"PEACE BY ECONOMICS"
Sty—It is not only the continental peoples, as Mr. Mark Sterling suggested in his well-timed article, " Peace by Economics," in The Spectator of July 25th, which are far more worried about the uncertainty of their economic future than about the purely political problems of the post-war period. The increasing interest in post- war planning indicated by an almost innumerable number of com- mittees, groups, boards, &c., set up in this country and dealing with a new economic order, confirms Mr. Sterling's notion. At the same time their undoubtedly well-intentioned activities are somewhat confusing. So is Mr. Sterling's suggestion that a new economic order must be based on separation of economics from politics, and should be primarily restricted to Europe. Economic and political life are so closely intertwined that Mr. Sterling himself does not fail to realise—certain fundamental which are the essence of a democratic constitution will have lob, the necessary prerequisites of any new economic order, fundamenta; which are, of course, of a decidedly political nature. As to a spec; European economic order its prospects are in my humble opimr far less promising than those of the " utopian " venture of inter national reconstruction. Owing to the megalomaniac and suicid- aspirations of the Nazi-Fascist Axis, Europe, even after the compie.., defeat of the Axis, will remain for a long period economically divide: " in partes tres." It is therefore hardly conceivable that Europe having been the main theatre of a war of attrition and exhaustion unthought-of dimensions, could be economically stabilised withoz preceding international recovery.
This is by no means a theoretical or visionary point of view• the contrary, it is an extremely realistic one. The powerful democra ABCD bloc, which together with Russia is up in arms against Axis, is an intercontinental and not a merely continental coalitio Great Britain, her continental allies—particularly those with ove dependencies, the Dominions, India, and the U.S.A. are alread strongly intercontinentally linked up: the stronger these links IN greater the possibility that an era of economic security all over world may dawn without being threatened any longer by the night mare of clashes between the " Have's and the Have-not's." Mot over, the preparatory work for international economic reconstruct could start at once, as the 'setting up of a permanent expert committer in London representing the Allies, the U.S.A., and pro-ally neon would hardly encounter difficulties which could not easily be over come. Such a committee would- have at its disposal all essenti statistical datas. It would have the priceless advantage of being a position to clear, adjust and co-ordinate all the ideas a suggestions concerning post-war planning which do not meet with the attention they certainly deserve, because of the regrettable b simple fact that of a " United Front of Planners " there is none.-
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