th is Issu e L. Berneri and the “The art of government is the [Spanish Revolution - p. exclusive possessionof quacks ought and Action - p. and frauds — H. L. MENCKEN b Nobody’s Child- A Father - p. THE ANARCHIST WEEKLY IVol. 20, No. 17 April 25th, 1959 Threepence disgust and departure from politics, minster for the millions who are sick Robin Day says: and tired of the Tory-Socialist slanging What makes me angry is that the two match. LIBERALS IN ORBIT parties who have dominated Westminster While at the week-end, Jo for so long should be dragging the Par­ Grimond was addressing a policy- ’HE dialectic appears to be work­ the Labourites without appearing re­ quate enough for the battle he has liamentary system into disrepute. guiding conference of Young Libe­ ing. Perhaps not as Marx would actionary on the one hand or revo­decided to fight The tragic fact is that in Britain today, rals at Manchester, where he said: “ve liked, but since his followers lutionary on the other. Mr. Day does not get excited home of the mother of Parliaments, poli­ “We have put it in a nutshell by say­ pave hitched the class, struggle to At the same time they want to about what most people regard as tics is a dirty word. It is fashionable ing that we intend to replace the Socialist ■he political band-waggon, they can appeal to the moderate, ‘progressive’ the great issues of the day—al­ to sneer at Parliament. party. But I want to make it plain once (hardly be surprised if the inevitable Tories who accept the Welfare State, though, to be fair, perhaps he will Parliament needs a blood transfusion.again that what we are really out to do ^ocess of thesis, antithesis and syn- and have a more enlightened attitudedeal with those in later articles. But But it must be good, hot, fresh blood. is to create a new party based on Liberal Not from hardened Tory arteries. Nor principles which will satisfy the strain of ihesis appears in political form. to hanging, flogging and penal re­it seems that what has made him Socialist idealism which is being smoth­ I If we regard the Conservative form, and also to the Labour Party quit his job as newscaster (while not from an anaemic Socialism. It must come from Liberals, who offer a modern- ered in the present Labour party.” arty as the political expression of supporters who have now given up cutting himself off from earning a An there, as Grimond says, it is 1 e capitalist class, and the Labour minded radical programme of their own. ideas of further nationalisation. living in TV) is the decline of Parlia­ Invigorated by Jo Grimond's leader­in a nutshell. The Liberals are out arty as that of the working class ment. to be a mass party again. Just as treated as it was to be the Parlia­ One Issue—Boredom ship, Liberals challenge the Socialist Hot, Fresh Blood! claim to be the only party of protest they were ousted by a radical Labour mentary wing of the trades unions) The Liberals want to be all things and reform. Party in the ’20s and ’30s, so they Td to accept these as thesis and to all men, and there is at the mo­ Criticising M.P.s like Angus Liberals fight to get more seats in Par­ hope to oust the Labour and become itithesis, then it is logical to look ment only one issue on which all Maude, Hartley Shawcross and liament. the official Opposition (at least) in r the emergence of the synthesis men are united—distrust and bore­Christopher Hollis for their negative They fight for a bigger voice at West­ Continued on p. 4 .tween the two. dom with politics. From the fascists rlnto this dialectic pigeonhole the on the extreme right to the anarchists liberal Party fits very snugly. Pinch- on the extreme left (accepting these *g this from the Tories, that from placings for the sake of verbal jgp&ur, the Liberals set out to have economy) with all the range of poli­ e best of both worlds and to appeal tical opinion in between, people are the sizeable middle class chunk fed-up with politics. f voters who- can, economically, Only the faithful or the job­ Tentify themselves neither with the hunters affect any enthusiasm. Only ypi talists nor the workers. the press pretends that anybody out­ Flndeed, they can go further than side of the M.P.s and party workers _Bt. They can appeal to Conserva- are really curious about the date of Ve minded workers and to radical-the general election. Tnded capitalists, like those mil- The Liberals therefore are having lonaires who to-day, (for who knows