Ethical Record

The ISSN 00 I 4- I 690 Ethical Record

Vol. 95 No. 8 SEPTEMBER 1990

Editorial removing the Iranian Prime Minister, who had challenged Western interests by THE MIDDLE EAST nationalising the oilfields. More recently, PAST AND PRESENT Britain has been one of the leading arms Suppliers to Iraq (hence one of the main RIGHTLY. IRAQ'S SADDAM HUSSEIN is re- architects of the military might garded as the current bully of the Middle. unleashed on Kuwait). It has also been East. His invasion of Kuwait and instal- one of Iraq's chief trading partners (£450 lation of a puppet regime there are clearly million in exports last year). The British the acts of a political gangster. (In facth is Government permitted all this activity tactics are similar to those used by Hitler while being fully aware of the brutal in his 1938-39 annexations.) It's theIefore nature of the Hussein regime. good and encouraging that the world Ahead of Britain in supplying arms to community has condemned his actions Iraq was the Soviet Union, which protests and seeks to take punitive steps against against Hussein's adventurism because it him. now shares with the United States a However, when we speak of the world desire for stability in the Middle East. community. let's be careful to distinguish This agreement with the US stems partly between those parties which have. clean from ith present need of American econo- political records and those which do not; mic aid, and its unwillingness (given its and between those who speak mainly or enormous infernal problems) to engage wholly from moral principle, and those in regional conflicts with the Americans. whose voice is largely that of economic It's of course not the case that the Soviets self-interest and expediency. It's a sad have always been opposed to adven- fact that not all the 'cries of prote:st we turism. Their still recent aggression in hear fall into the former categories. Afghanistan (using tactics similar to To take Britain 'first: this country was, Hussein's). is one of many illustrations of up to the 'immediate post-War period, the this; so too is the major threat they once leading interventionist in the Middle posed to the northern borders of oil- East. Operating through the mandate rich Iran. • and protectorate system (used also by Finally, there is the United States. The France), it had semi-colonial control US has shown itself almost equally con- over Egypt. Palestine Iraq and Kuwait cerned about a possible invasion of and exercised wide influence over other Saudi Arabia as it has about the actual areas, such as Jordan, the Arabian penin- invasion of Kuwait. This is not surpris- sula and Iran. In Iran in 1953, British agentsjoined with the American CIA in continued on next page

CONTENTS Page Coming to Conway Hall 22 Namibia: Aspects of Democracy, Part H—Michael Wolfers . 3 Citizen Richard Leer—Jim Clayson 7 The Anarchism of Alex Comfort—David Goodway 19

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;Appointed Lecturers: Harold Blackham, T. F. Evans, Peter Heales, Richard Scorer, Barbara Smoker. Harry Stopes-Roe, Nicolas Walter. Trustees: Christine Bondi, Louise Booker, John Brown, Anthony Chapman, Peter Heales, Don Liversedge, Ray Lovecy, Ian MacKillop, Victor Rose. Barbara Smoker, Harry Stopes-Roe. • Honorary Representative: Norman Bacrac. Chairman General Committee: Diane Murray. Deputy Chairman: David Williams. Honorary Registrar: Ann Wood. Honorary Treasuier: Don Liversedge. Secretary: Nicholas Hyman. Hall Manager: Geoffrey Austin. Honorary Librarian: Edwina Palmer. Editor, The Ethical Record: ibm Rubens. Concerts Committee Chairman: Lionel Elton. General Committee: The Officers and Jean Bayliss, Cynthia Blezard. Lesley Dawson. Govind N. Deodhekar, Brian Haynes, Ellis Hillman, Martin Harris, Naomi Lewis. Lisa Monks, Terry Mullins, Lydia Vernet, Nicolas Walter. Finance Committee: Chair: Don Liversedge. Development Committee: Nicolas Walter. ing: 15.2% of its total oil imports come In all, these considerations should from 'Saudi Arabia. Also, America's prompt a critical attitude toward the avowal of concern for Kuwait is in part - apparently moral element in the big actuated by fear of rising oil prices as a powers' opposition to Hussein. That ele- result of Huiisein's gaining control over ment, as always with the major powers, is the country's resources. It's therefore fraught with ambiguity and irony. highly significant that a leading US The immediate task ahead is to remove senator has described Hussein's invasion Hussein and his power apparatus from of Kuwait and possible incursion into Kuwait, by force if necessary. Once this Saudi Arabia as perhaps the biggest has been achieved, it is hoped that there economic threat to the US since World will be a complete review of Britain's and War Two. The senator presu mably the Soviet Union's recent policies toward regards this as a greater danger than that Iraq, plus a demonstration from them created by the fall of the Shah of Iran in and the Americans that their concern 1979, when America's vast influence on about the Middle East will from now on Iran's oil industry, an influence which be a primarily moral one, directed at had long since replaced Britain's, came to securing peace. human rights, democracy an end. and independent nationhood.

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2 Ethical Record. September 1990 NAMIBIA: ASPECTS OF DEMOCRACY-PART II

