A New Faith in Utopia
VENTURI, LIONELLO
Books and Writers A New Faith in Utopia By LIONELLO VENTURI Noted Italian Historian gOHMOK CAVSB. By G. A. Boryeee. New York: DueU, Sloan and Pearee. 448 popes. Price $3.60. COMMON CAUSE is...
...Should they work at last, the brief hymn of triumph would sound like an old lament: "Ami lor take of victory the came of victory is loet...
...It must be the basis of the present war if it is to be a war *f liberation, a war for justice, and not the usual type of war...
...Flamm's plan does not escape this weakness common to all Utopias...
...From such reality where can one escape in order to find hope...
...The "new religion in the making" is nothing but the same religious trend of Mazxini and Tolstoi, Victor Hugo and Peguy, and even Trotzky...
...To eliminate this waste, Flamm proposes to establish sn economic system in which all economic srtions and interests are "harmonized...
...The event is in the hands of God...
...Kant said that Utopias "are sweet dreams, but to aim at them with every energy, is the duty of the citizen and of the chief of state...
...Carlo Tresca's widow writes us: "I want to thsnk you for your very fine editorial on the anniversary of the assassination of Carlo Tresca.| Incidentally, neither of the other liberal weeklies took ncte of this tragic day...
...He not only errs in sssuming that business interests ran be won over to nationalization, however fair a compensation they are promised, but he also antagonizes the powerful social and political forces of the farmers by proposing nationalization of all titles to farm land, without real need, since the land would be leased to the farmers anyway, • • • VKT this criticism of the Utopian features of Flamm's plan does not diminish the plausibility of his assertion that a system of publicly regulated privste enterprise is inferior to a system in which private enterprise is left free from governmental interference but is confined to competitive industries while monopolistic industries are either entirely in public hands or made competitive by public enterprises competing with private ones...
...The counteranswer is:—We have not tried...
...The Utopian features of the plan, on the other hand, lie not only in the radicalism of its total solutions— which is somewhat mitigated by s compromise plan providing the development of Flamm's system in stages — but also by the fact that it is baled on quite a few illusions...
...the author estimates the economic waste in this country at $130 billion annually, or almost twice the pre-war national income...
...Most economists have good reasons to believe-on the basis of the experiences which, on a comparatively small scale, have been made la tha Scandinavian countries—thst a system i of intelligently regulated private economy, directed towards the goals of full employment and of social welfare, will work sstisfsctorily and will be in any event vastly superior to the existing stste of poorly regulated economy which is still under the swsy of private mono police...
...The answer is:—It would not work...
...Fascism is the Mysticism of Pessimism...
...First of all, the author is convinced that his is a "capitalistic approach," that is to say thst capital ists couid be persusded to accept the plan in their own interests, as the plan guarantees to those whose property will be nationalized a fair compensation, and freedom from government interference and low taxes to those whose enterprises will remsin intsct...
...All those who understand how mankind is sinking beneath the brutalities of materialism, will find in this book a suggestion of how ideas, sincerely felt and thought, can save us, all of us...
...It is an unusual manner of dealing with politics...
...The basic idea from which Flamm derives his socialist construction can be summarized as follows: Private enterprise is good where it does not abuse monopolistic power...
...Professor Borgese, who emigrated to this country because he despised fascism and became an American citizen with full faith in the democracy and the ideals of his country of adoption, found himself perplexed after Pearl Harbor...
...On the basis of these suggestions the author has worked out a minutely detailed plan, the main features of Which are the nationalization of all land and of all public utilities, while monopolistic privste enterprises, as well as banking and insurance companies and private buildings must be nationalized on the owners' option...
...pi-AMM'S plan, in spite of its radicalism, leaves the * fundamental liberal principles intact...
...The m< st constructive, consistent, and tenable system of this kind has been written by Oscar I.ange and Abba Lemer...
...But this does not obscure for him the politics of demo/atcitm which the United States has adopted...
...He is against any nstionsllsm ("a way of life and thought dictated by gsstronomy and phonetics") and rightly distinguishes between internationalism which is mechanism and supranationalism which is organism...
...Do we know that this is not the straightest way to the enemy's "unconditional surrender...
...Farm land, although formally under public ownership, shall be leased to its previous owners...
...Books and Writers A New Faith in Utopia By LIONELLO VENTURI Noted Italian Historian gOHMOK CAVSB...
