Tensions in Poland; H. Sennholz

Hans F. Sennholz TENSIONSIN POLAND THE WORKERS' REVOLT in Poland raises momentous questions not only about the future of communism as a political-economic system, but also on its many implications for the West. Does it signal a terminal ideo logical crisis that in due time .will bring about changes in communist thought and practice? Is it shaking the foundation of communism as a system of political rule and oppres sion? Is it damaging the engine of Soviet power and influence? And how can and should the West respond to the proletarian revolution in Po land? The answers may be found in the thoughts and aspirations of the Polish workers who are voicing their Dr. S8nnholz heads the Department of Economics at Grove City College In Pennsylvania. He's a noted wri ter and lecturer on economic, political and monetary affairs,. and In this article recurs to the theme of his book, How can Europe Survive?, published in 1955 but now out of print.

frustrations about the economic or der and the humiliating role they are playing in that order. In final analysis, we must search for our an swer in diverse political and eco nomic philosophies that are creating insoluble tensions and conflicts. Communism is the most extreme form of totalitarianism. It is the root and prototype of all others, such as Nazism and Fascism that sprang from it. Since the destruction of Ger man Nazism it is the only surviving power that constitutes a real danger to the West. In fact, it is far more dangerous than its other variations ever have been because, at this very moment, it is conquering the hearts and minds of millions of people around the globe. For Nazism and Fascism it was surely a difficult task to convince the peoples of Africa or Asia of the superiority of the Aryan 259 260 THE FREEMAN May race or the rejuvenation of the Ro man Empire. But it is rather easy to indoctrinate them with the slogans and potions of communism.

Subjugating and Sacrificing the Individual to the State Communism bears little resem blance to the despotic regimes of kings and dictators who continue to make their brief appearances in many parts of the world. It is totali tarian, all-comprising, subjugating the individual and sacrificing him to the State. It is the total politiciza tion of life that permits no excep tions or limits, no sphere without the state. It is a secularized faith, a religiously fervent atheism. (The writings of Alexander Solzhenitsyn are a living memorial to the untold millions of Soviet victims.) It is built on the socialistic eco nomic order. Economic life hinges around the omnipotent· and sover eign center that can tolerate neither private property in. production nor individual enterprise. Every eco nomic transaction becomes a politi cal transaction that aims to sustain the omnipresent state. Every trade is used to strengthen the regime and, if at all possible, to weaken the cap italistic world. Its lack of prices and markets makes it a chaotic system that stumbles through waste and corruption, from crisis to crisis.

If it were not for the capitalistic production structure and Western technology that are copied or im ported, the Soviet economic order would operate in utter darkness, un able to sustain its hapless popula tion. In fact, living conditions in the Soviet Union that always have been on the level of underdeveloped coun tries have worsened considerably in recent years. Death rates are rising for almost every age group. There is not a country in Europe in which in dividuallives are so short and chil dren's death rates so high as in the Soviet Union. People Try to Escape Wherever communism comes to power, a peculiar law of population and trade takes effect: the people seek to escape wherever and when ever they can; but the authorities forcibly keep them in the country by means of high walls and barbed wire, mine fields, tanks and machine guns. While many individuals lose their lives in desperate attempts to es cape, a few succeed every day in reaching safety in the capitalistic West.

The flow of goods proceeds in the opposite direction, from the capital istic countries to communist areas. They· flow as alms or extortions, through lies or deception, or as the result of credits and loans that are repayable in the distant future. The communist economies are straining and reaching the breaking point in a desperate effort to sustain 1981 TENSIONS IN POLAND 261 the ruling class and build a powerful military machine. While the masses of people under communist rule lin ger in hopeless poverty, a bloated state bureaucracy enjoys all the per quisites and privileges the system can provide. The manifest disparity between the lifestyle of the working population and that of the part yes tablishment is a source of chronic discontent. Despite all the impudent boasts of the Soviet leaders, there is no hope whatever that socialism will ever provide the amenities of life to which the working people in the capitalistic countries are accus tomed.

And yet, two. circumstances come to mind that may actually give sub stance and truth to the communist boasts. If the West, in utter blind ness and stupidity, were to destroy its own economic order by adopting the methods and policies of social ism, or by ravishing its own produc tivity through currency and credit destruction, the West may actually sink to Soviet levels. Moreover, •if the West, for any reason, were to transfer its productive capital and technological know-how to the So viets and modernize communist pro duction along capitalistic lines, new life could be imparted to the barren system. It is an undeniable fact that in in credible blindness the West actually has moved in this direction, giving new hope and comfort to world communism. It has severely weakened its own currency and credit struc ture through rampant inflation and extended massive loans and credits to the Soviet Empire.