Conclusion of a Talk given by Michael Wolfers on Sunday. May 6, 1990

THE CALENDAR OF EVENTS IIAS BURDENED you with an enormous amount of detail and I thank you for your patience. I should like to complement this with a few words of explanation on particular aspects of the Namibia independence process that caught international public attention. Adults over the age of 18 who were Namibian-born or offspring of parents born in Namibia were eligible for registration. An additional clause allowed the vote to non- Namibians who had been resident in Namibia for four years prior to registration. This concept had been introduced by South Africa in 1978 to boost participation in the puppet internal elections. It was intended to apply to those "ordinarily resident in the territory-. SWAPO strenously opposed the notion of allowing the vote in the independence election to foreigners and to seconded South African personnel. The UN did not listen to SWAPO's plea and allowed the Administration to retain the clause in .1989. The requirement of ordinary residence was blurred. At least 10,000 residents of South Africa who had no commitment to a future Namibia—and a less quantifiable number of Angolan exiles—registered. Their votes under the system I described earlier were worth at least one and possibly two or three additional seats to the opposition. South Africa bent the rules in another direction by refusing to allow voter registration in the Atlantic port of Walvis Bay. Some Walvis Bay inhabitants went to neighbouring Swakopmund to register by presenting birth certificates and proof of at least one parent being born in Namibia as a whole. The regulation was discriminatory against black rural-born Namibians who did not have birth certificates as opposed to white hospital-born Namibians who were issued with certificates. The Namibia election offered the voters a choice between a break with the colonial past and varying degrees of collaboration with colonialism. An election genuinely fought on this ground would be a walk-over for SWAPO. South Africa invested money and a public relations effort into shifting attention to an election issue where SWAPO was vulnerable: detainees held by SWAPO during the latter years of the anti-colonial war. As we know, South Africa was responsible for killings and detentions of SWAPO supporters on a massive scale in Namibia and in Angola and over many years. In February. 1986 it was announced for SWAPO that a network of about 100 South African spies within the movement in Angola and Zambia had been uncovered in 1983. Detentions and military court trials had followed. The 1978 settlement proposals required that "Namibians detained or otherwise outside the territory of Namibia will be permitted to return peacefully and participate fully and freely in the electoral process.- SWAPO's opponents sought to undermine SWAPO's credibility with charges of human rights violations and the holding of thousands of detainees from within SWAPO's own ranks. Even a single case of abuse of human rights cannot be justified and we expect more of the liberation movement than from the oppressor. Ethical Record, September 1990 3 However, in the context of the public relations spending to direct attention to this issue during the election campaign..it may be worth looking at the scale of possible abuse. In 1989 SWAPO again corm rmed that it had held some detainees in Angola on suspicion of espionage for South Africa. On May 24 1989, a first group of persons was released from SWAPO detention near Lubango in Angola into the care of the Angolan authorities and under UN observation: 201 detainees were released, of whom 153 returned to Namibia on July 4, 1989 under the UNHCR voluntary repatriation scheme. A second group of 82 detainees was released in May 1989 and 16 of these returned to Namibia on August 9, 1989. • SWAPO thereafter repeatedly stated that it had released, all the detainees it had held. In the face of continuing allegations to the contrary, Martti Ahtisaari appointed a UN mission to visit alleged detention camps in Angola and Zambia and ascertain whether any Namibians were still being detained by SWAPO. The commission, led by a Nigerian diplomat B. A. Clark reported publicly in Windhoek on October 11. 1989 its conclusive finding that "there were no detainees in any of the alleged detention centres and other places which it visited in Angola and Zal The mission began with a consolidated list of about 1,100 names of alleged detainees. The mission found 110 duplicated entries. Of the remainder 484 persons released and/or repatriated; 71 persons not detained, including SWAPO officials; 115 persons reported dead; 52 persons insufficiently identified; 315 persons whose present status was unknown and required further investigation. Ahtisaari noted that computer searches since the mission's report was finalised in the preceding week had identified a further 54 alleged detainees on the current voters' register. The outcome left 261 persons whose status was unknown and about whom investigations would continue. He spoke of "the tragic by-products of a prolonged war and recalled that the United States was still trying to trace some 2,300 of its citizens missing in action in South-East Asia. Returning detainees had spoken of imprisonment, beating and torture. Some rejoined SWAPO or continued their support despite everything. A few campaigned actively against SWAPO. The latter formed a small and vocal lobby of detainees and relatives (principally the latter). Other ex-detainees were sorrowing at their experience but continued to identify with SWAPO's aspirations for national liberation and to engage in social contact with SWAPO activists. By the same token, it was widely accepted among SWAPO activists and supporters that South Africa had infiltrated spies into the movement, but that not all the detainees had been justly accused of spying. The tragic breakdown of confidence within SWAPO's ranks came with infiltration by South African agents and an effort (inadequately controlled) to counter and prevent such infiltration. A SWAPO Central Committee meeting in February 1989 offered a general pardon for all those Namibians who were misled and misused by the colonial power to prevent the achievement of Namibia's independence ... and pardon to those who had infiltrated its ranks with the purpose of carrying out enemy espionage. Individual SWAPO leaders .appealed on various occasions to the Namibian churches to help in the healing process of the scars of the past. 4 Ethical Record, September 1990 SWAPO's achievement of independence in Namibia is a great victory, but the battle is not over. SWAPO's ability to fulfil its dreams will depend on the external support given to the new administration, but in large part also on the extent to which South Africa accepts independence for Namibia in its fullest sense. That will in turn depend on the outlook of a changing South.African political system. The status of Walvis Bay has been played with by South Africa. For more than half a century it was treated as an integral part of Namibia, for South Africa's convenience, and is so regarded by the UN. South Africa.purported to snatch it back in 1977. as a means of ensuring control over the only trading port of a future independent. Namibia. . South Africa's absurd presence in a tiny enclave on the Atlantic has damaging implications for Namibia's trade, fishing resources, military security and potential to serve other SADCC members. South Africa's 1,500 military forces confined to base in Namibia during the election process were withdrawn in the third week of November 1989, but two-thirds of them (thc well-equipped and battle experienced 6Ist Mechanised Battalion transferred• from Oshivelo) went only as far as the Rooikop military base in Walvis Bay and remain poised for intervention in the future. In the meantime Namibia's independence should not be flawed bY the greed and continuing manoeuvre of the minority regime in South Africa. The Namibia peace process was the fruit of internal struggle, support for that struggle from many countries, and pressure on the occupying power. It is only the watchfulness of the international community that can prevent Namibia's infant independence being strangled before it comes to maturity. The status of Walvis Bay is an issue that should not be overlooked in the wider debate on change in southern Africa.

REVIEW The Ethics of International Business by Thomas Donaldson • The end products of international big business can be seen in almost any shop as we walk down our local high street. We may not immediately be aware of how the pro- ducers behave, but their doings, reported in the media, frequently cause us concern. They are frequently blamed for accelerating pollution; depletion of the earth's resources; and the destruction of much that is attractive on Our planet. Successful international business enjoys a power which may transcend that of national governments. Large conglomerates can use the laws of individual states to their advantage and can avoid being accountable to any single authority. Some of thcir strategies arc well known. Offices, laboratories and factories are sited to max- imum advantage. Labourintensive operations are placed where wages are low and workers live, perhaps, at subsistence level. Profits accuniulate where interest is high and tax favourable. When things go wrong, as at Bhopal. liabilities are discharged at minimum cost, with apparent contempt for the victims. Ideologically, one might see big business as a triumph of exploitation over the res- traints of law. It flourishes in the "free" world of democracy, but its power and influence lies'outside democratic control. Until international law becomes at least as coherent and effective as national law, international organisations will continue to Ethical Record, September 1990 5 have the whip hand. Even when they appear benevolent, their very status arouses suspicion. Cynically, one might argue that our suspicion grows to the extent that control of international business passes from Britain and Europe to more recently indus- trialised nations. We now depend upon their investment in us and may eventually become the exploited rather than the exploiters. There is much to be said against international big business. Whatever its evils, though, its growth is linked with the emancipation of the Human race. We have been developing our technology for thousands of years; 20th-century developments in com- munications and transport have made international big business possible, and may have made it necessary. Realism suggests that we should address the current situation in that light and try to resolve the practical problems. That is broadly the stance which Thomas Donaldson has taken in his recent book The Ethics of International Business.* Professor Donaldson, who is based at Georgetown University, is a leading academic in the field of business management with interests in philosophy and ethics. He is a highly appropriate contributor to the Ruffin Series in Business Ethics, which publishes work designed to build links between business management and the humanities. In his book he seeks a foundation on which to base a code of ethics applicable to international business as a whole. He sees two difficulties standing in the way of achieving this task: the diversity of ethical codes to be found throughout the world; and potential lawlessness. The first is susceptible to analysis. Human beings, by their nature, have certain needs and aspirations; they form the basis of most, if not all, ethical codes. He proposes a minimal list of international human rights along the same lines as the "rights of man-, but applicable to business rather than politics. The second difficulty is, according to Donaldson, more apparent than real. To operate successfully, business needs stability coupled with an optimum freedom to manoeuvre and compete; international business is no exception. Codes of conduct and accepted practices are already working for stability. It is true that these codes and practices benefit business itself. Moral responsibilities toward other organisations, individuals or the planet take second place. But at least the means of regulation exist. Donaldson's view is that apparently unethical behaviour is due to the difficulties created by change rather than to ill intention. Principles which might apply to the developing arena of international business are imperfectly understood. His optimism is.that if understanding can be achieved, current codes and practices will grow to ethical maturity. I think that many readers may temper that optimism with the thought that the prospect of financial reward may prolong that "imperfect understanding". One of the foundations on which Donaldson seeks to base his ethics is the concept of a contract, analogous to the social contract which played a central role in 18th- century political philosophy. The contract in this case is between the business organisation and each society in which it operates. His proposition is that each society accords the organisation certain rights, to exploit its natural resources, for instance, in return for certain benefits such as economic advance and employment for its citizens, and with certain conditions, e.g., concerning the contracts of employment which the organisation may offer. . Donaldson's basic concept leads to some practical problems. How, for instance, does a manager in an international business match his personal standards of conduct to the mores of the country in which he happens to be operating? He cannot merely

