Eat, Drink, Talk; F. Mahaffy

Eat, Drink, Talk FRANCIS E. MAHAFFY BACK IN 1961 I pointed out that instead of a time of progress and development for the great conti nent of Africa, the chains of a far deeper servitude than that of colonial rule were being forged with a "Made in Moscow" or a "Made in Peking" label attached. 1 For twenty-three years I have lived and worked in Eritrea, now a province of Ethiopia. I observed firsthand the changes in that land from the time shortly after the Italians were defeated, through the eleven years of British rule, The Rev. Mr. Mahaffy served for twenty-three years as a missionary of the Orthodox Presby terian Church in Ethiopia and is presently serving as a home mission pastor north of Chicago. 1 Essays on Liberty, Vol. IX, Irving ton-on-Hudson, N.Y.: The Foundation for Economic Education, 1962, p. 191. 244 ten years as a federated state of Ethiopia, and since 1962 as a province of Ethiopia.

One day while traveling back country I stopped in the last tea shop before entering forty miles of hot dusty desert. While I was lei surely drinking tea and eating a hard biscuit, a man engaged me in conversation and asked if I wanted to know the difference between the Italian colonial rule, the later British rule (from 1941 to 1'952) and the subsequent rule of Eritrea by Ethiopia. His graphic description of the three governments appeared to me to characterize the history not only of Eritrea but of much of Africa in recent decades as countries one by one have been freed from colo nial rule. Under the Italians, he 1976 EAT, DRINK, TALK 245 said, the people were commanded to bet, u'ub, maw-anishin which translated is, "Eat, drink, don't talk." Under the British it was mabetin, ma'ubin, wanish - "Don't eat, don't drink, talk." Now, under Ethiopian rule, it is mabetin, ma' ubin, maw'ani,shin - "Don't eat, don't drink, don't talk/' Under Italian rule which began toward the end of the last century the Italian immigrants built roads and a mountain railroad, planted tropical fruit orchards, raised cattle and poultry, opened small factories and garages, built houses and cities and greatly improved the economy. To be sure, later un der Mussolini's Fascist regime much wealth was poured into the country to support the ruthless at tack on Ethiopia in 1935. But whether for legitimate enterprise or the illegitimate business of mili tary conquest, under the Italians the people generally had enough to eat and drink, the economy was healthy, though there was little freedom of the people to express themselves.

When the British conquered Eri trea in 1941, they confiscated as war booty the large cement fac tory in Massaw'a and other indus tries. They had little interest in the economic development of the country as they were a temporary caretaker government. There was progress in improved civil service, education, and other areas, but little economic development. So many lacked enough to eat and drink; they suffered from econom ic depression. Under United Na tions pressures the British opened the land to the formation of polit ical parties. This new idea was received with so much enthusiasm that numerous pro-Ethiopian and pro-independ ence political parties formed, armed themselves and began three years (1949-1952) of intense polit ical activity. Among their purposes was to destroy the opposing polit ical bands, robbing to support themselves, with one party bent on the murder of Italians. Travel on the roads was only in armed con voy. One political band robbed us at gun point and then demanded a future payment of $45 (this was before the inflation of the 60's and 70's) on pain of death - a payment we refused to make. Three years later the bandit chief who set the price on my head was apprehended and hanged for multiple murders.

Union with Ethiopia The fruit of the freedom of speech was federation with and later union with Ethiopia (al though many contend that this did not represent the true feeling of the people). Union with Ethiopia did not improve the economic situ ation and it greatly diminished the 246 THE FREEMAN April freedom to talk. Political favorit ism and misrule by the Ethiopian ruling class who were not liked by the diverse tribes of the province of Eritrea led to growing discon tent. Some of the pro-:independence hands collaborated to form the Eritrea Liberation Front (ELF). They were strengthened when Russia, and later Communist China (with aid also from the neighbor ing Arab states) upgraded their arms, financed the military train ing of their leaders - and indoc trinated them in the ideology of Karl Marx. The ELF was increasingly com mitted to the communist philos ophy, and the same influence was quietly pervading the educated classes in Ethiopia proper. Haile Selassie, a powerful monarch and skillful diplomat, succeeded in pre venting overly-ambitious cabinet members, governors, and other high-ranking officials from secur ing too much power by frequently changing their positions or ap peasing them with gifts of land.