The West Is Financing Soviet Oppression In recent years, mostly since 1970, Western governments and financial institutions loaned the. Soviet bloc countries at least $88 billion. Ac cording to some estimates that in clude the credits· granted by sup pliers and other lenders, this amount may actually exceed $113 billion. The West is bailing the·. socialistic countries out of their inherent diffi culties through massive transfu sions of capital. It is buying the bread for the restive masses and capitalist technology for socialized industries. Why are we propping up the so cialistic economies and their dicta torial regimes? Three factors may have contributed to this awful blun der: Western ignorance about the nature of communism; rampant in flation, especially in the U.S., that triggered the outflow of funds' to all corners of the world; and, finally, Western euphoria about detente.

It is gross ignorance to view the relationship of a communist govern ment and its people as normal and healthy. Communist governments are not the representatives of the people, and the people are. not the constituency of the government.

262 THE FREEMAN May When we are dealing with commu nist officials we are not dealing with the people, but with the political agents of a monolithic apparatus of oppression that lacks any legitimate claim to represent the people. To grant a loan to a communist state is to join cause with the oppressors, to see them through their difficulties and preserve intact the dictatorship, which the people are risking their lives to dismantle. And yet, in their incredible confusion the big banks in the capitalist West, encouraged and goaded by equally confused gov ernment officials, supported the re gimes to the tune of $88 billion or more. Banks Pressedto Invest Surely the banks were under se vere pressure to invest huge funds rolling off the printing presses and credi t systems of their respective governments. The 1970s were years of rampant inflation as Western governments were indulging in massive deficit spending that was fi nanced primarily by currency and credit expansion. Commercial banks were the happy depositories of these new funds that needed to be in vested securely and profitably.

. To the eager bankers it was a pleasant coincidence that the com munist governments were ready to receive those funds in large and con venient blocs. Moreover, th~ banks were obliged to ((recycle" the massive influx of O.P.E.C. petrodollars that were flowing from the oil-con suming countries to Arab producers and back to commercial banks in the consuming countries. Some deposits found their way from the banks to the national treasuries that spent them on massive deficit schemes. Third World countries in Africa and Asia managed to borrow a total of $365 billion, the communist coun tries no less than $88 billion. Of course, this grant of loans consti tuted a huge transfer of real wealth from the capitalist West to socialist and communist governments all over the globe. It sustained and sup ported the oppressors and mortal enemies of capitalism at a rate and magnitude unprecedented in his tory.

MoscowContinuesPsychological War Againstthe West The euphoria that followed the detente blinded many Western lead ers. Although Moscow continued its psychological warfare with all available methods, aiming at the political attrition of the capitalist West, Western neutralists and ap peasers rejoiced about the detente and eagerly promoted the wealth transfer. The Kremlin continued to wage its war at alternating fronts, either psychological or economical, or military, or all together; the West simply disregarded the challenge and acted as if the incessant blows and 1981 TENSIONS IN POLAND 263 contemptuous injuries simply did not exist. By now the banks probably have come to realize the full meaning of lending to the Soviet bloc. But it is too late for them. The Communist debt has long since passed the point at which it could simply be written off. The magnitude exceeds by far the banks' capital and surplus, the loss of which would bring instant ruin and bankruptcy. As they can not cut their losses they are likely to make every effort to protect their old loans through new loans. As long as they finance the interest falling due, they can live by the fiction that the loans are realistic and secure.

But the protection of loans implies the protection of the debtors, i.e., the communist states. The banks as creditors thus become partners of the communist debtors and the loans become political intervention on be half ofthe communist regimes. When seen in this light, the $1 billion bank loan extended to the Polish govern ment by West German .and Ameri can banks during the present crisis is political intervention on behalf of communism. If the Polish government should default on its debt because Western banks cease to finance it or because the Kremlin decides to rattle. the fi nancial structure of the West, the 400-500 billion dollar pyramid of debt built on the ability and willing ness to repay may come crashing down on the gullible West. A com munist default, which appears in evitable to this observer, would have a domino effect on those debtor countries that· have virtually no chance of ever repaying their debts.

