Conservatism and Liberty
his interesting letter, which you published in your issue of August 3rd, Mr. Hubert Williams_ raises the important question of the individual versus the State. When income tax "wasfirst introduced, in the last century, it was rightly regarded as a serious inroad on the liberty of the individual to do as he liked with his own property. The introduction of compulsory military service, during the First World War, struck many people with horror as foreboding an end to personal freedom. Now the right of the State to demand both the person and the property of the individual, often for carrying out policies with which he may dis- agree, is taken as a matter of course. if it is asked how this has come about, the answer, surely, is that individual freedom has proved to be incompatible with social justice The voluntary system in war was found to favour the shirker at the expense of the man who did his duty. The right to amass personal property resulted in extremes of wealth and poverty side by side—both, more often than not, equally undeserved. In these circumstances, realising that, in the world as it is today national defence is necessary, and that the right to keep their wealth is mainly of benefit to the comparatively small number who are ever likely to have any, it is not surprising that the majority of people no longer place great value on individual freedom, but insistently deinand social justice. If the Conservatives pin their faith to the forifihr concept, as Mr. Williams supposes they will, they are likely to find that they are defending a lost cause.1 am, Sir, your obedient servant,
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