LIFE UNDER A TYRANNY
SIR—Professor Harvey misunderstands and misquotes my letter in which I said that the gulf which divides the supporter of a tyrannical Government—whether German in peace or British in war— from the political rebel and victim is wider than that which divides the supporter of a tyrannical Government from the citizen of a true and free democracy. The political rebel and his friends live under constant danger of police espionage, arrest and punishment without fair trial, and have a haunting sense of frustration and of a lYranny which not only oppresses them, but is contrary to the true welfare of their country.
The supporter of a tyranny, like the citizen of a free democracy, has no sense of fear or frustration, nor does he feel that the true welfare of his country is being sacrificed. I am afraid I have little confidence in the reliability of the published official documents of any country when war is either impending or in actual operation ; nor do I trust the general judge- ment of individuals in neutral States who have made no first-hand examination of the issues at stake and may share the common human weakness for reaching conclusions by giving way to emotion rather than by exercising fair judgement which takes into consideration not only the actual deeds of others, but also their handicaps and provoca- tions. The analogy between slavery and family espionage is a weak °ne. Any fool can see that extensive spying upon parents by children muss break up completely the loyalty and solidarity of the family unit ; but the physical efficiency of negro slaves would not necessarily be greatly impaired by many forms of cruelty and injustice. In reply to Professor Hayek, I do not suppose my letter would have been allowed publication in a German newspaper. The German Government, however, does not pretend to be fighting for democratic liberty. Why in a country which does make that claim I should be expected to feel excitement and gratitude because there are still a few places where a few people are allowed to criticise and express unpopular views, and where, in spite of rapid progress in that direc- tion, approximation to the Nazi regime is not yet complete, I am afraid I entirely fail to see!—Yours truly, BEDFORD. Cairnsmore, Newton Stewart, Wigtownshire.
[This correspondence is now closed.—En, The Spectator.]
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