It is almost certain that sooner or later the Soviets will use this threat of default to gain political conces sions from the West. SUbsidizingthe BankingSystem Given the financial structure of the West and the dominant role of governments in those structures, it is doubtful that such a default would actually crush the debt pyramid. But it probably would alter its color and nature. No Western government 'would permit its banking system to eollapse as a result of foreign de fault, with the inevitable conse quences .of severe depression and 'mass unemployment. Instead, the governments of creditor countries could be expected to issue instant ,guarantees for the defaulted obliga tions and thus assume the commu nist and Third World debt. The cri sis would be averted by Western governments through the assump tion of another $400-500 billion of debt, which in time would exert its powerful influence toward more in 'Ration and credit expansion in the 'West. It would contribute its share to the gradual and ultimately total destruction of the world monetary order. Unfortunately, such a de264 THE FREEMAN May struction would devastate the capi talistic countries without a single shot being fired.

Socialism Has Lost Its Appeal The Polish workers' revolt reveals the tremendous problems, tensions, and weaknesses of the communist empire. Behind th~ impudent speeches and boasts of the Soviet rulers lies the hopeless reality of the socialist economy, the misery of liv ing conditions and the despair of millions of people who are chafing under harsh conditions. The people have to stand in line for hours to buy food that is in scarce supply or for shoes and clothing that are rationed. They walk miles to work-public transportation is most unreliable, and private transporta tion, except for the bicycle, virtually does not exist. The private automo bile lies beyond the reach of most Poles; it is reserved for members of the communist party and the ruling elite. Most amenities of life to which the workers in capitalistic countries are accustomed are not offered by the government distribution sys tem; they may be available on ((black markets" that are supplied through coup.tless illegal channels of trade and manufacture. The frustrations that are felt everywhere continue to lead to labor protests and walkouts although, last summer, Polish workers were permitted to join an independent labor union, Solidarity.

The existence of an independent labor union violates the basic struc ture of monolithic communism and, therefore, is viewed with alarm in the Kremlin. It raises the crucial question of how much decentraliza tion the Soviet system can tolerate and yet be centrally controlled. Does it constitute a serious challenge to the communist empire? The Anomaly of Unions To the Western observer the union movement in Poland constitutes a curious fruit of socialist thought that promises protection from employer exploitation-protection through organization and collective bargain ing. In the capitalistic West, it is aimed at the private owners of the means of production whose bargain ing power is said to exceed by far that of individual workers. In a com munistic country that claims to rep resent a nation of working people, the union movement confronting the communist state obviously contra dicts this claim. If a labor union is the legitimate representative of the working people, where then is the legitimacy of the state? By casting serious doubt on the philosophical and moral foundation of the com munist state, this question makes the union movement a genuine threat to communism. The union will have to be crushed forcibly, or it will, in time, erode the monolithic nature of communism.

1981 TENSIONS IN POLAND 265 The Polish workers who coura geously confront the state may be dimly aware of the philosophical im plications of their challenge, as are most people who labor and suffer under a totalitarian regime. But they are grossly mistaken in their belief that a labor union can actually im prove the living and working condi tions of the workers. Rising Productivity Is the Key to Progress It is an economic error deeply imbedded. in popular thought, even in the capitalistic West, that labor unions can raise the wage rates and improve the working conditions of the working population. Only rising productivity can bring this about. A labor union that raises production costs and disrupts production, tends to lower productivity and income. Through coercion or threats of coer cion it may allocate larger slices of a shrinking pie to workers with union seniority-always at the expense of junior workers. But it cannot im prove the economic conditions of all the people.

The Polish people will have to learn in. the coming months that shorter work days, slowdowns and strikes do not raise living standards, but lower them. Economic condi tions will deteriorate visibly and markedly because the socialist pro duction order by itself i!3 basically chaotic and unproductive. Adding militant union tactics to socialistic bungling is adding havoc to confu sion. Polish standards of living will continue to fall, which may lead to more rebellion and confrontation with the communist state. The only hope for genuine eco nomic betterment lies in a return to the private-property competitive or der, Le., to capitalism. All means of production would have to be re turned to private ownership, and economic production be guided again by costs and prices freelyestab lished in competitive markets. But those words cannot be spoken with Soviet commissars lurking around the corner. Moreover, it is doubtful that the Polish workers are think ing in those terms. They are watch ing with envy the economic condi tions in the West where working people are free to unionize and en gage in collective bargaining. Be cause there are unions there are high standards of living, most workers strongly believe, which is a logical error as old as the union movement itself.