For many decades as a popular emperor he held the diverse ele ments in the country together. In the late 50's and 60's, against the counsel of some of his advis ers, His Imperial Maj esty made official visits to communist coun tries and invited teachers, tech nicians, doctors, and many .others from these lands to Ethiopia. Their influence, along with that of the professors of the new· Haile Selas sie University in Addis, began to spread through the country. Stu dents at the University, in the high schools, and even in the grades became increasingly com mitted to the ideology of Karl Marx. This influence was strong enough among some military lead ers to enable them to successfully overthrow the old regime, execute many of the former leaders, de pose the king, and establish a socialist Ethiopia. Like Uganda, Angola, Nigeria, and many other African countries, Ethiopia has found the road to the socialist utopia a path strewn with corpses. Nor has all the blood shed been the blood of those who preferred the old order and re sisted the advance of the socialist ideal. Five to ten thousand were reported killed last spring when the ELF beseiged Asmara, the capital of Eritrea, and the Ethi opian army defended it with tanks, guns, and planes. Far more civil iansapparently were killed than were members of the army or of the ELF'.

Civil War As is so often the case, two groups professing the same basic goals are engaged in a bloody battle. The ELF describes the socialist Ethiopian rulers as "Im1976 EAT, DRINK, TALK 247 perialists and Colonialists." With in the ELF. there have been, as is the case elsewhere, rival pro-China and pro-Russia groups. The pro China branch of the Peoples Lib eration Front (PLF) is reported to have suffered a serious defeat by the ELF some months back. In Ethiopia thousands of Chinese Communists have been invited in recent years to help implement the new socialist policy and to help the Ethiopian students educate the back-country illiterate people and to establish cooperatives on the land which has been taken and redistributed to the peasants. The official declaration of the economic policy of the new Ethi 0pia is pure socialism. Major in dustries and all banks and finan cial institutions have been nation alized. A few small businesses are to be left to private ownership though under strict government controls. Even some private schools and hospitals are to continue for a while under private control until the government is able to assume this responsibility. The official paper of socialist Ethiopia states: The basic cause of the economic exploitation of man by man is the pri vate ownership of the means of pro duction. The ownership of the major means of production by a small sec tion of the population in a situation where the vast majority of the popu lation has nothing but its own labour power leads to the exploitation of the many by the few and to a highly un even distribution of income. The elimination of exploitation through the public ownership and control of the major means of production is therefore one of the primary goals of Ethiopian Socialism.2 Ideals and Motives While it would be naive to be lieve that pure idealism and not the ruthless struggle for power is often the driving motive behind the leaders of the socialist move ment, yet it is the ideals that draw the multitudes to rally to its banners. The Ethiopian socialist paper states: ... the major and immediate eco nomic goal of Ethiopian Socialism cannot be but the elimination of pov erty through the development of the productive forces and the consequent expansion of production and the pre vention of exploitation of the Ethi opian people.3 A leader in the ELF in talking to Debbie Dortzbach, who was kid napped by them and held captive for twenty-six days, said to her, "We're fighting for peace and con tentment. When the ELF win our freedom, Eritreans will have peace and much more: education, health 2 Declaration of Economic Policy of Socialist Ethiopia, 1975, p. 4.

3 Ibid. p. 3.

248 THE FREEMAN April care, and productive farming. Then there will be freedom at its best."4 With the savagery of Ethiopian rule vivid in their minds, the peo ple of Eritrea generally have ral lied behind the ELF, making it extremely difficult for Ethiopia effectively to rule Eritrea even with a military victory. Socialism in Ethiopia, however, is really not a new idea. There has been a change in rulers, and the assets of some wealthy former rulers have been taken and their land given to the people; but there is little change in the idea that the State is the mother and care taker of the people. Some years ago I was arrested and underwent interrogation by officers in the Ethiopian army, the police, and finally by the Criminal Investigation. One of the charges against me (the only true one) was that I had given charity to some widows and orphans who were not approved by the State for private charity. I was repeat edly told that charity is the work of the State and if I wanted to help people, I must give my con tributions to the governing body to distribute. (In the U.S. one is not yet arrested for helping poor widows and orphans, but charity is popularly deemed to be the work 4 Karl and Debbie Dortzbach, Kid napped, Harper & Row, 1975, p. 118.

of the State and not of individuals, families, and voluntary institu tions.) Peace, economic progress, and freedom, the "Eat, drink, talk" of my friend in the teashop, is the goal of most people, even of multi tudes who profess adherence to socialist ideology. It is inevitable, however, that socialism in Africa or elsewhere is incapable of attain ing ,these goals. There are a num ber of reasons for this fact. Social ism is the rule of men and not of law. As the Ethiopian socialist paper puts it: The Government, because of its control of the commanding heights of the economy, can engage in a mean ingful and effective planning, mar shalling available resources and gen erating and directing popular partici pation to carry out the historic task of transforming Ethiopia from a land of poverty into one of prosperity. The Government can, because it co~trols the resources, direct all available resources, both physical and human. 5 Uncertainty Hinders Progress Where men gain control of their fellow men, even though their mo tives should be the highest, the resultant uncertainty makes plan ning, investment, and wise eco nomic decisions impossible. Under 5 Declaration of Economic Policy of Socialist Ethiopia, 1975, p. 3.

