The Late New Left Reginald Martin, Nicolas Walter, G. B.
H. Wightmart Don't Go West Ian Rodger Castro's Cuba Mary Mackintosh Cut Him Wife T'roat Out A. F. B. Crawshaw National Theatre Lisa Hughes The Naga Revolt George N. Patterson Opening Time Alan Wykes Ireland, Your Ireland Ewart Milne Christian Politics E. A. Wedell Who's Out of Touch? Mrs. Greta Hinre THE LATE NEW LEFT
SIR,—The gap between Rachel Powell and myself is wide. The fact that I am probably half a genera- tion or so ahead of her, and have never been a politician of any kind, have never attempted to take a hand in engineering the social and political changes which occur in a society like ours--these probably account for it in large part. However, truth matters, and so I would like to explain myself further.
Miss Powell predictably talks of scr ial institu- tions being at the root of the matter and hits out at Messrs. King and Rank, while Maurice Butterworth asks whether I am content that virtually no one can consciously work any change in any one of the many cultural activities of the day. The answer to this latter question is 'Yes.' It would be intolerable and megalomanic—though impossible—for any and every individual, Miss Powell, Mr. Butterworth, I or anyone else, to attempt to lay down what should be done in the field of the ballet, or the theatre, or the press or TV, etc. Presumably one is supposed to go to Cecil King, Sidney Bernstein, Carleton Greene or Peter Hall, and say, 'Right, take over.' What then? Who is going to run the show? And what is going to happen as soon as one starts delegating the work to those who know how to do it? Perhaps one will need to take things over again a little while later. Mr. Butterworth may maintain that he has no desire to be a dictator in the matter, that he wants only to exercise some influence, but to wish for any influence at all is to wish for the greatest possible amount, which would be 100 per cent. One doesn't at the same time wish for a pro- portionate influence for others, for that would entirely nullify one's own-1/30,000,000 is near enough to zero. But to talk of having any say at all is already to have brought the fraction down to 1/1,000?, 1/500?, 1/100?, which is a comparatively short step from 1/1, with no principle about the equal value of all opinions to breach on the way.
As long as Miss Powell and Mr. Butterworth con- fine themselves to completely general statements about the individual and the arts, Mr. King and Lord Rank, and the country's education, etc.. such statements, as far as they mean anything at all, arc simply tantamount, as I have said, to being prepared to take full charge of the activities or organisations in question. And it is no more use for Miss Powell than it is for Mr. Butterworth to maintan that she is only expressing one opinion; one doesn't con- demn something root and branch and, at the same time, will that one's view be lost among millions of others—one wants it to prevail, totally if possible. If Miss Powell had been a newspaper proprietor or film magnate, her condemnation of King and Rank would have counted for more; if she had suggested specific means of changing any of King's
publications, for example, increasing the proportion of some particular kind of content or whatever it might be, then it might have been possible to get somewhere, but as things stand, No, I would say.
But, of course, one responsibility does remain— the responsibility for one's own opinions and actions. There is one person one can get to read the Guardian instead of the Mirror (or vice versa) or to go to the theatre (or not to go): oneself. If Miss Powell is in earnest about the value of the individual, that ought to be enough, and one might then not attach as much importance to one's own views that one is ready to try and get others to take them up, and so little importance to those of many others as to make them 'he effect of poor education and monopoly press and cinema chains. They also choose who read the Mirror, watch Double Your Money, and don't go to the theatre.
REGINALD MARTIN
85 Garscadden Road, Glasgow, W5
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