6 Ethical Record, September 1990 take the role of respectful visitor, since he is there to act; yet acting as he would do at home may lead to a "breach of contract." The problem is compounded by an organisation's propensity to favour uniformity where it sees no advantage to itself in variety. An "international ethic" offering a practical modusoperandi for managers in international business has broad implications. Donaldson recognises this but has no space to follow them all in detail. What he does is to examine two issues in some depth in order to provide examples of how his general proposals might work. He has chosen the use of dangerous technology in developing countries (the Bhopal disaster) and the question of the role of international business organisations in politically - motivated "sanctions-. , • This book may not satisfy those who entertain deep philosophical or ideological doubts about international big business; for them it may appear like supping with the devil. For those who accept with realism the role of international business, yet are concerned about its potential for human and ecological exploitation, the book offers a rationale and many insights. Professor Donaldson does not claim that a unilateral proposal for an ethical basis, however well informed and considered, will of itself influence the conduct of international business. But its control does depend upon an international consensus about what is and is not permissible, and The Ethics of Inter- national Business makes a valuable contribution towards establishing such a consensus. Peter Heales

* The Ethics of Internatidnal Business by Thomas Donaldson, published at £19.50 by the Oxford' University Press.

CITIZEN RICI-IARD LEE

Text of a Lecture given by Jim Clayson at the Afternoon Forum on Sunday. April 22, 1990

THE 1790s %WERE A PEIZIOD of intellectual ferment In the wake of the French Revolution ideas thronged the air. And the atmosphere permeated all ranks of society. Whilst Paris provided the focus its near neighbour. London was equally in turmoil. If we look at the intellectual histories of the time we find the names of Rousseau. Godwin, Paine and Burke seem to dominate. But even the poorest sections of society were in a state of flux. And London, crucible of two revolutions within the last 150 years, and financial centre of yet another burgeoning Empire, provided a centrepiece for debate. In order to fully appreciate the period a brief description of the intellectual climate needs to be given. Since the Protestant Reformation Londoners had become accus- tomed to lively debate and a measure of free speech that was the wonder of European visitors. Without exception they marvelled at the license adopted by the inhabitants in the expression of their views. For long periods, it is true, these were mostly confined to Tavern Societies such as the Robin Hoods, who would meet on Monday eVenings to debate topics of the day, in an ordered fashion. Ethical Record. September 1990 7 Partly fed by the multitude of dissenting sects in the capital, they fostered the Deism of Peter Annett, the popular Oratory of Caleb Jeacock and the political career ofJohn Wilkes. Above all they provided a forum,. and the participants were often associated with the theatre, where a popular culture interplayed with political ideas. And it is in this world of chapels and politics we first come across the public face of Richard Lee. "Citizen- Richard Lee has remained one of the footnotes of Radical history. Apart from a bibliographical article by Edmund and Ruth Frow and a biographical note by Jane Douglas, his "voluminous- contributions to the debate following the French Revolution have been forgotten. With a known output of over 70 pamphlets, handbills, poems and broadsides, Lee championed Republicanism and Democratic ideas with an energy that defies description. He first attracted public attention with some poems printed in the Evangelical Magazine of 1793. His pen-name was Ebenezer. It is probable that he was a member of a "Calvinist Methodist- sect meeting at the Adelphi Chapel. St. James's Street, • London. The poems were soon collected as Flowers of Sharon published in February 1794. The preface states: "that its Contents (one or two Pieces excepted) were written between the Years of Fifteen and Nineteen, and under Circumstances very unfavour- able to the Author's delightful Amusement.- An Evangelical reviewer noted that despite some defects "many of them are superior, even in correctness, to what is naturally looked for in the production of so young a person ... whose occupation we take to be that of a laborious mechanic-. Actually he was probably a bookbinder. By this time Lee had become associated with the London Corresponding Society. He attended Division No. 2, meeting at 3 Compton Street, WI and also acted as a messenger, delivering a letter to John Thelwall from Thomas Hardy. During 1794 Lee was also involved with the millenarian Richard Brothers. He sold the Prophecies and two expositions of them. The connection was partly through George Riebau, Brothers's publisher, whose broadsides were also available from Lee. But probably this came about through mutual visits to Adelphi Street Chapel. Lee had already moved into the world of political debate. He was printing broadsides in the manner of playbills attacking the ministry of Pitt. These were sold for a penny from No. 2 St. Anne's Court, Dean Street, or at Corresponding Society meetings. During that year he contributed three poems to Tom Spence's Pigs Meat. Along with some broadside songs, they show him immersed in the popular political culture of the day. But the turning point for Lee was probably the production of a verse trihute to Hardy's wife, who had died during her husband's 1794 imprisonment. This was printed and sold by John Smith and J. Burks, printers to the Corresponding Society, to raise funds for the alleviation of Hardy's distreSs. Lee signed himself "A Friend To The Distressed Patriots-. Hardy later remembered this gesture in his memoirs, referring to Lee as a "true patriot.- In April 1795 he moved his premises to 47 Haymarket and it was from here he began to consolidate his reputation. Although still publishing his "playbills- he now issued a 8 Ethica/ Record. September 1990 second collection of poetry. Songs From The Rock, noticeably more radical in tone and content. There is a suggestion, from a hostile writer, that Lee sold his material from a street barrow. This would account for his series of rapid moves during 1795, and would be typical of the locations he chose. Unfortunately nothing more specific can be determined about this. In July of that year he made a second impression on the public with his Letter To The House Of Peers On The Present Bill ... In Parliament Relative To The Prince of Wales'Debts, this time under the signature of A Hanoverian. It received notices in the Monthly Critical and Analytical Reviews before running into a second edition. Needless to say it failed to make an impression on their lordships. But from the Critical, who waited a further three months before noticing it, there was an angry response. They snapped:

"The house of peers arc advised here to recollect that they arc not in such high favour with the people as they may have been, and to attempt at least to regain the credit and consequence, by rejecting the bill for the payment of the prince's debts. The author calls himself a Hanoverian:but his style is English. and good English too, and his sentiments are rank republicanism in disguise."1C.R. Vol. 15. Sept. 17951.