1976 EAT, DRINK, TALK 249 law which is known by all and en forced, the individual and entre preneur can plan for the future. Where the whim of the man in charge determines the profits at tainable by those from whom he is able to confiscate wealth which he deems excessive, the very mo tive for the planning and invest ment essential to progress and prosperity is eliminated. Social ism. can control the economy only by controlling the people. General Teferi Banti, the Premier of Ethi opia, said: Not only have the masses of farm ers efficientlyorganized themselves to carry out the revolution by wiping out reactionary forces and feudal landlords, but they have started to show their productive capacity by running collective farms. 6 Reactionaries, Le. non-socialists, must be wiped out. Recently the new government leaders executed without trial over sixty former leaders in Ethiopia, not all of whom were by any means "right wing reactionaries."

While there has been little sem blance of a free press in Ethiopia in the past, one of the fourteen activities reserved exclusively for the State is "Large-scale printing and publishing." It is the promise of socialists 6 Christian Anti-Communism Crusade, Aug. 1, 1975, p. 8. that under them you will be able to eat, drink, and talk. This prom ise of prosperity and freedom lures many people to its fold. Socialism cannot deliver what it promises and instead effects the most strin gent curb of freedom, thereby as suring economic distress. In place of the promised peace, there is war and conflict. Nor is this only be tween the opponents of socialism and the socialists. One of the char acteristics of socialism is internal conflict. The conflict between the Nazi socialists and Russia and be tween Communist China and Rus sia are examples of internal strife between those who follow the socialist ideology. The Red China Russian conflict has manifested itself among the followers of these rival leaders in Africa.

Socialism Breeds Conflict Because socialism is an irra tional system, it is bound to lead to inner conflicts. Karl Marx de nied rationality to his opponents, describing their thinking as that of the bourgeoisie determined by their economic environment. There is no reason why the thinking of the proletariat, likewise deter mined by the economic environ ment, should set the absolute stan dard by which to judge the think ing and rationality of another class, especially in a system which denies absolutes! The Marxists 250 THE FREEMAN April have adopted a system inimical to production, based on the distribu tion of what is already produced. It destroys the freedom that alone has led to progress, denies God and His law as the framework under which man - the creature - must labor, and replaces God with the State.· The omnipotent State has set itself a task impossible of ful fillment. Since the rule is by men, not law, blame for the failure is placed not on the system but on the men in· power; and so an in ternal power struggle ensues.

It is inevitable that socialism will destroy itself because it is a system designed for a world of unreality. It has survived this long largely hecause such capitalist countries as the United States have supported it with their largess. Left to itself, it would soon amass the evidence that it is nota viable system. As R. J. Rush doony well says: "There is no greater sign of hope today than our world crises: they witness to the collapse of the enemy's power and the impossibility of his world plan."7 It is time we left the socialist countries to destroy themselves or, hopefully, to realize that the fault lies in their irrational and im moral system and to turn again to freedom under God. Perhaps there is a strong enough remnant of people in Ethiopia to turn the nation onto the path of freedom after the socialists have reached the end of their rope. Let us also develop a remnant in our land strong enough to· turn us back to a rule of law,honest money, and freedom under God, lest we too contin ue down the disastrous path of full-blown so cialism. May we learn the lesson from the African teashop and practice the principles that will enable us to eat, drink, and talk.

7 R. J. Rushdoony, Chalcedon Report, August, 1975. f) IDEAS ON LIBERTY Majority Rule THE PRESCRIPTIONS in favor of liberty ought to be leveled against that quarter where the greatest danger lies, namelY,that which possesses the highest prerogative of power. But this is not found in either the Executive or Legislative Department of the Govern ment, but in the body of the people, operating by the majority against the minority. JAMES MADISON A REVIEWER'S NOTEBOOK JOHN CHAMBERLAIN Robespierre: The Voice of Virtue OTTO J. SCOTT is an enviable man. He spends part of his writing life exploring the careers of self-start ing characters who act construc tively for their country while pleasing themselves as individuals. His The Creative Ordeal, published a year ago, was a thoroughly j us tified paean to the "wizards" of the Raytheon company, who re fined radar, a British invention, and produced it in sufficient vol ume to save England and to enable a crippled U.S. Navy to defeat Japan. Raytheon, with its M. 1. T.