Book Reviews: The Choice Before South Africa. By E. S. SACHS. (New York: Phil osophical Library. 1952. Pp. ix, 220. $5.75.)

Date01 December 1952
Published date01 December 1952
DOI10.1177/106591295200500435
Subject MatterArticles
698
room
was
left
for
the
institutions
of
the
Italian
government.
The
chapters
on
Switzerland
are
very
short
but
well
balanced.
Professor
Loewenstein’s
treatment
of
Germany
constitutes
the
most
scholarly
contribution
to
this
book,
but
it
is
handled
in
a
manner
which
opens
it
to
criticism.
Germany
is
obviously
a
subject
on
which
Professor
Loewenstein
feels
deeply
and
has
some
very
strong
opinions.
In
view
of
his
outstanding
expertise,
it
seems
regrettable
that
he
has
seen
fit
to
indulge
in
a
kind
of
acid
personal
criticism
which,
even
if
justified
on
the
merits
of
the
case,
would
be
out
of
place
in
a
textbook.
Allied
policy
in
Germany
is
a
very
controversial
subject
on
which
well-informed
and
honest
men
may
honestly
disagree.
Professor
Florinsky’s
discussion
of
the
USSR
is
a
well-balanced
treat-
ment
of
a
difficult
subject
in
which
the
author
shows
thorough
compre-
hension
and
gives
just
prominence
to
the
social
and
economic
aspects
of
the
Soviet
regime.
A
bibliography
follows
each
part;
in
the
case
of
the
French,
Italian,
and
Swiss
sections
it is
quite
short
and,
especially
in
the
French
chapter,
not
too
adequate.
ROBERT
G.
NEUMANN.
University
of
California,
Los
Angeles.
The
Choice
Before
South
Africa.
By
E.
S.
SACHS.
(New
York:
Phil
osophical
Library.
1952.
Pp.
ix,
220.
$5.75.)
E.
S.
&dquo;Solly&dquo;
Sachs,
South
Africa’s
most
prominent
present-day
labor
leader
and
a
prime
target
of
the
Malan
government
under
its
Suppression
of
Communism
Act,
on
his
assumption
&dquo;that
most
people
in
South
Africa
are
themselves
blissfully
ignorant
of
their
own
problems&dquo;
(p.
4),
directs
this
book
to
the
people
of
the
Union
rather
than
to
readers
abroad.
The
author
looks
forward
to
the
time
when
the
racial
conflict
between
Boer
and
Briton,
white
and
non-white
will
reduce
itself,
via
economic
develop-
ment,
to
a
situation
where
the
dividing
line
of
social
life
will
not
be
racial
but
economic.
The
book
is
both
an
analysis
of
South
African
politics
and
economic
ills
as
well
as
an
account
of
the
trade-union
and
labor
movement
in
which
the
author
plays
an
outstanding
role.
The
first
section
dealing
with
Union
politics
provides
a
helpful
though
not
unique
analysis
of
the
con-
temporary
political
cauldron,
the
political
role
played
by
the
Dutch
Reformed
Church,
and
the
trend
toward
lawlessness
which,
the
author
feels,
is
characteristic
of
Nationalist
party
policy.
A
more
significant
con-
tribution
emerges
from
the
author’s
interpretation
of
various
aspects
of
the
Union’s
economic
structure.
A
fair
amount
of
statistical
material
is
furnished
which
provides
the
basis
for
examination
of
the
mining
industry,
agriculture,
and
the
manufacturing
industries,
although
it
is
pointed
out

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