A WAR OF FAITHS
SIR,—" Gunner, R A." writes: " Our present struggle is not—as Lord Vansittart would have it—one of peoples, nor, as Mr. Gollancz, of classes: it is a war of faiths." I must suppose that " Gunner " has not read or heard anything I have written or said, either before the war or since: I must suppose, also, that he derives his idea of how " I would have it " from Mr. Scott-James' review in your paper of my Shall Our Children Live or Die? It is rather rash to trust to a reviewer who, admitting that there is no class hatred in a book, says at the same time that the book preaches class hatred because it preaches socialism! I passionately be that this is a war of faiths. It is an international war of faiths. The evil thing against which we are fighting is in effective control of the State Power in Germany and some other countries (that is why we have to defeat the German State Power utterly), but it is to be found also, in varying degrees, in other countries, including our own. What we fight for is not any system or institution, but the right of every human in every country, freely to develop his personality. We do not think any system or institution can automatically guarantee this free dove ment of personality: but we do believe that in the modern world free development of human personality in all countries is imps& without the institution of international socialism. We further belies that, for historical- reasons, the leadership in establishing internat socialism must inevitably be assumed by the organised working cis Under this leadership should be ranged all, of whatever class, who determined to substitute the motive of public service for the motive private profit.
A war of faiths, then, and not of classes: but one which can sin mately be won only under the leadership of a class.—Yours, &c.,
14 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, W.C. 2. VICTOR GOLLANCZ.
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