The Daily Worker Newspaper, July 31, 1926, Page 14

WHAT AND HOW TO READ The Wealth of Nations. By ARTHUR W. CALHOUN, ~ HE last time we took a general look at the economic layout of the world and its division into rival politi- cal units—empires ready to battle to the death for the privilege of plunder- ing the people of the world. But the workers need to have more than a general knowledge of the world’s re- sources. If they are to inherit the earth, they ought to know in detail what it has in store for them, As good a book as any in which to find the necessary information is “Commerce and Industry,” by J. Rus- sell Smith, professor in economic geography in Columbia University. The edition before me was published in 1920, by Henry Holt & Co. I think a new edition has come out this year, and it might be better to get it for the sake of the later census figures. Smith is a pretty good sort for a bourgeois professor. He is a Quaker and has some ideas of his own about the ways of the world and the problem of control. Especially valuable is the section on world commerce, with which the book concludes. The work- ing-lass student must beware, how- ever, of the author’s notion that the tropies will naturally remain a sub- ‘ ordinate region where the colored races will live under the shadow of the civilization maintained by the white races of the temperate zones. There is probably no scientific founda- tion for the idea that the tropics must be permanently subordinate. When as much attention has been given to the problem of making life comfortable in the tropics as has been given to mak- ing northern winters livable there will be a different story to tell. It is al- ready too late for the -whites to be cocky, About half the book is given to the resourees and industries of the United States. Before starting to study this section the reader should ask himself what a basic industry is, and particu- larly what makes an industry strategic from the standpoint of the workers. Looked at in one way, a basic industry is one that furnishes materials or ser- vices essential to thé carrying on of other important industries. It would be a good idea as you go thru the resources and industries to classify them from this standpoint, listing first the ones most essential, then the less essential, all the way down to the ones that do not matter much. If the workers are to fit themselves to take control, they need to take stock in this way in order to know how to divide their attention so that each in- dustry may be kept in proper balance with the rest, ‘ “ OOKED at In another way, an in- dustry is basic if a tie-up in it would bring other important indus- tries to a standstill. The reader ought to list the industries from this stand- point also, so that he would be clear which industries are most pivotal trom the standpoint of the labor strug- gle. Which ones would it be most im- portant for the workers to control first? What are the prospects for building up organization in these stra- tegicrealms What special tactics will enable the workers to get a real grip and build up their power at the key points? You cannot .answer these questions unless you master the lay- out of resources and industries of the United States. After you have worked these prob- lems out to your liking, pass to the foréigg lands, Better take first the ones that your study of economic geog- raphy taught you to assign to the American empire. That will be Can- ada, Mexico, the West Indies, Central and South America, and the Philip- pines particularly, Just what are they worth to the American capitalists? What difference does it make td the workers in those lands that they are under the cloud of American imperial- ism? Would they be better off under an unhampered local capitalism? Is it well to encourage revolutionary movements against American capital- ism? You may not find much in the pook by way of direct answer, but maybe a study of the resources and industries of each colonial area will enable you to estimate its chances of making a go of economic independ- ence if it could throw off the Ameri- can political yoke, Pass next t6 the most immediate rival of the American empire, namely, the British empire. That will cover the chapters on the United Kingdom, Indian and southeastern Asia, tropic Africa, South Africa, Australia and|{ Polynesia. Other countries have a look in at some points, but this classi- fication fits well enough. Estimate how well the list of resources and in- dustries matches those of the Ameri- can empire. What chance hag Brit- ain of holding up her end against Uncle Sam? ~ iy the French empire you know what to put: France and Belgium, cen- tral Europe, the North Mediterranean lands, ete. Look out, too, for the Japanese empire. Perhaps you’ll have a few lands left over that you can’t tuck in anywhere, but if so, they probably won’t matter much. How much difference will it make if Ger- many “comes back” and thru British jealousy of France is given her colo- nies again? How much difference will it make if Japan comes to dominate the resources of China? In short, yse the detailed study of resources to en- large the notions you got from the Pleba economic geography. And what will you want to find out about Russia? | think you are able by this time to make a list of the most important questions for yourself; How do resources under Russian con- trol match up against those of the capitalist world? In what directions would Russia need to extend her in- fluence in order to balance her eco- nomic system? Would it be most logi- cal to make a deal with Germany? with China? with Japan? Does Rus- sia need to disturb Britain in India? How much does she need trade‘ with the United States? When you come to the. section on world commerce, look for the roots of war. Does the story as Smith tells it hold out any prospect of* permanent peace. Where are the zones of con- flict? What powers are most likely to break the peace? And don’t forget the tables in the appendix. They may help with a good many for the foregoing questions. If you lack information on any essential fact, see whether you can find it in any of these tables. Finally: Are man’s troubles due to the stinginess of Mother Nature? How good a world does this seem to be? Does the job of mastering it look too big for the workers? What do they need in order to fit themselves for the task? What is your bit? |. NEXT ISSUE | Confessions of Karl Marx, An in teresting insight into the mental make-up of the great founder of the working class revolutionary move ment , es es American Economic Life, by Arthur W. Calhoun. A serial lesson in self- education, s+ @ The Miners’ Life, by John Fleming. This is a story of the actual life in the pits written by a British miner. es 2. # The Hearing. A story by Johannes Becher. 7s - Morgan as Banker and Railroader, by Gustavus ‘Myers. ss + @ Poems by John B. Chapple, Jim Waters, Henry George Weiss, E. Mer- rill Root and others, >. * . Cartoons by Vose and Jergers, *» * 6 Other features to be announced, The Week in Cartoons - By M. A. Bales = = <a THEY PRAISE HIM BECAUSE HE REPRESENTS TRON FIST «OF CATTALISM T PAPER FOR Ls MINERS IN THOT RIGHT 70 BE UNIONIZED | oO VERRING GLE FOR The Pome H j