...The nature of demofascism, with its false excuse of expediency and its roots in the Catholic Church, is brilliantly as well as thoroughly revealed...
...But publicly controlled private enterprise, or any other system of governmentally regulated private economy, is bad because it increases the antagonism of diverging economic interests and fosters fascist tendencies...
...Do we know for sure an indubitable word of universal deliverance, said to all men on both and all the lines of battle, is not just thst faith that moves the mountains—and that razes flat the fortresses, Jericho or Festung Europa...
...XV and 342 payee...
...So-called realists will name such religion Utopian...
...Fascism, as it is the substitution of power for justice, so it is the substitution of the fact for the idea, of the reality for prayer...
...It is the conclusion arrived at through ancient idealistic traditions, nourished in philosophy and poetry, in which it is difficult to say where thinking ends and imagination begins...
...Demofascism (Croce recently called it neo-fascism) d a reality of today in the so-called liberated countries, North Africa and Italy...
...Public enterprise is gocd' where it is able to compete successfully with private enterprise...
...The lessons of communism in Russia and state capitalism in the fascist countries have not been lost on democratic socialists...
...As soon aa a civilization has forfeited its right and duty to think—and to will— in terms of Utopias, it has ceased being a civilization...
...But however plausible this theory might be, for lack of experience it can neither be proved nor refuted...
...New York: Livtrigkt 1'tililithiny Corporation...
...The basic weakness of utopianism is that it errs in evaluating social forces and in gauging their interests and aims, and that by antagonizing too many of the existing social forces it blocks the realization of its own goals...
...To spprosch the realization of his Utopia, Professor Borgese stresses the right of Commonwealth versus individuals, affirms that "the trouble with Stalin and the Russian Revolution at the present stage is not in their alleged extremism but in their retrograde course...
...From these quotations the reader may understand the tonality of this book...
...Moreover, the perpetual warfare of all against all which characterizes the existing economic system is terribly wasteful...
...TTHROUGH faith the impossible can be realized...
...free enterprise, where it justifies itself by efficient services, shall remain not less intact than free choice of occupation and freedom of labor...
...For example, after having read the recent speech of Marshal Smuts one can find in Borgest's book many an antidote...
...Klamm, obviously without knowledge of the work done jy these two authors, arrives at somewhat similar conclusions...
...COMMON CAUSE is the ideal necessary to fortify all meft to rise and fight and to combine morals and politics...
...The justification of his preoccupation he rinds in the explanation of what has happened in recent times in England and Russia, and in the United States too...
...Rut it is time to respect Utopia...
...Professor Borgese does not believe in the future of Christian democracy and explains his reasons...
...He naturally is against the idea of policing the world, for maintaining peace, and shows how such an idea is similar to Nazi dreams...
...As the American public has not been spoiled recently by an abundance of literature of this type, we should note with due interest the appearance of a book which makes a serious attempt to picture in detail the construction of a socialist economy in this country...
...Washington no less mandatorily said: 'Let us raise a standard to which the honest and the wise can repair...
...It has gone fascist...
...They have gone through a rough awakening from their dreams of total state socialim and have learned to combine socialist principles with those of the existing institutions which are apt to foster democracy and social welfare...
...Because of this, the book has confused many minds, and will not become popular But sll those who are distressed with the present realities will find in this book the exposition of all the arguments offered by the history of mankind for opposing demofascism and for trusting in the realization of equality and freedom on earth...
...3.00...
...An Economic Plan for Democracy By ALFRED BRAUNTHAL .AS ECONOMIC PROG HAM FOR A LIVING DEMOCRACY, fly briny H. f'lamm...
...The expediences did not work...
...IpHK construction of social systems, even of a purely Utopian nature, always deserves the attention of those who ponder about the most desirable channels into which social progress ought to be directed...
...Between the summer of 1942 and the spring of 1943 he wrote his book— "Common Cause"—to justify for himself as well as for his readers his deep preoccupation with the present political course ot war and to reaffirm his faith in the triumph of equality and freedom...
...I choose at random: "There certainly is a 'vslor of ignorance.' It should not be overdone...
...Margaret D. Treses...
...The salient point is that monopolistic private enterprises are expected by the author to be induced to sell their property to the government as a result of effective competition by public enterprises, which Flamm . proposes to establish wherever there is abuse of monopolistic power...
...lis attitude towards England and Russia is that of sympathetic criticism, towards the United States, one of hope and love...
Vol. 27 • January 1944 • No. 5
