Yeshiva University - Masmid Yearbook (New York, NY)

Page 18 text:

M A S M I D injustice. It has been untrue to its social philosophy by aligning itself with specicl interests detrimental to the common good. It has on many occasions, paradoxically and illogi cally, been used as a tool for tha justification of unethical practices and for the suppression of human aspirations. Yet its remarkable zeal for the maintenance of the status quo is totally out of keeping with the concepts of high ethical values em- bodied in its teaching. All of this is by no means the fault of religion per se; it is rather the fault of religious leaders and of the society which has bred them. Again the sceptre of money, gold, profit has left its mark. Pecuniary motivation is and al- ways has been the villain of the piece. Far from being incompatible with col- lectivism, the potential spiritual treasure of religious thought can fully blossom only under such a form of society. For, essen- tially, the brotherhood of man which is the basic tenet of all religion can be encom- passed only under conditions of social and economic equality. It is not for naught that fraternite is incorporated with liber- te and egalite ; they are conditions thereof. All too sadly must it therefore be remarked that where support for ideals both progressive and humanitarian should chiefly be expected, it is miserably lacking. In discussing the vast economic changes which the new society must effect in order to survive, one thing has been assumed right along. This assumption forms an in- tegral part of the entire scheme. It is thai all of these changes must be universal. They cannot attain a full measure of suc- cess in one nation alone if not adopted by all other nations. Just as it has been dem- onstrated earlier in this discussion that the present society is one in which the indi- viduals are interdependent, thus is the some equally true of nations. Modern technology has tremendously reduced distances and physical isolation has ceased to exist. In much the same way as the particular indi- vidual is best capable of performing defi- nite tasks, is the particular nation best suited for explicit sphere of economic en- deavor. Only a fanatic like Hitler can talk of notional self-sufficiency. There is no such thing. He himself has been the first to ex- pose the falsity of his contention by his career of military conquest and territorial acquisition. Only the world is self-suffi- cient. Its constituent segments are not, and must, therefore, rely upon one another. If silk growing is productive in Japan, rubber growing in the jungles of the Pacific islands, and coffee growing in Brazil, those seg- ments of the earth should specialize in those productive occupations. Ersatz is a capitalist product. It can have no place in a collec- tivist world. It is uneconomical for the United States, for example, to manufacture synthetic rubber when another country can supply the natural product at much lower cost in human effort and material. Free and unrestricted exchange of commodities is clearly indicated. Lincoln made the observation about the House divided against itself. The world has become such a house, and all of its two billion mortals are the inhabitants thereof. The abolition of the class system at home must be accompanied by the aboli- tion of the class system of the world. There must be no freemen and slaves, no masters and mastered, no privileged and unprivi- leged. The Hottentot must be socially and economically on a par with the Connecticut Yankee. Colonial possessions are out of the question, and, in fact, will become un- necessary, as is above indicated, in a col- lectivist universal society. Carrying our premises to their logical conclusion we must face the abolition of national sovereignty. Just as the individual human being cannot be entrust ed with con- trol over the means of producing commonly consumed goods so cannot the individual Sixteen

Page 17 text:

M A S M I D the present society is immediately sealed. The sphere for individual choice or ad- vancement, as we have had occasion to mention earlier, has dwindled to insignifi- cance. In the business world, of course, it is already impossible to rise to the top. Contrary to the romantic notions of Henry Wallace, the Horatio Alger epoch is dead in our present society. The industrial worker is usually doomed to his occupation and can hardly entertain any illusions as to the possibilities for his advancement. Even the professi onal field is rapidly closing to the more educated and intellectual. As reac- tionary an organization as the American Medical Association speaks volumes for itself. In addition the almost prohibitive expenses involved in professional educa- tion have discouraged a good many tal- ented young men and women from even attempting to enter the professional ranks. And, on the other hand, it is common knowledge that a goodly proportion of the membership in the various professions is currently suffering want and is often eco- nomically as poorly situated as are many unskilled industrial laborers. Finally, the existence of all phases of economic activity on a pecuniary basis has caused a good many incompetent, unqualified, and dis- honest individuals to be attracted to the professions. These people constitute a definite menace to the well-being of society. Plato has defined social justice as the performance by the individuals constituting society of those tasks for which they are best fit. This definition still stands as a model of social vision. Under capitalism, the definition of Plato is impossible of real- ization. In a collective society it carmct fail of realization since the very structure of that society dictates that it assign its mem- bers to those tasks which they are best capable of carrying out. To that end all education, technical as well as professional, would be put on an absolutely free and equal basis. The individual would be com- pletely at liberty to pursue those sludie3 v hich are best calculated to exploit his potential usefulness and productivity for society. Equality of opportunity will hove attained its maximum meaning and will have contributed to the spiritual as well as the material edification of man. This is democracy at its best. This, in fact, is the only real democracy. Opponents of collectivization have often advanced the argument that it is destruc- tive of spiritual values, that material con- siderations overshadow everything else. This is a colossal falsehood. As a matter of fact one of the primary arguments in favor of a collectivized society is that it alone is conducive to the highest develop- ' ment of the spiritual potential. Immanuel Kant has said that in order to fully actualize his moral nature, his so-called categorical imperative, man must be free. There is more truth in this than meets the eye. For it is not enough to be theoretically free; one must be free actually if he is to give ex- pression to his moral and ethical nature. Such freedom is not possible under a so- ciety in which the few rule the destiny of the many; in which the degrees of depend- ence and independence vary with the indi- vidual. A man is truly free only when he feels that he is on a par with his neighbor. The psychological sense of belonging can- not be overemphasized as to its bolstering effect on human beings. It lends man on unlimited sense of freedom, a strong instinct of confidence, and a sincere feeling of fra- ternity. All of this leads to spiritual, moral and ethical elevation such as is impossible of attainment in an individualistic society. For all these many years, religion has been belying its mission by betting on the wrong horse. It has failed to realize where its true interests lie. It has been guilty of prostituting its services towards the end of helping to perpetuate flagrant Fifteen

Page 19 text:

M A S M I D nation be entrusted with control over prod ucts which are designed for universal con- sumption. There must be an all embracing, international framework within which each nation will be assigned its specific role. This implies a world confederation along lines which have recently been extensively outlined. Elsewhere in this magazine is to be found a somewhat detailed article dealing with this aspect of the problem. The political structure of the United States of America may well serve as a model for the executive, legislative, and judicial organization of the government of the world. Needless to say, the proposal for the abrogation of national sovereignty does not imply the destruction of the individual na- tional cultures and the prevention of their natural development. On the contrary, un- der a universally coUectivistic order, each nation will be afforded a greater oppor- tunity of pursuing its own cultural path, unhindered by economic considerations and political pressures. The Russian experience in these matters bears out all of these con- tentions. One more word before the subject of v oild confederation i.-j dropped. No one will dispute the fact that it alone will effec- tively abolish war forever. In bare outline a plan for post-v ar re- construction has been submitted. If it seems entirely too Utopian and visionary, the fault lies with lack of imagination and reaction in the past. The present writer entertains absolute conviction and faith that ultimately the entire scheme or one similar to it in principle will come to be adopted. He sees in constant postponement an unnecessary sacrifice of human dignity, human rights, and human blood. He hopes that the pres- ent golden opportunity is not a gain muffed. He is a despairing witness of reaction in the saddle working zealously and thus for successfully against the tide of progress. He sees at the some time the apparent com- placency and indolent inaction of liberal and progressive forces throughout the world. His heart is filled with a great fear for the future. Being convinced that prog- ress cannot in the long run be checked, he sees in a successful reactionary stand the seeds of even more horrible conflict in the future. Towards the prevention of this con- flict has he dedicated this writing.