to dream up a cause which they hope ^hat reasons?) support the Labour will pay off. And the ideal they are Arty. pinning to their mast-head is— Clean Up Politics! Bring New rifr to the Middle Blood into.Parliament! We have for many years been After a publicity boost that led us inting to the drifting towards the to expect great things, the News 'ddle which has been taking place Chronicle published last week the policies of both the major (16.4.59) an article by Robin Day, "ties. It is not easy now to see ex-ITN newscaster and latest of the few much further they could drift Liberals’ TV-personality candidates, Jfrithout actual coalition—which both telling us why he was ‘going into the rstrenuously reject (as giving the game fight’. Jbway). Alas, though he talked a lot about I The time is therefore ripe for an red blood, Mr. Day went into battle 'As one loused-up llama to another, just do me a favour. For my next perishing reincarnation, put me down as a ‘organisation which is frankly and with nothing more lethal than a pop­ pigeon in Pekin.' | openly of the middle and, by criti­gun. Which, as it happens, is ade­ cism of tte other two shadow boxers, able to steal thunder from both. This seems' to us to be the ex­ a smile to the part played in public planation for the present resurgence New York Letter life. of Liberalism—or rather of the Chief Justice Goddard was never Liberal Party, which is a different caught posed smiling after a sentence matter. THE DULLES SMILE to hanging or whipping. Trouble is, the Liberals can’t put I would guess that the relative ab­ it just like that They are out to A FEW days ago the papers ran a A smile is the pomp of the body power to love are both disturbed. sence of the smile among public cash in on the apathy which is dis­ picture of Mr. Dulles as he politic. The political, non-private A year ago some forty newspaper figures in England, compared with turbing the leaders of the Tory and arrived at the airport at Washington. man does not know this. reporters were crammed in the spec­ those in the U.S., must be due to the Labour parties and therefore they He was operated on two years ago Smile means the face of a body tators’ seats of the death chamber in predominance of an aristocratic ideal have to sound some kind of clarion for cancer. The growth recurred in pleasure or tenderly recalling Sing Sing prison. A notorious mur­ figure, neurotic, aching, inwardly call to idealism. They have to be and he had recently undergone thatpleasure. There is no brave smile, derer, “Killer” Burke, was to be defeated, engraved with duty, drilled more pure-free-enterprising than the terminal therapeutic ordeal, irradia­ no smiling through tears. electrocuted. It was said that during by precept, stem, just and a bore— Tories and more pure-socialist than tion. Two weeks later he was forced The infant of less than two the ceremonies preceding his death what you see in the eighteenth and to cut short his vacation because of months smiles when his intestines Burke sat strapped in the chair, nineteenth century portraits. The a new recurrence, and here he was are disturbed by gas. Thereafter his looking round the audience. When same idea is perpetuated among the on his way to his final hospital bed, smile is the smile of recognition of his gaze came to the detective who modems. Until 1939 the official ‘ Freedom ’s 9 his skin pressed death-like on his the person who feeds him. From had arrested him he paused and “the“British” character encouraged face, his eyes showing agony,smiling. about three months he smiles when flicker of a smile played upon his among the non-ruling classes was S m ile ! The captions called it a smile and his skin is pleasurably stimulated. lips.” the dull-witted Pack Up Your I suppose this was Dulles’ intent. From about 24 months his smile The smile is obligatory for sales­ Troubles In Your Old Kit Bag sort, PROGRESS OF A DEFICIT! The effect was a mediaeval grimace. can be manipulated by parents men. Politics or merchandise, every­and the enormous success of this WEEK 16 How does it happen that the and other training figures. Certain thing goes with a smile. It is diffi­ brain-washing-away is reflected by cult to imagine a salesman with the characteristically “British” su­ Deficit on Freedom £320 customs of our society compel a man situations then demand a smile: the in agony and dying to smile? Howchild his learned that a smile is ap­ rotten teeth.