A Realist Looks at Democracy, by Alderton Pink (Item, 10s.
6d.) is something more than a mere symptom of our dis- contents. Mr. Pink is indeed dissatisfied with our present machinery of government, but he goes beyond this and questions the whole principle of the democratic theory, based on the doctrine that intelligence and intelligent behaviour can be developed by education. This he seeks to show is untrue ; or, alternatively, as they say in the law courts, government control of all means of education will have to be made far more effective. The argument is not quite consistent, but interesting throughout. In particular Mr. Pink questions the superstition that a plutocrat-controlled Press and cinema are free, whereas a State-controlled Press and cinema are not. The argument is familiar enough in the mouth of Mussolini, but not necessarily the worse for that, arid Mr, Pink's reasoning is for the most part sober and convincing. In his introduction Mr. Aldous Huxley carries the same line of reasoning into regions of remote speculation.
Previous page