Lee showed his feel for the popular idiom by changing the title to John Bull Starving To Pay The Debts Of The Royal ProdigaL But the apparent contradiction noted in the Critical requires a moment's recapitulation. The term Hanoverian, amongst the chapel coterie, denoted a supporter of the Pro- testant Hanoverian succession. And it was from this standpoint Lee was clearly writing. He was exhibiting overtly republican sentiments by this time, but saW them as strictly constitutional, a point to be examined later. Lee's stock, and presumably his trade, began to expand from this period. His regular lists show him selling all the radical periodicals of the day in addition to the works of T. G. Ballard, Daniel Eaton and John Smith. He also sold such staples of 18th-century radicalism as The Whigs Unmasked.- About this time he must have.acquired access to a press and took on printing and publishing for the democratic Societies, beginning with A Meeting Of The Society Of Friends of Liberty, At Shacklewell on Monday July 20, 1795 This was a breakaway from the main body of the L.C.S., led by John Bone. In late July Lee moved yet again, this time to 98 Berwick Street. He must have,been confident of his success for he took on his most ambitious project to date. This was the republication of Charles Piggott's Political Dictionary in a popular part-work. Once again he used snappy titles and cheap prices to ensure a widespread sale. The first issue The Rights Of Kings probably appeared on July 29 and was followed at weekly intervals by at least eight other parts, also incorporating the writings ofJoseph Gerald and Joel Barlow. Thi s venture rapidly drew the attention of the authorities who dutifully turned up each week to buy their own copy. This interest in Lee's affairs was, however, to prove disastrous for him in the long term. He also took on work for the L.C.S., selling reports of their meetings in October and November. By then he had moved, once again,. to 444 The Strand. And Lee had also felt his first blows from the government. In October they brought a bill against him for publishing A Summary Of The Duties Of Citizenship. Ethical Record. September 1,990 A Mss. note on the British Library copy claims that this was "not by Lee but Iliff, A Dissenter. But Lee was certainly advertising the work in his catalogue and the first copy in the Treasury Solicitor's papers is marked up as being bought from his premises. Further charges followed on November 17 for King-Killing. The Rights Of Kings and The Rights Of Nobles. The name of his old associate, John Smith was added to the indictment for Citizenship. The B.L. informant, possibly John Richter, adds that whilst Smith was granted bail. Lee was not, asserting that he "escaped from a spunging house to America-. Whatever the truth of this, Lee was still paying his Rates until the end of December that year. Meanwhile the influence of the Reform societies was growing, the war with revolutionary France plunging the country into crisis and the harvest was failing. Pitt's government responded in typical manner, and a mobbing of the King, where a stone broke his window, gave them an "excuse- to bring in repressive legislation. Lord Mornington justified the measures by reference to a King-Killing. In fact it was only a reprint of paragraphs published in the Norwich radical paper, The Cabinet and Lee had already been charged for its production. The case never came to court but Stu rt, the MP, used the hollowness of the assertion to turn the debate around and force the House to consider a loyalist pamphlet by John Reeves that asserted Parliament lacked sovereignty. Probably fearing the trial and further prosecution, Lee moved briefly to Rathbone Place in Windmill Street, and from there. to Philadelphia. He was certainly gone by July 1796 as the L.C.S. accounts show that he was owed £3.0/-, a sum still outstanding in December. The last publication he had planned was a 6d version of Mary Woolstonecroft's Rights Of Women. It does not seem to have appeared. Freed from the persecution of his own country. Lee settled in America but barely modified his politics. During 1797 he realised his ambition to produce a regular periodical and published The American Universal Magazine. This passed into the control of others by 1798. An0 there is a suggestion [by G. A. Williams] that he had been imprisoned yet again, this time for supporting Jefferson. He appears to have associated with Morgan J. Rhees and Samuel Rogers, the poet, during his stay in the city. John Gales records meeting him on arrival. Lee also republished his English pamphlets in a collected edition, calling it either The Crimes Of The Kings and Queens of England or Political Curiosities. For a time he was an apothecary and later an itinerant preacher. One of Lee's first acts on reaching America had been to join the Philadelphian Society For The Aboli- tion Of Slavery, a body that was to develop into the better-known Abolition Society. After a while he reappeared in New York [about 1804] where he continued to publish and was responsible for an edition of Algernon Sydney's Discourses On Government, a copy of which was later in the library ofJulian Harney. the Chartist. It is not known when he died. Thomas Hardy thought he had died soon after reaching America. One historian has placed Lee in Paris c.1812 but it is likely that he has mistaken him for someone using the name as an alias. Another myth is that he eloped with the wife of a spy. Lee's surviving publications are a mixture of reprints, broadsides, prints and original work. His own style is recognisable by its vigour. His poetic style betrays a 10 Ethical Record. September 1990 mixing of forMal Nerse intergpersed with popular idioms. Like his contemporaries (and successors) Lee tailored his writing to the task in hand and consequently it remains fresh and lively, although several points have been obscured by the passage of time. But he is essential reading, firstly for a scnse of the heady ideas bubbling in radical circles during the period; secondly, for an understanding of the way in which a working man could gravitate from an extremist independent sect, the milleni al movement of Richard Brothers, and on to popular radicalism. And it is at this point that we will begin a more detailed examination of the ideas expressed in his work. It is tempting to divide the subject matter between poetry and prose, but since in Lee's productions the two are intertwined. I intend to take them by subject.

Religion: The Monarchy and Constitution: Lee's Perception of Liberty

As I have already said. Lee was a product of the Dissenting Chapel community. It was there he got his education and it was from there he began to articulate his view of the world. A basic understanding of his religious beliefs is therefore fundamental to his intellectual development. So what exactly was Lee's religious viewpoint? He saw it in three lights. Lee's religion was strictly democratic; moreover, it gave him a solace in adverSity, the very real poverty of 18th-century London, and it allowed him to formulate a theory of the responsibility due to a subject from a just master. Lec saw that the task of the supreme ruler, the standard by which earthly ones should be measured, was the promotion of peace and the wellbeing of those who gave him allegiance. Yet barely a year later he was writing about Religion as a whole, and exhibiting a marked development in his thoughts. The Rights Of The Devil appeared in (August) 1795. In it Lee elucidated those pro- fegSions he thought were followers of Satan. First amongst these were the clergy; "These most numerous of all Lucifers' subjects, except the militarylp.91. It is important to stress here that Lee had not abandoned his earlier beliefs • wholesale. A clue to his thinking can be gleaned from reference to a slightly later work, the series of extracts he reprinted from Pigott's Political Dictionary, a work I might add, comparable in influence during its age only to Paine and Volney. And one that still makes a first-class read for those of an independent mind. Lee's method of reprinting this book was to issue selections, grouped round a particular theme. The set we are concerned with here wasentitled The Rights of Priests.1 have no need to mention whom he borrowed that from. One can only describe this set of definitions as selective Where Pigott, and other editors, defined CHURCH as: A patent for hypocrisy: thc refuge of sloth, ignorance and superstition, the corner- stone of tyranny

