12

MUSIC

az In Review

Conducted by Kay Gregory

Socialist
Approach
To Ethics

Socialism and Ethics — By
Howard Selsam — Progress
Books — $2.75.
[tes is defined by the
Oxford dictionary as “the
Science of morals, rules of
conduct.” But when you con-
sider rules, there ‘must be a
standard by which to measure
them and in these days of up-
heaval, does the standard used
for centuries still hold good?
Does ‘right and wrong’ mean the
Same today as it did years ago?
And are a worker's ‘rights? the
Same as those of his employers?

Im this book, Howard Selsam
opens up an absorbing train of
thought in a very interesting man-
ner. In his introduction, he
points out that “without the de-
Struction of fascism there cannot
even be the question of good or
evil, there can be no Possibility.
of moral choice,” and proceeds
to prove throughout the book that
all moral questions of what is
Wrong or right, just or unjust, are
fundamentally linked with “the
concrete material and cultural
welfare of mankind at large.”

Going to Marx’ works for his
arguments, Selsam declares. in
the face of critics’ contention to
the contrary, that “Marxism .. .
emphasizes rather the _ moral
issues involved in every situa-
tion,” and, “Marxism socialism
embraces and gives new meaning
to the great moral utterances of
the prophets, sages and philoso-
phers of the past. Its single
moral aim is to bring to fruition
the desire that men may live
abundantly,” and he leaves the
critics without any foundation for
their contention.

Each question of freedom, per-
sonal integrity, rights and duties,
family, home and country, just-
ice and equity, Selsam shows, are
tied up in a consideration of the
conditions under which a person
lives, and consequently involves
discussion of “the nature of de-
Caying capitalism and the chal-
_ lenge of nascent socialism.”

The problem of ethies, of hu-
man welfare, of right human re-
lations, Selsam declares, cannot
be solved “by moral exhortation,
by telling men they shouldn’t
fight, shouldn’t seek profit or pre-
ferment, shouldn’t fail to aid the
poor and unemployed. They can
be solved only by substituting
- - . a system that by its nature
unites men cooperatively for the
fullest achievement of their per-
sonal and social good.”

S

SHOWING how the conception

of moral good and man’s
rights has changed through the
different historical periods and
that each class in society has
different standards based on its
economic status, Selsam points
out that, as at the breakup of
feudalism, “two worlds and two
moralities are in conflict today.”

In an excellent passage giving
a concise, clear Marxist approach
to Ethics, Selsam remarks that
“moral conceptions change as the
material conditions of life, the
forees of production and the pro-
ductive relations change and can
at no time be higher than the
economic structure. (A _ slave
Society, for example, cannot be-
lieve in the brotherhood of man

Pamphlet /\nalysis
OF} Fascist Japan

KNOW YOUR ENEMY: JAPAN—By Anthony Jenkinson—

Institute of Pacific
Labor News,

Relations—5 Cents.
Pes new pamphlet by Anthony Jenkinson,
describes the step-by-step destruction of

editor of Allied

trade unionism under Japanese fascism, and carries a sharp

lesson to Canadian

Jenkinson traces briefly the his-
tory of Japanese trade unionism

up to the day in 1940 when the-

mnilitarists forced the disband-
ment of unions and their incor-
poration in the “New National
Structure.”

“A fundamental cause of the

VERY REV. HEWLETT JOHN-
SON, DEAN OF CANTERBURY
whose new book, The Secret
of Soviet Strength, is being
published in the United States

- this month. This will be a
special American edition, how-
ever, available only in the

United States. Negotiations for
a similar special Canadian edi-
tion have not yet been con-
cluded.

eny more than a feudal society
can believe in individual liberty
and equality.)”

In one chapter, Selsam exam-
mines the charge made by the
Catholic Church that socialism
‘destroys the family’, by removing
causes of women’s subordination
to men, by allowing divorce, and
by making education the re-
sponsibility of the state rather
than the parents, thus also re-
moving the church’s hold on chil-
dren through the schools.

Concluding with a discussion on

“freedom, Selsam here deals with
a word which is heard a lot these
days. For, after all, what is free-
dom? Every member of the AlI-
lied Nations could give a different
answer and yet to them it would
be a correct one, based on their

national, individual and social
status. ~ Actually, true freedom,
Selsam says, “embraces every

ideal from that of the ‘abundant
life’ to security, from rationality
and justice in all human relations
to the highest development of
man’s creative powers.”

