POLITICS AND SCHOOLS
SIR,—AS the Editor of the series of textbooks which includes Mr. Horrabin's Political Geography, perhaps you will allow me a word in the interesting controversy that has developed. In his article, Mr. P. F. Wiener says that Mr. Horrabin's book "has a definitely pro-German flavour." That statement reminds me of an article I read some time ago about a certain small country. In this article the writer, a Briton, said that all the native Press seemed to take a jaundiced view of the world and that it was a pity that the country did not have a British newspaper to express the Mipartial point of view. Apparently in the opinion of that writer the British point of view is the impartial point of view ; whereas the American, Arab, Chinese or Russian point of view is bound, of course, to be prejudiced against the truth. Mr. Wiener seems to think along the same lines. If a book on international problems does • not give the British imperialist point of view and is published in the year 1942, it is bound to be pro-German. May I suggest to Mr. Wiener that there is such a thing as an international point of view, and that an international point of view is much more likely to be nearer the truth than either a German, French, American or British?
Mr. Wiener regrets mat Mr. Horrabin's book is used in some schools. He says it is political propaganda. Mr. Wiener, however, does not seem to have noticed that the main plea in his own article is that political propaganda could be introduced into the schools. He, of course, regards his propaganda as education, and any education with which he does not agree as propaganda. How biased Mr. Wiener appears to be, although he is quite unconscious of it, is illustrated by the fact that he would bar from the schools Mr. Horrabin's book which states the point of view not only of the British Labour Movement, but the whole International Labour Movement. In other words, Mr. Wiener illustrates the fact that in every economic system the orthodox education of that system is a means of preserving the existing social order, and the orthodox educa- tionist fights like a tiger to keep outside his educational domain any new school of thought which may threaten the assumed permanence of
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