The " Humbug of Finance "
It is the task of such men as Mr. J. M. Keynes (one wishes there were many of them) to assess the material damage that is being or may be done by war in its proper 'proportions. He considers that the air-raid damage to buildings up to date does not reach one year's full building capacity, and that the total damage to the country's property is so far only about I per cent. He suggests that what has happened up to date should be regarded as an opportunity, and it can go a great deal further before it becomes a disaster. We have to reckon with the possibility that it may go further, even a great deal further. Even so we must not think of the future merely in terms of money values lost. Real wealth is found not only in finished goods but in materials available and man-power for making things out of them. Mr. Keynes bids us beware of the hum- bug of finance." War itself proves in the most striking manner that a nation which has the men and the skill and the access to materials will not let its production be hampered by finance. We have to learn that what can be accomplished in war-time in producing goods for mere destruction can be accomplished in peace-time in producing goods for use and for wealth- making.
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