Schlesinger Says Socialism Forms Road to Tyranny

"Total government planning creates an inflexible economy that can stagnate society," Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. '38, Associate Professor of History, stated at a conference Saturday afternoon on "Planning in a Free Society," sponsored by the Society for Industrial Democracy.

Schlesinger urged that America adopt a New Deal-Fair Deal variety of planning rather than the "classical socialism" advocated by his opponent, M. J. Coldwell, a Cooperative Commonwealth Federation leader and Socialist member of the Canadian Parliament.

"A total planning system can work only in war," Schlesinger, said. "The New Deal and the Fair Deal have developed a healthy mixed economy, which does not run the risk of harming political freedom."

Says Socialism Insures Freedom

Coldwell argued that democratic socialism, instead of threatening freedom, insures it, since the base of many freedoms is economic security. "Socialistic planning does not mean regimentation," he added. "In a free society it can be done through local organization. This is where the New Deal fell through."

Coldwell summed up by pointing out that reconciliation of planning and freedom is the problem of modern democracy. He added that he would like to see this done on an international scale.