Independent Farmers' Union The drive for Rural Solidarity, an independent farmers' union, adds yet another dimension to the conflict. A consistent communistic order that tolerates no private property in the means of production has no place for independent farmers. It uses farm workers who labor from dawn to dusk 266 THE FREEMAN May on government estates or commu nity cooperatives. The very exis tence of privately owned farms in Poland is a rare exception· to the So viet rule that was suspended tem porarily because of transitional dif ficulties. But the government is asserting its ruthless control through its monopolistic position as the sole buyer of all farm products. It is set ting its own prices and forcing farm producers to deliver their output to the state. Disobedience is denounced as ((black marketeering" and pun ished severely and mercilessly. The farmers' drive for an indepen dent union is an open affront to the communistic order. The farmers' union would want to bargain for higher food prices and the freedom to sell farm produce in open mar kets. It would press demands that are utterly unacceptable to the hold ers of communist power. The con frontation is ideological and there fore insoluble. It is all the more menacing to the communistic state as it is supported by the workers' union whose economic interests do not call for higher food prices. The strange alliance of workers' and farmers' union, therefore, is signal ling a serious challenge to commu nistic principle and authority.

What are the motive powers of this challenge? This observer is fully convinced that it is Polish national ism that is rising in defiance of Rus sian rule and supremacy. Nationalismys. Empire Nationalism is a guiding principle or creed that permeates political thought and policies throughout the world. It undergirds all modern so cieties and legitimizes their claim to authority and sovereignty. It makes the nation-state the ideal form of po litical organization, and provides the framework for social and cultural activities. Unknown before the eighteenth century, it swept through Europe during the nineteenth cen tury and conquered the world as a political ideology during the twen tieth. In its most popular garb nation alism raises the demand for a gov ernment of the same ethnic compo sition as the majority of the cJtizenry. Its goal is national self-determina tion, to be separate, independent, and equal to other nations. Seeking (tnational" or ttpopular" foundations for cultural and intellectual life, it rejects the supranational and uni versal elements of social life. Ex treme versions of nationalism tend to drown the quest for individual liberty and seek to crush the rights and interests of other people not of the race and language of the major ity group. Such has been the pri mary. ideological force that plunged the world into its major wars.

After World War II the spread of nationalism to Africa and Asia brought an end to the European co lonial empires and gave birth to a 1981 TF;NSIONS IN POLAND 267 great number of national states. The same forces of nationalism are felt in the communist empire, giving rise to conflicting national interests and creating acute tensions that are gnawing at its foundation. Yugosla via asserted her independence from Soviet Russia as early as 1948. All other satellite countries sought to regain it in vain. The popular upris ing in Berlin, the revolt of Pozen, the Hungarian revolution, the Czech rebellion, and now the Polish work ers' revolt, all reveal the tremen dous tensions and conflicts between the people and their communist masters. Polish Nationalism Polish nationalism, which. during the 19th century had merely been an upper-class movement and there fore had failed to achieve national independence, is the primary politi cal credo in Poland today. It proba bly received its impelling force and momentum from the immense suf fering which German and Russian nationalism inflicted on many Poles during and after World War II. In 1939, Polish independence was crushed by Nazi Germany and com munist Russia, acting in concert, leading to another partition of Po land. During .and after the war, more than one-third of the Polish popula tion was driven from its homes and resettled ultimately in formerly German territory that was emptied ofGerman-speaking inhabitants. The suffering inflicted by foreign nation alism has left a deep mark on the present generation of Poles, espe cially in the resettled areas. It is no coincidence that the workers' revolt started in the Gdansk area and from there quickly spread to Silesia, areas settled by Poles only thirty years ago.

Nationalism is a powerful divisive force in the communist world, a force capable of producing bitter tensions and conflicts. It is resisting thecen tralization of all power in the Krem lin and preventing it from establish ing its deadly uniformity throughout the empire. In the satellite countries it creates a wide rift between the people and the governments which receive their orders from Moscow. The Polish people reject and scorn their own government and the rul ing class of communist partymem bers who are catering to their Rus sian masters. Growing Tensions of Nationalism Within Soviet Union The Soviet Union itself consisting of nearly 180 different nationalities and tribes is suffering from growing tensions of nationalism. The Rus sians or Great Russians, as they are often called, merely comprise some 58 per cent of the Soviet population. Sizable minorities include the Ukrainians, Byelorussians, Georgi ans, Armenians, Estonians, Latvi268 THE FREEMAN May ans and Lithuanians, who are pray ing for their day of deliverance.