Lee modified it to CHURCH (ESTABLISHED) and began the pamphlet with a new category: CANDIDATES (FOR HELL) taken from his own Rights Of The Devil. These were described as: Ethical Record, September 1990 11 "a set of men who are always determined to rule the roost, and keep the upper hand in every place they come to ... our dignified ecclesiastics. our badmen in black ... laskingi Arc they not the greatest enemies to RELIGION and MORALITY? So we can see how Lee posited an absolute difference between Establishment, i.e., the State religion and his own democratic christianity: Precisely the distinction that had been made by the radicals of the early Protestant sects, from Lollard to Leveller and Digger. Yet this distinction led Lee to make a further leap in thought. Pigott also defined SACKCLOTH, but Lee made another change in the definition. He excised some derogatory remarks about Jews. I believe Lee consciously defended freedom of con- science here. Although never shy to make anti-papal comments, he directed them at Rome, not Catholics. • Another constant theme in his poetry was a hatred of slavery. In his first volume he attacked it as a:

STRANGE. Horrid Traffic! Mournful to behold. Each tender feeling saerific'd to Gold' And FELLOW Men, likecattle, bought and sold. [AND ASKED] DIVINE RELIGION! canst thou Patronize Such curs'd Oppression! such base Cruelties? Host thou aquire thy converts by such Means, As heavy Bondage,-Scourges, Racks and Chains?

He attacked the trade again in his second collected volume and on reaching America, actively campaigned for its abolition. So what brought Lee out of this religious milieu and into radical politics? Probably a combination of factors. A fellow member of the congregation at the Adelphi was Richard Brothers, the millenial prophet. And surprising as it may seem, the two were not too far apart. Furthermore a few doors away from the Gate Sfreet, Holborn. Chapel was the bookstall of Thomas Spence. But probably the final trigger was Thomas Hardy, foun- der of the Corresponding Society and leading member of Division No. 2. Compton Street, the branch Lee seems to have joined. His talent for verse and a sure touch and command of the popular culture that was a mainstay of the political societies, ensured a regular audience. A later poet, George Donald, reminisced that the opportunity to versify in public was a major factor in his politicisation. • But Lee had already developed a strong sense of justice through his religion, and we have heard him set the standards expected of his rulers, so it might be opportune now to look at how Lee viewed the Monarchy. What brought Lee notoriety was his republicanism. Indeed, even now, this is the aspect of his writing that fascinates historians. Clive Emsley continually points to Lee's productions as justification for Govern- ment fears of revolution. Even E. P. Thompson feels that they probably precipitated Hannah More's moralising torrent. As I mentioned earlier, one Lord Mornington used his KING KILLING as justification for the Seditious Meeting Acts, the PTA of its day.

