Church and Welfare State
SIR,—Canon Roger Lloyd's article, Church and Welfare State, contains two warnings and one fallacy. Is he sure that a Welfare State which fails will be succeeded by a dictatorship and that therefore we must do our utmost to make it work, since either Fascism or Communism is the alternative ? His second warning is more to the point. A Welfare State that teaches no obligations, demands no sacrifices and enforces no discipline, even though it survives—which is doubtful—runs counter to the basic Christian doctrine of a fuller life through sacrifice.
He is wrong in accepting the idea that the Government can guarantee "that no single citizen falls below a reasonably high level of economic and physical security." How can any Government—no matter what its colour—make any such guarantee and still leave its citizens free ? For example, how can we guarantee to all citizens an adequate supply of coal this coming winter, without destroying the economic and political - freedom of the miners ? There can be no economic guarantee by politics in a free State! Only a tyrant can assure economic security, and even be must have high technical efficiency under his thumb.
What' we must strive to build is welfare capitalism which will leave tl?e widest possible individual liberty in economic affairs, but which is grounded in the Christian conceptions of duty to one's neighbour and service-to the State. Incidentally, that method is more likely to produce "cakes and ale" for everybody than will the rigid control of economic affairs by political theorists—no matter how well-meaning they may be.— Yours faithfully, CYRIL OSBORNg. Welford House, Welford Place, Leicester.
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