In the conflict now waging between Conservative and Radical elements in the various countries, no social philosophy suffers as much as Liberalism. It is at the brink of annihilation. The opponents in this great conflict for and against a new order and a better world, are political extremists, the ultra-reactionaries and the ultra-radicals. The Liberals play no role in this struggle. They are being crushed by both sides.

The last election in England showed that the old Liberalism is dead. Asquith, its representative, is out, not because he is not as crafty a politician as Lloyd George, but primarily because he is a Liberal of the Mills School, whereas Lloyd George is no Liberal, at least not of the old school. Just as England will have nothing to do with outmoded Liberalism, so all other continental countries will have no part of it. In short the old Liberalism is 2bankrupt. The people have realized that the personal freedom so strongly advocated by the old party, has not helped the world. In an era of mass movement, mass action, a political movement must [emphasize the welfare of] the group as a whole, rather than the individual. Since the old Liberalism stressed the individual, the masses repudiated it.

When Liberalism arose, the individual was bound hand and foot. The church tormented his soul, and the State controlled his movements. At that time the problem of the individual was a real one. Liberalism with its demand for personal freedom and natural rights offered the correct solution. Today there is a now problem in the world - the problem of the masses who demand freedom and their natural rights. The old party cannot solve this problem, nor does it even know how to approach it. This leaves the field open to two groups, the outspoken reactionaries who believe in the rule of force - the rule of savagery which throws peaceful people into the arms of rebellion and revolution, and the outspoken radicals who desire to make the masses happy by an enforced minority dictatorship at the cost of all personal freedom. From the standpoint of true democracy, the radicals are as reactionary as the darkest conservatives [since both 3deny the principle of majority rule].

But salvation for the masses [does not lie with the conservatives]- nor with the extreme radicals, who would deny every form of freedom in order to reach a state of absolute social, economic, and political equality. As long as nature itself shows variations in its hills and valleys, in primitive and civilized man, and as long as man is a part of nature, it will be impossible to create a state of absolute equality for man. The reactionaries' solution is an attempt to perpetuate the power of the strongest and worst elements in our present civilization.

The masses over whom they so bitterly quarrel can expect little from either group. Since there is no third party, the conflict goes on.

The situation would be tragic if we did not now see the beginning of a new political movement which will be able to participate in this conflict, 4and help to create a new social order not based upon the politics of either right or left - the philosophy of Conservatism or Bolshevism, but based upon social justice. This new movement is called Socialist Liberalism, now in its formative state in America and other countries. It wishes to eliminate the old order of exploitation and oppression, but not by revolt, revolution, or armed force. Nor does it desire to do away with the privileges and freedom of the individuals as is done by the Bolsheviks. Yet it will not tolerate the present situation which gives the individual too much and the masses too little. Socialist Liberalism, to which Asquith could not adjust himself, is a product of the Universities and other centers of learning. Its representatives are learned and intellectual people. It seeks an agreement between Capital and Labor, the State and its Citizens, authority and individual rights. Its essence lies in the ethics which form its politics. Capitalism can still exist, but it must be controlled by the State and guided by ethical considerations. A bank may not give credit to a manufacturer who exploits his workers, or is facing a strike situation. The State must grant the workers their 5right to participate in all State opportunities. It must defend with an iron hand, the economic interests of the worker. When Capitalism will thus be placed under the control of the State it will be able to continue its existence--as a blessing instead of a curse to the worker.

Such are the dreams of Socialist Liberalism. Today's dreams may become tomorrow's realities. This new Liberalism will unite all those who earnestly desire to build a new and better world without being crushed in the conflict of the extremist parties.