Mr. Pethick-Lawrence raised an interesting and important ques- tion in
a speech he made on the future' of Europe at Guildford on Sunday. It is not a new question ; the Atlantic Charter spoke of it, though rather with two voices. The form of government in European countries, said Mr. Pethick-Lawrence, could no longer be regarded as a matter for the domestic decision of that country alone ; Britain should support libertarian constitutions everywhere. -Everything depends here on what the significance of the word " support " is. The whole contention sounds very like an argument in favour of enforced democracy, and enforced democracy sounds very like a contradiction in terms. Moreover, attractive as the idea of banning anything resembling Fascism, or totalitarianism, every- where may be, where exactly is it going to carry us? Is Mr. Pethick-Lawrence quite clear about libertarianism in Russia, or is that one of the countries where the form of government can no longer be considered a matter of domestic concern? Are we to reform Portugal's constitution? And will there be no doubtful cases where the dividing-line between fascist and non-fascist charac- teristics may be singularly difficult to draw? I am not putting these questions in any spirit of criticism. Mr. Pethick-Lawrence's point is extremely important, and extremely perplexing ; it is very desirable that public attention should be drawn to it. The real question is whether a free people can use its freedom to surrender part at least of its freedom.
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