PREFACE
THE challenge to democracy is most clearly expressed
in the support given to dictatorship. But there is a
deeper challenge in the situation out of which dictator-
ship has arisen. Dictatorship may be objectionable;
but arguments against it should not hide the difficulties
with which the democratic tradition itself is faced; for
dictatorship is only an effort to meet the needs of the
present situation by resorting to primitive methods
of organizing the desire for a life in common. And
even if we reject dictatorship, we shall still have to
face the fact that poverty and war and other evils
exist. What is to be done about such evils? It is clear
at least that we cannot safely wait for the clouds to
roll by, in any country.
The challenge which is felt in the pressure of evils
is, from another point of view, an effort of new forces
to seek an outlet among institutions which have been
inherited from a very different past. The desire for
social change is due mainly to the dissolution of tradi-
tional customs and the consequent feeling of isolation
or helplessness, especially amon£ the young. If men
and women feel that they are out in the cold, they will
fly to any refuge—even the lair of the cave-man.
The real issue, therefore, is not a question of political
devices or economic organization: it is a challenge
to the whole basis of civilized life—the free discussion
of opposing views and the criticism of authorities.
J