lp4guld

pretension, we cannot claim our interests are menaced. Thus menacedthere must remain when the war is over a continuing argumentin the hands of the imperialists for a vast naval.establishment and ahuge army ready to attack anywhere or to resist an attack from allthe enemies we shall be obliged to have. Because always the mostpowerful argument for a huge army maintained for economic reasonsis that we have enemies. We must have enemies. They willbecome an economic necessity for us.VI · The Last MÜeTHERE REMAINS the final ingredient—the totalitarian state.Surely that cannot come here! Let us see.We have seen that already we have introduced:1. The institution of planned consumption or the spendingborrowinggovernment.2. The planned economy.3. Militarism as an economic institution, and4. Imperialism as the handmaiden of our militarism.But what of the totalitarian state? Can it be that America willever complete that job? It may be, I hear the critic say, that wehave embraced four of the elements of the fascist state but we willnot have fascism or national socialism until we add the fifth—thetotalitarian political idea. Between a democratic state seeking to planand manage its economic life and supporting it by means of nationaldebt, even though it becomes militaristic and imperialist, and thefascist state managing these things through a dictatorship there is aworld of difference.Let us say at once that there is at least a difference—even thoughit be not a world of difference—between an autarchial public-debtsupportedmilitaristic state managed by a democratic parliament andone managed by a dictator. But let us also admit frankly that thetwo are perfectly alike in all but that. Let us say to ourselves franklythat we have now adopted four of the factors of the five whichz26