send this letter more in the form of a question...
...but if this individual is one of the minority who voted against the "planning" regime he may rebel against being placed in some area not of his choice .. . One can say we can still give minorities the greatest possible choice, but this seems to be a rather nebulous stand, if not entirely begging the question...
...I don't feel one can argue that these vacuums that arise can be filed by offering additional rewards to entice individuals into the needy areas, because additional rewards imply additional status and thus provide the instrument for the precipitation of a new dominant class...
...However, Mr...
...HARRELL 438...
...This is the problem of social planning...
...How does he recommend the reconciliation of freedom of choice and equality in this fringe area with the freedom that can only be obtained from an economy which both produces and distributes abundantly...
...which in turn involves a high degree of centralized planning...
...Editors: I read Stuart Hampshire's article, "In Defense of Radicalism," (DISSENT, Spring '56) with great interest and agree essentially with his notions of the function of the radical in society...
...Take, for example, the changing nature of the technological apparatus of our economy which involves, if effective mobility is to be obtained, the pushing, though not necessarily by force, of people into certain job areas...
...Hampshire's defense of the individual resembles slightly that of the AMA, which stems from not only what they think are their vested interests but also a basic misconception of what the prerequisites of freedom really are, namely an efficiently working economy capable of producing material abundance and at the same time furnishing the institutional organs which can extend this abundance to the people in mass...
...In that I don't feel qualified to challenge, to any great extent, Mr...
...We can argue that the people have given the socialist government the right to place the people in jobs or geographic areas where they are needed even if it is somewhat distasteful...
Vol. 3 • September 1956 • No. 4
