25§ A Short History of the Middle East
any principles, other than the lowest one of material self-interest,
to guide it in its personal and social conduct. Muslim traditionalism
has been tried in the fire of history and found wanting; Anglo-
American liberalism is associated with an insensitive and socially-
exclusive imperialism in its British aspect, or with a somewhat
blatant display of wealth and an uninformed or perverse support
of Zionism in the U.S.A. The Nazi Fuhrerprinzip, which in the
specious crlitter of its chromium-plate and ersatz-leather appealed
to not a few, has been bombed out of existence. The Russian
system, with prestige enhanced by its much publicized successes
in the war, holds out hopes of improved material circumstances
and greater consequence to the 'under-privileged', while younger
men^of the middle-classes who arc instinctively anti-British and
were formerly pro-Nazi have tended since the war to look to
Russia for support, with reckless disregard of the heavier hand that
might replace the influence of Britain. Organized urban labour
has natural ideological affinities with the Russian system. While
Communism has recently made considerable progress in gaining
control of the trades-union movement, it has not yet had much
effect on the fellahin. But the slogans of'distribution of land' and
'cancellation of debts' could be as attractive in the Middle East
to-day as they were in the Athens of Solon: In Azerbaijan the Rus-
sian-inspired 'Democrats* proclaimed peasant-proprietorship as
one of the principles of the constitution, and were reported to have
begun dividing up the estates of absentee landlords among the
fellahin before they were expelled. Such a reform, however dis-
honestly proclaimed and imperfectly executed, would win the
support of large numbers of landless fellahin throughout the
Middle East. With the alternatives of nationalist isolationism,
Western liberalism, and Communism before it, it remains to be
seen whether the Middle East will succeed in making for itself a
synthesis or a selection of these variant policies or whether, as
seems at present more likely, it will passively have its future
dictated for it by stronger external forces. Nationalism is in itself a
means, not an end, and a mere attempt to perpetuate present privi-
lege cannot make the Middle East strong and independent. How-
ever much it decides to retain its own culture as the basic stock, it
must still choose between Anglo-American liberalism and Russian
Communism as a suitable rejuvenating strain to graft on to that
stock.