12 Ethical Record. September 1990 And his opinion of kings connected with his religious views. He brought the two together in RIGHTS OF THE DEVIL, by suggesting that the system espoused by Satan was indistinguishable from that of his earthly followers: lp.121... the government of the infernal empire [is] an absolute monarchy. It is undoub- tedly the best form of government for the monarch, whatever it may be for the subjects, because the devil ,assumes the power of the whole mass collectively. lp.131 and conse- ' quently can make what aggrandisement he pleases at the expense of his vassals, and they dare pot grunt their disapprobation. Thus you see the devil, like an earthly monarch, can rob and plunder [his subjects] at his pleasure., Lee claimed that his first overtly political prose was An Answer to the King of England's Manifesto against the French. . . . It criticized the monarch's attack on France and the beginning of War against the new republic. He noted that: "From the commencement, to the present hour, the reign of the king of England has been marked either by a direct, or a treacherous attack on the real liberty existing in his dominions.- [reprinted in American Universal Magazine. Vol. II.No. XIV. Mon. June 13, 1797. p.342]. And asserted that: "a strong predilection for, arbitrary government has been manifested, to the discourage- ment of every man, or society of men, in Britain, who professed, or espoused the principles of true patriotism [ibid. p.3424 But it was a personal attack on George III that formed the main part of his text:He told him that: "you spread desolation throughout America, and you arc now endeavouring to ravage France, by tire, sword and famine: appealing ... to the judgemant of mankind, they pro- nounce your cause to be unjust. and your principles inimical to the, happiness of your species. Your rectitude and character are composed of profound dissimulation, and glar- ing hypocrisy ... were you a private individual you would live despised." [ibid. p.343]. Lee's next attack on Royal privilege was his Letter to thejlouse of Peers, later re-named John Bull Starving to Pay The Debts of The Royal Prodigal. The Prince of Wales had aPplied to parliament for the liquidation of his debts. He had done this successfully once before but this time there was a general outdry, with a large number of pamphlets attacking his conduct and profligacy. There were also the usual paid supporters defending him. The debate on his conduct took place against a background of Corn Shortages and an unpopular war. The Prince had tactfully decided to show his concern for this by spending nearly 000,000 refurbishing Carlton House, a place he hardly ever visited. Lee pointed out that: There isnot a man living possessing common sense who can approve of this bill. There is not a man (except a maniac) whriSe mind is so constructed as to think it just, that the wretched pittance lp.71 of the industrious poor should be wrung out of their pockets. to pay for the follies and profligate expenses of any one ..." [John Bull Starving ... pp. 6-7]. Moreover, argued Lee, any reassurances given by the Prince would be of little value Since:""The Prince broke a contract with Parliament once. It should not be renewed & conclusion" Ip.I01. Lee also pointed out that the members had no need to fear the withdrawal of Pitt's patronage by their actions for: Ethical Record, September 1990 13 "Whatever resentment the Minister may feel which some of your Lordships may dread more thaii the King's. be assured that he will entirely suppress it. He will never venture to express hatied at your house. He knows that not only his foitune, but even his life may depend upon being well with you.- [p.221. And whilst he had modified earlier remarks on Religion, he quoted Pigott wholesale on Kings. giving these descriptions: King—from the Saxon word Kucning or Kayning. is but the abbreviation of cunning or crafty, the usual distinction and epithet for knaves.... King—The chief magistrate of a state, generally hereditary. Kings were held in utter detes- tation by the ancient Romans; and they are in like manner execrated by the modern French.... King—lquoting Swifil By the express declaration of our laws. an English prince is a piece of royal infallibility, incapable of doing wrong [explains why this is inconsistenti ... if a king can do no wrong, why was King James the second banished? [Extracts from The Rights of Kings pp. 65-661. But it ought not to be assumed that Lee's proposals on Monarchy were entirely negative. He was prepared to offer some positive ideas on the form a democratic Monarchy could take: a means whereby Kings could be used to preserve liberty rather than negate it. He outlined them in a broadside, claiming to be a Wonderful Discovery: A Receipt lb Make A Peaceable King. He declared: ... my king shall not be a Tyrant He should be incapable of committing any acts of violence or oppression ...be entirely free from Pride, Avarice. and Ambition ... His man- ners should be without blemish such a King as Jupiter first gave to the Frogs . . This ideal monarch was a tree. Lee, however, conceded that some trappings of state were essential to the dignity of the instituticin, therefore the wood ought to be "sculpted with all the trimmings, crown, guard and ceremony. And furthermore this inanimate object would have other benefits. Any changes to a written constitution were "to be passed only with his [the king's1 permission- which was to be -signified by his silence.- And to emphasise the veneration which this just monarch was to be treated, "the image !was] to be treated as a King with due humility . . those who want favours should be required to kiss his gown-. Lee was only half joking. Whilst in some measure he was reflecting the faults apparent to the rest of the population in George Ill's reign, they were also intended to present political propaganda in a form that his audience could relate to. For example, the same broadside advocated universal suffrage, a concept • that H. T. Dickinson believes went beyond the intentions of the majority of 1790's radicals. For instance Dickinson claims.John Thelwall: "had reservations about instituting a genuinely democratic system of government Ihel never expected the poor to ever become sufficiently qualified to govern or hold any important political office" Liberty and Property. 1979 p.251. Lee did have reservations. over the franchise, but not those offered by - Dickinson. He advocated: "Universal suffrage with one exception care should be taken not to give the vote to priests for they are liable to exalt my King into a God and then tax the people to furnish provisions for his table" 14 Ethical Record, September 1990 Lee declared himself delighted at the prospect, for: "How I shall rejoice to he the instrument of giving the people a King who ... can do no wrong! Lee also offered positive values, not just negative criticism. Although less detailed than those of his contemporary and collaborator Thomas Spence, they do show another dimension to the communitarian proposals often hailed as the basis of English Radicalism. They survive in a single half-penny sheet detailing The Rights of Men and Duties of Citizens which Lee circulated whilst the French Declarations of the same year were being reformulated Ie. April-July 17951. As such they deserve special attention for in them. Lee is offering us his proposals for the organisation of society. Above all Lee insists that "All Men have equal rights" and he defines these as "Liberty, Security, Property, and Resistance of Oppression". And he details these thus: Liberty is the Right of Saying, writing and doing whatever we please. without injuring our Neighbour, the State or ourselves. Security is the right of being protected by the public force against evildoers. Property consists in everylonel doing what he pleases with his own ... Resistance to Oppression is the right of taking up arms against open violence, and illegal and tyrannical compulsion.- Above all he claimed that: The Nation is the only Sovereign, all power is delegated by her, and ought to be employed for her service. To prevent the entrenchment of privilege. Lee proposed that "Every one entrusted with the public power is answerable to the Nation.... And hc stressed the importance of these codifications by emphasising that"Without these RIGHTS the people are slaves.... But set against these protections Lee insisted that the individual held "reciprocal Duties" by which they "are bound". He spelt these out too. They are: Subordination, Benevolence, Justice and Obedience to the Laws." Again, he spelt these out explicitly: Subordination is the respect and tractable disposition due from children to their parent, from scholars to their masters, and from inferiors to their superiors in office. Benevolence consists in the regard, the cuire and assistance which we owe to each other in all the troublesome situations of life Justice requires us to keep our promises, to respect property, and to be grateful for favours received, and ready to do favours when needed. Obedience to the Laws comprehends the obserVance of Regulations. fidelity to the Magis- trates, and the union of the citizens to suppress tumults. And Lee also insisted that:"WITHOUT these Duties the People are SAVAGES." ItWould be easy to leave matters there and see Lee and his philosophy purely as the offspring of the French and American Revolutions, but to do so would be a mistake. For Lee's ideas vary not only from his close contemporaries like Spence, but have been modified in the light of his upbringing. •If we turn firstly to the French Declaration we Find that whilst it certainly states that "The rights of man in society are liberty, security [andl propertylcf. reprinted, C. H. George, Revolutions, p.I76 John Hall Stewart "A Documentary Survey .. . 1951 & H0.102/6]. Ethical Record. September 1990 15 Lee has preferred "Resistance of Oppression- for "equality"— a quite expressive differential of emphasis. And furthermore, whilst both definitions of "Property" are substantially the same ("the right to enjoy and dispose of one's goods, income, and the fruit of one's labour and industry.") his definition of Liberty embodies freedom of the press and "Security" stresses the individual "being protected by the public force- rather than "resultfingj from the co-operation of all.- But as we have seen, such rights were reciprocal, therefore there was a need for DUTIES too. And whilst he was certainly echoing ROUSSEAU, a cheap edition of whom he printed, once again, the reasons for doing so also went deeper. Just to re-cap, these duties were: "Subordination. Benevolence, Justice and Obedience to the Laws.- Lee had probably been present when the CHURCH and KING mob attacked the house of Thomas Hardy, a leading figure of the L.C.S. In fact he insisted that: "Insurrections are never allowable, but in cases of the utmost extremity, and after legal remonstrances." And the qualification shows that he knew explicitly that, and he had the examples of four revolutions before him, sometimes rebellion was necessary, but insisted that it was only a last resort, when all other means had been exhausted. What I have shown so far is only a few of Lee's thoughts. I have not suggested how they knit together to form a rational scheme, a concrete proposal on which to build a decent society. Like any philosopher he saw the need for this and the cement he chose for his concrete was: The law, passed by the Legislative Body, the Representatives of the People, is a kind ofcivil religion which ought to unite all hearts and all arms: the very name of the Law ought to act. instead of muskets and bayonets. Furthermore amongst THE RIGHTS he had defined Law; "it is the only expression of the public will, and the supreme rule for all the particular powers." And of course the key phrase is CIVIL RELIGION. Instead of a nation co-erced by overbearing rulers. Lee chose instead the factor that had provided for the cohesion of . his own early life, only instead of the corrupt State-sponsored kind, he preferred the democratic one he had grown up with. Neither was he alone in this. In a perceptive article on the American deist, Joel Barlow, Emory Ellioot came to the same conclusion. I hope I have presented enough to convince the listener that Lee is worthy of further attention. But there is one codicil I would like to add. There is a tendency sometimes to present historical figures as being innovators, seeking to secure for them a place amongst a crowded pantheon as originators of this or that view of society. I make no such claims for Lee. What I do say is that his pamphlets and poetry give an example of how a man in the street reacted to a momentous event in his time; an example that is often missing from the history books. Lee provides us with a continuity between the 17th-century democrats and, amazingly, the Chartist Movement. He pioneered the popular publishing championed by Carlile, advocated Women's Rights and the abolition of slavery. His views were mostly based on constitutional rights he believed to have been usur- ped by bad government. Although he could write a ballad to Citizen Guillotine claim- . 16 Ethical Record, September 1990 ing that it was a "new cure for the king's evil", more typical were the verses.of Mrs Darner inscribed on the front page of his edition of The Rights of Kings: "Dear! what a lumpish senseless thing And yet 'tis very like the king! Why strive to animate the marble rock? His sacred majesty's more like the BLOCK!" Despite the slanders by critics, Citizen Richard Lee Was an example of how ordinary people could be bold in their defence of basic liberties, and much more of a credit to London and England than those pompous and powerful people he delighted in baiting.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: Lee's name crops up in most secondary works covering the 1790's although the authors barely notice him. The British Library contains the bulk of his work. The only notices of him so far is Ruth and Edmund Frow's article Charles Pigott and Richard Lee: Radical Pro- pagandists. in the Bulletin of the Society for the Study of Labour History, No. 42. Spring 1981. pp 32-5. The Working Class Movement Library contains a substantial and representative number of his works. There is another one preserved in the Public Record Office. T.S.11/837/2832. Rex.v: Lee, contains a brief interview with Lee at 444 The Strand, 3Ist October 1795. (18).

