Book Reviews and Notices : Politics and Poverty. BY LEWIS C. ORD. (New York: Funk & Wagnalls Co. 1948. Pp. 188. $3.00.)

• Author: Kline Swygard
• DOI: 10.1177/106591294900200328
• Published date: 01 September 1949
• Date: 01 September 1949
• Subject Matter: Articles

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Politics and Poverty. BY LEWIS C. ORD. (New York: Funk & Wagnalls
Co. 1948. Pp. 188. $3.00.)
The book was written for the &dquo;ordinary folk and workers of Europe,&dquo;
to show that prosperity at American levels is not chimerical for them
if business management and government in their countries operate in the
proper manner. To the author, the proper manner seems clear and simple.
But he is apt to leave the reader, whether ordinary or not, in some
measure of confusion because of numerous contradictions and inconsis-
tencies and because of his failure to view national economies in much
broader terms than industrial efficiency. His treatment of this latter topic
suffers from excessive repetition.
Mr. Ord’s introductory survey of political and economic history is
likely to disappoint, and in some cases annoy, specialists in these fields. It
is sketchy, oversimplified, and ambiguous as to the period and circum.
stances to which he refers.
The author deplores recent trends toward dictatorship and socialism.
Because of inefficient production practices, the people, disgruntled by
their low estate, respond to’ the entreaties of political opportunists and
idealists. The former, greedy for power, establish dictatorships for per-
sonal glory; and the latter, disillusioned about popular government when
confronted with the reality of an uneducated people, admonish willing
submission to rule by the few. Dissatisfaction and propaganda are focussed
against the capitalists and capitalism, a basic error, according to Ord,
for in his judgment there is no alternative to capitalism. Even the
Soviet Union must use capital, he notes.
Relative productive efficiency in Great Britain began to decline about
1880, when industry, after failing to obtain tariff protection, began trade
practices which eliminated effective competition and introduced scientific
management in industry. Scientific management means bureaucracy, an
unnecessarily high proportion of non-productive workers, and...