When, in 1941, the German arm ies invaded the Soviet Union, mil lions of people welcomed the Ger man invaders as their liberators. A volunteer army of Soviet subjects under a former Red Army general, Andrei Vlasov, fought side by side with the Germans to the bitter end. If the German conquest had not been marred by countless Nazi atrocities and the Hitler regime had not proven to be even worse than the Stalin reign, the national minorities might have risen in unison against their Kremlin masters. After the war, four Soviet republics and one national region were dissolved as a punish ment for their defection and their inhabitants dispersed over the Union. Behind the Iron ·Curtain nation alism probably constitutes the greatest challenge and danger to the communist empire. This is not to deny that in Third-World countries communism and nationalism may become uneasy allies in their at tempts at overthrowing the old or der. A government with nationalis tic ambitions,eager to ~~liberate" an ethnic group or reclaim ~~lost terri tory," may meet resistance by the Western powers, but find eager sup port by the Soviet Union. The Kremlin encourages and assists the national liberation movement and, whenever successful, reaps its rewards in the extension of Soviet power.

Conqueror Perish Why are the Soviets so intent upon conquering and extending their sphere of power? Why this unflinch ing aspiration for unlimited world supremacy? The communist politicians and sympathizers throughout the world have a ready answer: the need for self-defense. The decaying capitalist democracies, they proclaim, are bent on extending their spheres of exploi tation. Russia is merely defending her own independence. Of course, such an answer has justified all ag gressions from the beginning of time. Louis XIV and Napoleon, Hitler and Mussolini invaded foreign countries only in self-defense. For the same reason Russia annexed Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Bessarabia, a province of Czechoslovakia, a part of Finland, a great part of Poland, and Chinese and Japanese territories. Russia created a ring of satellite countries for which it claims exclu sive concern and interest. They in clude the rest of Poland, East Ger many, Czechoslovakia, Rumania, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, Korea and, since December 1979, also Afghanistan. In these countries only ~~friendly" governments, I.e., puppet communist regimes, are tol erated.

If the U.S.A. were to seek territo1981 TENSIONS IN POLAND 269 rial aggrandizement in Soviet fash ion, it would have annexed Canada, Mexico, and Cuba long ago, and con verted all other Latin American countries to ~~friendly" neighbors. But that would be ~~capitalist imperial ism" in communist terminology. When the Soviet Union embarks upon aggression it is ~~self-defense." Toward World Revolution Russia' s aggressiveness· actually is the poisonous fruit of the commu nist dogma that the Soviet Union is entrusted by destiny to· keep the death watch of capitalism. By labor ing toward the final world revolu tion, the Kremlin is paving the way for the new order. The Russian in telligentsia and many thought lead ers who afford strength and support to the regime are flattered by the thought that they are the leaders of the world revolution. They are ready to support the Kremlin as long as the world revolution is advancing and showing promise of final suc cess. To them the spread of commu nism throughout the world offers co gent proof that Marx and Lenin were right in their foreknow ledge of a new order.

The Kremlin, therefore, is under continuous pressure to produce new evidence that communism is on the march and the revolution is pro ceeding on schedule. It must take ever new initiatives of aggression and launch new attacks in order to retain the vital support of the intel ligentsia. Any break in the Kremlin momentum is inviting disillusion ment and disapproval. Any setback is threatening the very foundation of the political order. Only unflinch ing aggression and visible success can appease the Marxian intellec tuals. And yet, reason and virtue have not perished in the satellite coun tries, nor in Russia itself. To the in telligent and sensitive minds com munism has ceased to constitute a faith that satisfies their souls. Many millions of victims of communism tear at the hearts and weigh on the consciences of those who still can feel and think. Other millions of vic tims who endured sadistic brutality in labor camps are finding their moral strength to resist the dark ness. Although still imbued with the doctrines and theories of Marxism or other brands of socialism, many thinkers are rediscovering the intel lectual and moral roots of Western civilization. A large number of Rus sian writers are consciously Christ ian. To them Christianity is ·often perceived to be the alternative and main competition to Marxism-Len inism. They are emerging From Un der the Rubble, as Alexander Sol zhenitsyn and a group of intimates describe it in a ringing testament.