Veartats Could I make one comment on the excellent Editorial in the June Ethical Record. Large numbers of those covered by the general heading of "pauperism" are mentally handicapped. Twenty years ago they would have been patients or residents in large mental hospitals. It was increasingly recognised that, living within these institutions, they became institutionalised. Their lives were often dull in the extreme. NITS resources and staff are inadequate to provide them with the stimulus and motivation to live life as fully as they could. The cry then was that we should get the mentally handicapped out of these large hospitals and into the community. Governments took up the cry but failed to provide the resources to create alternative homes for the mentally handicapped within The community and when local authorities have tried they have met with a good deal of hostility and opposition from local communities who fear the devaluing of their own properties. People also have all kinds of irrational fears of the mentally handiCapped largely due to their own ignorance. Of all the groups suffering from "pauperism- these are the ones who perhaps most deserve our xympathy and piactical help and support. Above all others these need a caring and compassionate society. R. L. Scrase, East Molesey. Surrey KT8 9RG

Dear Friends, When I first started my working life as a lowly office lad in Fisher Street.which led out of Red Lion Square, I could never have envisaged that one of my lust endeavours Would have been in the other corner of the Square. Conway Hall in those days was a comparatively new building and I think the only time I passed through its portals was to watch my future wife perform on the stage as a member of the Commercial Cable Company's Amateur Dramatic Society. Ethical Record, September 1990 17 The South Place Ethical Society was quite an unknown entity in my life, an organisation Which no doubt throughout its existence has changed considerably and I have come to know some of its members during my comparatively short time as a financial member of the staff. My status has been more as a friend than an employee and I shall have happy memories to think back on during my lazy Wednesdays in the garden, takini care of the fruit trees which are to be bought from your generous farewell gift. 1 should like to express my thanks and pleasure on the thought and good wishes that came with the gift. I shall no doubt pay you a visit whenever in the district and probably Molly and I will come to a few Sunday concerts when they resume in the autumn. Many thanks again and my best wishes to all, Si ncerely, George Maycock, Potters Bar, Herts EN6 IHD

NEWS FROM THE BHA

• Non-religious morality must defend gay and lesbian rights as human rights, the British Humanist Association decided as its annual conference, held in Lough- borough on July 20-22. Members of the BHA — the national organisation for the non-religious— unanimously passed a conference motion reaffirming Humanist support for the rights of lesbians and gays. Hostility against gays—particularly from religious sources and the tabloid press—was deplored, and the motion called upon Humanists to counter such irrational hostility. Turning to green issues, the conference explored non-religious arguments in favour of conservation and population control. It was a return to the topic for Humanists, who first argued for environmental measures nearly 20 years ago. Third world "green consumerism" was on show at the conference to illustrate the environmental theme. Cooking pots recycled from empty paint tins and industrial scrap such as car wheel hubs; musical instruments that were once sardine tins, and shoes and toys scavenged from rubbish were part of the exhibition, borrowed from the Commonwealth Institute.

II Religious intolerance is fiercely condemned by Professor Sir Hermann Bondi,- President of the British Humanist Association and world renowned astrophysicist, writing in the Association's 1989 Annual Report published on July 2. "During 1989 religious intolerance reared its head and roared so loudly that the need for the open, caring, tolerant and unifying attitudes of Humanism became appreciated far more widely," he says. Referring to the Salman Rushdie affair, he goes on to express shame at the government allowing "this incitement to murder to proceed unchecked". The BHA states that Salman Rushdie has been condemned because he has left Islam (the freedom.is guaranteed to do so by the UN convention on Human Rights) and expressed his Humanism, because he has written a book that examines religious 18 • Ethical Record, September 1990 beliefs and our humanity. The Association thinks that intolerance towards him is a threat to all Humanists. Humanists insist on the right to express their beliefs without fear. Sir Hermann congratulates the BHA on the increasing membership it is attracting, the growing number of active local groups and the dramatically increasing number of non-religious funerals and weddings. Sir Hermann writes, "Greater and greater numbers of the population are beginning to realise that it is not necessary to pretend to believe in a religion in order to have dignified and personal rites of passage". He asserts that the BHA's firm belief in the "strength and capability of our species- has been strengthened by the recent events in Eastern Europe. But he gives a warning: "We must do our best to help those rising after long Communist indoctrination to avoid falling into the trap of religious dogmatism.- Despite the atmosphere of fear and intolerance his concluding statement is one of hope and confidence. "The BHA faces the future full of confidence in mankind's need for Humanism,full of awareness of the many urgent tasks ahead of us, full of trust and its members will rise to the challenge of the year's ahead.-

THE ANARCHISM OF ALEX COMFORT Summary of a Lecture given at SPES on Sunday. May 20. 1990 by DAVID GOODWAY ALEX COMFORT WAS BORN IN 1920. He became a pacifist as a schoolboy in the 1930s from reading World War One reminiscences. During the Second World War he was an aggressive anti-militarist heading, while still a medical student, the campaign against the indiscriminate bombing of Germany, in consequence of which he was officially blacklisted by the BBC. By this time he was an anarchist, having come to believe that "pacifism rests solely upon the historical theory of anarchism." Comfort proceeded to develOp a simple but highly original view of anarchism and expounded it in his novels—especially The Power House (1944) and On This Side Nothing (1949)—volumes of poetry, critical essays and political pamphlets throughout the 1940s and early 1950s. The existing situation was one of social barbarism or irresponsible society, dependent on obedience. Civilisation could only be defended—or expanded—by individual resistance, by the individual exercising responsibility through disobedience. "Atrocities , are not only the work of sadists—your friends and relatives who butchered the whole of Hamburg were not sadists—they were the result of obedience, an obedience which forgets its humanity. We will not accept that obedience. The safeguard of peace is not a vast army, but an unreliable public, a public that will fill the streets and empty the factories at the word War, that will learn and accept the lesson of resistance." The existence of medical science and poetry such as that written by Kenneth Patchen were, he declared, "the only two factors which give contemporary Western life any claim to be called a civilisation-. This statement points to the second facet of Com, fort's anarchism: its grounding in science. Comfort is a doctor, has a PhD in bio- • Ethical Record, September 1990 19 chemistry and was the pioneer of gerontology in this country—in short, he is a physi- cian and a medical biologist. For him it is science which comes first, not anarchism. "I believe in one ethical principle, the solIdarity of man against death . and against the human allies of death—those who side with Power. I recognise two obligations—to do nothing to increase the total of human suffering, and to leave nothing undone which diminishes it.... 1 feel that art is concerned to stale the problem. and science and direct action (not "politics- but mutual aid) to solve it in so far as it can be solved.- It was as a scientist that Comfort applied the findings of social psychology to contemporary politics to produce Authority and Delinquency in the Modern State (1950). his classic contribution to anarchist thought. Comfort is still very much alive. He published his ninth novel. The Philosophers. last summer. He is best known now as the author of The Joy or Sex. This paper. however, concentrates on the ten years from the early 1940s when he was elaborating his conception of anarchism. 0

?bored on eietele4

Angels on Bicycles (pictured on the opposite page), who seem to have become our resident Poetry and Drama Group and whose performances have been so enthusias- tically received here. are putting on the first full-length production of "Song of Songs- an adaption of erotic love poems from the Old testament. Described as a "gorgeous feast of song. dance, shadow, light and colour-, the performance will take place in the Library on Friday. September 21, entrance U. It promises to be an unforgettable evening.

