SIR,—Mr. Barnes misses the point of my letter about The
War Game, which was- has Mr. Watkins actually seen a nuclear war? If not, why does he think the rest of us need to? DORIS DAVY Ridge House. Kingston. Lewes, SUAAex SIR.--Paul Mathieu believes my letter does little credit to my powers of reasoning, yet I do not see how+pis line of reasoning brings him to such a cone*n. I said: 'One man's economic freedom is another man's economic slavery.' Of course, such a bald statement as this needs many qualifications, and Mr. Mathieu has supplied one when he says, . . the welfare state denies us freedom and pre- serves us from slavery.' But surely the fact that the welfare state does perform this function confirms, rather than refutes, my original statement. One
man's economic freedom is another man's eco- nomic slavery, and so the state steps in to modify this extreme situation.
Mr. Mathieu continues: 'Furthermore, though freedom of expression does not necessarily lead to a corresponding curtailment elsewhere, in practice those who clamour loudest for such freedom arcs, the first to deny it to others.' I doubt the accuracy of this generalisation: would Mr. Mathieu care to bring forward evidence in support of it?
ANDREW BELSEY 25 Grosvenor Place, Newcastle upon Tyne 2
Previous page
