Federal Government Explained
Federal Government. By K. C. Wheare. (Oxford University Press, for the Royal Institute of International Affairs. 15s.)
WHETHER decried as an imperfect form of national government or extolled as a panacea for international disorder, Federalism is a subject about which most people in this country know little. Few understand exactly what they mean by the word or are intimate with the specifically federal features even of American government ; while Federalism outside the United States is, to almost everyone, a closed book. With Professor Wheare's aid these deficiencies may be remedied. He has produced a neat introductory survey. It begins at the beginning and moves through the subject logically ; its argu- ments are grounded on the working of federal institutions in the United States, Canada, Australia and Switzerland ; it is written simply and clearly, and good references are given. The approach is practical. The author is surveying not a concept of pure Federalism, but actual systems of government predominantly dividing powers between general and regional authorities co-ordinate and independent in their own spheres. Again, it is with the practical working of these governments and not merely with the constitutions that he is concerned ; and he constantly refers to their experience when he considers the circumstances to which federal government is appro- priate, the institutions that are essential to it, and the special questions arising for it in the fields of public finance, economic and social affairs, foreign affairs and the war-power.
He emphasises usefully one point that is not always appreciated here, namely, that the desire to maintain independent regional governments has quite genuinely persisted in modern federations. Only in light of this fact can we understand properly certain much- criticised features of Federalism, such as, for instance, the written constitution, the elaborate process of constitutional amendment or the process of judicial review. It is irrelevant to condemn federal government as weak if part of its raison d'être is to satisfy a desire for weak government ; but in any case, as Professor Wheare shows, certain of the alleged strangulatory effects of federal constitutions have been much exaggerated, while at the same time insufficient attention has been paid to the positive developments of inter- governmental co-operation in federal countries. Professor Wheare believes that there is a possible future for the federal form of national government. War and economic depression are its enemies because they promote the aggrandisement of general as against regional governments ; but the growth of social services need not have this effect, so long as the logic of the financial predominance of general governments is not pushed to extremes. And he hopes that this will not come about, because he believes that there are social diversities that are worth preserving and that federal govern- ment is one means of preserving them.
In addition to providing an introduction to a central topic in comparative politics, the book contains much information on the working of the governments of the countries discussed. Most of this is available elsewhere, but is not, especially today, readily accessible. It is deliberately confined to aspects of the governments considered that are relevant to the central theme ; but these are, after all, just those aspects on which least is known here, and particularly for Canada, Australia and Switzerland it is handy to have so much information within the compass of one volume. As the Preface points out, it is unfortunate that the book was written during the war when the author was cut off from the countries he was studying, and a lack of later material is most noticeable in the passages dealing with the United States. There are also certain problems on which one would like to hear more ; for instance, that of the vested interest in Federalism, that of the obsolescence of regional boundaries, and that of the relation of federal government to other types of devices for combining social unity and diversity. Professor Wheare, however, explains that this book is just a short survey, and he modestly adds that, while he hopes he may one day write a treatise, he is not at present qualified to attempt one. Students of politics will hope for an early appearance of the projected treatise.
WILFRID HARRISON.
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