General News The Small School is an experimental school which is part of the Movement for Human Seale Education. If you would like to find out more about it. and subscribe to its magazine "Small Talk". contact: Terry West, The Small School, Fore Street, Hartland, Bideford, Devon FX39 6AB.

The Leicester Secular Society, the oldest in the world, need financial help to save their building. £100,000 is required to repair the Leicester Secular Hall. built in 1881. All donations should be sent to: The Secretary, Building Fund Committee, Leicester Secular Society. 75 Humberstone Gate. Leicester (cheques 'payable to Leicester Secular Society).

A society for analytical philosophy was recently founded at the end of a three-day conference concerned with analytical philosophy in the German Democratic Republic. More than 60 philosophers from the FRG and the GDR took part in the conference at the GDR Academy of Science in Berlin. Further details from: Prof. Dr. Georg Meggle, Lehrstuhl fur Systematik and Ethik, Universtat des Saarlands. FR 5.1-Geb. 11.1. D-6600 Saarbrucken, 20 Ethical Record, September 1990 in

1990

September

Record,

Angels on Bicycles. the group who are always welcome at Conway Hall Ethical SOUTH PLACE ETHICAL SOCIETY The Humanist Centre, Conway Hall 25 Red Lion Square, London WCIR 4RL Telephone: 071-831 7723/242 8032

PROGRAMME OF EVENTS COMING TO CONWAY HALL HUMANIST CENTRE

Sunday (morning) Lecture (Free—colleclion) (Afternoon) Forums and Socials (Free) South Place Sunday (evening) Concerts (tickets 0.00)* All the society's Meetings, Forums, Socials and Classes are held in the Library (unless otherwise indicated) Concerts are held in the Main Hall

SEPTEMBER

Sunday September 16 at 2.15 pm Annual Reunion of South Place Ethical Society, with guest speakers from the British Humanist Association, Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association, Humanist Housing Association, Pro- gressive League, and Rational Press Association. Keynote address: Barbara Smoker (National Secular Society) on "Fundamentalism-. Refreshments. Entertainments including music from Janine Elton (of Angels on Bicycles fame).

Thursday September 20 at 7 pin In Conway Hall. ALEX COMFORT delivers the 1990 Conway Memorial Lecture "The 66th-, Science. Religion and Scientism. in the Chair The Rev. Dr. Arthur Peacock. It is hoped there will be opportunity for discussion after the Lecture which will be published in the same format as previous Conway Memorial Lectures, on 20th September (copies available at £2).

Sunday September 23 at.11 am Lecture: W. HOUGHTON EVANS: Architecture Modern or Tradi- tional Nostalgic, What are the Real Issues? W. Houghton Evans is the author of several books on architecture and planning and clarifies the issues raised by, amongst others, the Prince of Wales. at 3 pm Forum: IAN SAXTON: What is Meant by Bi-Sexuality? Ian Saxton of the London Bi-Sexual Group sheds light on a question too often shrouded by prejudice. 22 Ethical Record, September 1990 Tuesday, September 25 at 6.30 pm Meeting: NICHOLAS HYMAN World to Win or Destroy 1935-1991. This class will be held from 6.30 to 8.30 pm every Thesday. Syllabus overleaf

Sunday, September 30 at 11 am Lecture: Dr. MICHAEI. HUNTER: A Martyr tbr Freethought. The Case of Thomas Aikenhead. Dr. Hunter, who teaches history at Birkbeck College. University of London, is shortly to publish a major study of freethought, deism, atheism in the British Isles. especially in the 17th and 18th centuries. Thomas Aikenhead, judicially murdered or executed as a blasphemer over 280 years ago in Scotland represents a watermark in thc history of intolerance. at 2 pm Meeting: Policy and Programme Committee of South Place Ethical Society.

OCTOBER

Sunday, October 7 at 11 am Lecture: PETER CADOGAN: William Blake, Prophet of the 1990's. Peter Cadogan is giving a course at the Working Mens College, Crowndale Road. Nr. Mornington Crescent, N I on William Blake. at 3 pm Forum: CHRISTINE STOCKWELL: Overcoming the False Divide Between Alternative and Orthodox Medicine. ChristineStockwell, who has worked at Kew Gardens and is the author of a best-seller on the medical uses of herbs and flowers. She feels that there is an unnecessary eithei-or-on emphasis in most discussions about medicine, and that the natural remedies in no way exclude a scientific outlook. at 6.30 pm Concerts: Vanbrugh String Quartet. Haydn. Mozart. Beethoven.

Sunday, October 14 at I I pm Lecture: RAY DAHLITZ: Humanism, and British Influences on Rationalism in Australia. Ray Dahlitz is visiting Britain as Representative of The Rationalist Association of Australia. The Australia story is both intrinsically fascinating, and full of lessons for Britain. at 3 pm Forum: NICOLAS WALTER: The Social Thought of Simone Weil. Nicolas Walter. an Appointed Lecturer of the Society. considers the French thinker and social activist who died tragically young in the Second World War. at 6.30 pm Concerts: Bekova Sisters Trio. Ireland, Shostakovich, Brahms.

Sunday, October 21 at 11 am Lecture: HARRY STORES-ROE: The Necessity of Morality. Harry Stopes-Roc, an Appointed Lecturer of the Society. argues for a single morality rather than a ninge of options. and that such a consideration matters to all humanists. Ethical Record. September 1990 23 Sunday October 21 contined at 3 pm Forum: BARRIE BUXTON: The Holy Communion. Barrie Buxton looks over centuries at what he sees as the key strand in organised Christianity. and is still relevant to, say, holy wars in the Middle East. at 6.30 pin Concerts: Maggini String Quartet. Mozart, Borodin, Mendelssohn.

* Tickets, season tickets and information from: Honorary Concerts Committee Treasurer, Miriam Elton, Toad Hall, Copperkins Lane, Amersham, Bucks HP6 5QE. Telephone: 0494 726106.

WORLD TO WIN OR DESTROY 1935-1991 Tuesdays 6.30 to 8.30 pm Nicholas Hyman in conjuntion with The Department of Extra-Mural Studies, Birkbeck College, University of London

Twenty Meetings dealing with the Rise of Fascism; the Failure of the League of Nations; the Second World War—Total War and Genocide; Nuclear Matters from ,Hiroshima to Chernobyl; United Nations; British Foreign Policy Options after 1945; Suez 1956; the Falklands Question; Southern Africa; Israel and the Palestinian Question; the Soviet Union and the United States—real peace after the cold war?

100th SEASON SOUTH PLACE CONCERTS

The new Season of Sunday Concerts has begun and they are held at 6.30 pm in the Conway Hall which is considered to have excellent acoustic qualities especially suited to Chamber Music and is used by several recording companies.

Prioted hy St. Peters Prrss. 65,1St. Peters Street. St. Albans. liens ALI 3EA. Tel: 0727 51345: Fax: 0727 834974