In simple language, “the goal
of ethics consists of such a per-
fect identity of the individual
tendencies, desires, etc., and the
social needs and ideals that all
men, in doing what they want to
do, would be doing what they
‘ought’ to de and vice versa.’”—
KG.

trade unionists on the dangers of disunity.

weakness of the trade union
movement was its lack of unity,”
Jenkinson states. “The small un-
ions were grouped together into
a multitude of federations, be-
tween which there were endless
political and jurisdictional dis-
putes.”

Against this background, Kom-
akichi Matsuoka, president of the
Japanese Federation of Labor, de-
clared in 1935 his opposition to
uniting labor under the name of
the United Front. Just five years
later Matsuoka was forced to a-
bolish all bona fide unions to con-
form with the fascist policies of
the militarists.

Jenkinson declares that a unit-
ed labor movement might have
stemmed the tide of fascism.
This is indicated by the fact that,
even though there was no co-
ordination between the trade un-

- 10S, a wave of strikes took place

in 1937, the year the China war
started.

Know. Your Enemy: Japan! is
a pamphiet that should have wide
distribution, particularly among
the trade unions where as yet the
need of unity against reaction is
not fully enough appreciated.

New Modern
Digest Out

Ot Particular interest to trade
unionists are two articles, one
on inflation and the other on re-
fugees, featured in the December
isue of Modern Digest which is
now on the newsstands. This sec-
ond issue in the smart new for-
Mat maintains the high level of
interest and timeliness in its many
articles, providing, in the publish-
er’s Own words, “a bird’s-eye view
of the world through Canadian
eyes.” :

“Labor Looks at Inflation” is a
welcome statement of simple
truths on this controversial sub-
ject. “Most of the recents writ-
ings on the dangers of inflation,”
says the editorial note introduc-
ing the article, “come to the con-
clusion that our only safety lies
in rigid Wage-freezing. It just
isn’t so, is the contention of
labor, as expressed in this ar-
ticle. Inflation is one product
that does not carry a union label.”

“The People on Canada’s Con-
science,” an original article by
Senator Cairine Wilson, deals in
a human fashion with the prob-
lem of refugees and Canada’s re-
sponsibilities, a sa nation, to these
unfortunates.

Other articles in this issue of
Modern Digest cover a wide range
of subjects, including basic Eng-
lish, Himmler, Chess, Hollywood
and Cartels. Humor and fiction
are also featured.

The inside cover includes an
interesting list of how various
articles in the previous issue were
used by discussion groups, news-
papers, radio and dramatic
groups.

|
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Lt

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Gibe Books
Chis Christmas |

BATTLE HYMN
OF CHINA

By AGNES SMEDLEY

4.25

3

3.00

WILD RIVER

FRENCH CANADA
A Study in Canadian Democracy
By STANLEY RYERSON

MY NATIVE LAND
By LOUIS ADAMIC

MILITARY STRENGTH OF THE POWERS
By MAX WERNER

THE ARMY OF THE SOVIET UNION
By PROF. I. MINZ

VILLAGE IN AUGUST
By TIEN CHUN

PAGES FROM A WORKER’S LIFE
By WILLIAM Z. FOSTER

A THOUSAND SHALL FALL
By HANS HABE

INDIA WITHOUT FABLE
By KATE L. MITCHELL

MOSCOW DATELINE
By HENRY C. CASSIDY

THE FALL OF PARIS
By ILYA EHRENBURG

UNDER COVER
By JOHN ROY CARLSON

CITIZEN TOM PAINE
By HOWARD FAST

HOW MAN BECAME A GIANT
By M. ILIN and E. SEGAL

POLITICAL ECONOMY
By A. LEONTIEV

SOCIALISM AND ETHICS
By HOWARD SELSAM

MAN’S WORLDLY GOODS
By LEO HUBERMAN

MEN, MACHINES AND MICROBES
By DYSON CARTER

Cloth

105 SHELLY BUILDING @

Vancouver, B.G.

By ANNA LOUISE STRONG

Paper

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