When given the opportunity, the great minds of Russia are escaping to·the West. The communist regime 270 THE FREEMAN May kept in place by brute force is suffer ing from ideological subversion that is gnawing at the foundation of the empire. The entrenched ruling class of the Soviet Union as well as those in all its satellites have much to fear from their long-suffering subjects. Chronic discontent with working and living conditions are sparking spo radic rebellions. The Polish troubles are an early indication that the So viet system is weakening in its ideo logical and moral foundation. It would be wishful thinking that the communist regime in Poland is about to collapse, pulling down com munist rule throughout the world. But it is certain that whatever is happening in Poland is shaking the empire and frightening the Soviet rulers. They may have to call on the Soviet armed forces for their ~~defen sive" service in the name of the so cialist world order. But the effec tiveness of the armed forces depends on their fidelity and loyalty to a sys tem that is decaying in its core. It is not surprising that the Kremlin is hesitating to order the Red Army to march.

How Can the West Respond? Recent events in Poland reveal the tremendous tensions and para doxes of the Soviet system. They manifest again that the empire structure is resting precariously on a decadent foundation that is crum bling bit by bit. When a few thousand desperate slaves are rattling their chains the whole slave planta tion must brace itself for an earth quake. The Polish workers who, with incredible courage, are tearing at their shackles, are speaking louder than the gibberish of Marxist-Len inist propaganda that pours from the Kremlin. They may fail in the end because the Red Army may yet hold together in a skirmish with an cient neighbors, the Poles. But their sacrifices may reveal and widen the fractures and ruptures of the whole system. For the final day of libera tion they may have to wait a little longer until the whole structure comes tumbling down. To the West, the Polish unrest may serve as a timely occasion for re-evaluating its basic position and policy. Should we continue to come to the support of the communist states through the transfer of mas sive capital and modern technol ogy-in return for a few more mo ments of detente? Should we help the ruling classes of the Soviet em pire to weather one crisis after an other? Or should we pursue a policy of containment that affords new hope and strength to the countless mil lions of communist oppression? Ifwe have faith in the intellectual and moral values of the West, the an swers are very simple.

The Kremlin leaders are devoting all their energies to the building of armed forces of a size the world has 1981 TENSIONS IN POLAND 271 never seen before. Counting their numbers many Western observers are despairing, talking about defeat and surrender and preparing for the worst. They are alarmed about our umissile gap," thettfighter gap," the ttbomber gap," and so on, which we are urged to bridge at once. All their facts and figures may be true. But they are completely ignoring the moral coefficient that is most impor tant in the determination of who is superior. According to a famous dic tum· by Clausewitz, we must multi ply the military strength of the en emy by his moral coefficient in order To Gain Respect to arrive at his strength in battle. That is, we must multiply the Soviet legions by the universal tyranny and oppression of the Soviet system in order to estimate its actual strength.

Such a calculation must fill us with new hope and confidence in the ul timate outcome of a collision. Surely we must not allow our selves to be lulled to sleep, act cow ardly, be confused and indecisive. We must be strong not only politi cally and militarily, but also intel lectually and morally. We must have faith in our values, in the intellec tual and moral heritage of the West., IDEAS ON LIBERTY HEAVEN knows there is no virtue in bankrupting ourselves as we pour huge revenues into supporting other nations, even allowing them to reduce their own taxes at our expense. They will value this llcharity of friends" at precisely nothing. 'Worse still, it will break their will to earn their own way and undermine their dignity. In the end, our govern ment's dole to them will put them in the almshouse along with us. By hard work and thrift, integrity, and intelligence under the free, private, competitive enterprise system, the United States grew from a small, poor republic to its present power and economic potential. As a result, our private capital, during the last century, and especially from 1900 on, has gone abroad, bringing with it managerial and technical resources and skills. It has brought to underdeveloped areas all over the earth enormous advantages and such a development as no bureaucrats or governmental agencies ever have or ever could approach.

SPRUILLEBRADEN Davis E. Keeler Natural Law and the American Tradition 272 LEGAL and political philosophy came to America with the first New En gland. colonists. These Puritans were not concerned with politics itself but treated upon it as it was involved with their religious problems. Out side of New England, though the colonists were also taken up in the problems of establishing govern ments and framing laws, there was virtually no writing dealing with the philosophy of politics or laws. In those first years, the Puritan conception of law was quite clear: the only true law was that of God's making. It was only when the rules of man were based squarely on the revealed will of God that they at tained the dignity of law. The con cept of natural law was completely absorbed in divine law. An English lawyer in Boston wrote in 1642 that the colonial tribunals ignored En glish Common law and sought to ad minister Mosaic law.