MERRIAM, CHARLES E. On the Agenda of Democracy. Pp. xiv, 135. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1941. $1.50

• DOI: 10.1177/000271624222100127
• Published date: 01 May 1942
• Date: 01 May 1942
• Subject Matter: Articles

194

ideal

of

individual

liberty.

Bryan

failed,

partly

because

freedom

was

not

enough.

&dquo;If

democracy

was

to

live,&dquo;

concludes

Cra-

ven,

&dquo;the

emphasis

had

to

shift

from

free-

dom

to

the

other

ingredient

of

the

dogma,

equality.

If

men

were

to

be

equal,

how-

ever,

they

could

no

longer

achieve

equality

for

themselves.

Government

would

have

to

become

more

active.&dquo;

With

this

conclusion

Mr.

Merriam

is

in

complete

agreement.

&dquo;There

are

those

who

maintain,&dquo;

he

remarks,

&dquo;on

every

occasion

when

there

is

an

accretion

of

power

to

the

government,

that

liberty

is

safe

only

in

weak

hands.

This

is

almost

the

pons

asino-

rum

of

democracy,

for

if

a

democratic

so-

ciety

is

not

willing

to

place

in

the

hands

of

its

rulers

enough

power

to

go

through

the

motions

that

are

necessary

to

save

the

life

of

democracy,

then

there

is

only

one

al-

ternative-suicide.&dquo;

&dquo;It

is

easy

to

point

out,&dquo;

says

Merriam

at

the

end

of

an

ex-

cellent

chapter

on

equality,

&dquo;...

wide

ranges

of

inequality

under

democratic

re-

gimes.

But

it

is

undeniable

that

democracy

has

established,

as

has

no

other

system

of

political

society,

legal

equality,

equality

in

suffrage

and

the

right

to

hold

office,

equality

of

economic

and

cultural

opportunity,

a

fraternal

rather

than

a

differential

basis

of

life,

and

a

goal

of

hope

for

a

constantly

wider

realization

of

the

status

of

the

brotherhood

of

man.

And

as

we

examine

the

trends

we

find

a

steady

movement

of

democratic

states

toward

the

appointed

level

of

a

coming

equality

in

human

dignity,

in

human

values,

in

human

participation

in

the

common

good.&dquo;

These

books

were

written

to

recall

tradi-

tional

principles

and

ideals

to

a

generation

enjoying,

in

its

ignorance,

a

sense

of

se-

curity

and

the

luxury

of

that

cynicism

which

is

the

fruit

of

complacency.

The

value

of

these

essays

lies

in

the

fact

that

both

are

useful

summaries

of

familiar

mate-

rial.

Neither

pretends

to

an

original

con-

tribution.

They

can

still

be

read

with

profit

in

an

age

when

the

institutions

and

the

people

of

the

Federal

Republic

are

as-

sailed

by

enemies

more

dangerous

than

any

-former

adversaries

in

the

history

of

the

Nation.

RALPH

H.

GABRIEL

Yale

University

MERRIAM,

CHARLES

E.

On

the

Agenda

of

Democracy.

Pp.

xiv,

135.

Cambridge,

Mass.:

Harvard

University

Press,

1941.

$1.50.

Professor

Merriam

believes

with

all

his

heart

in

the

positive,

constructive

state.

He

documents

his

belief

by

presenting

its

blue-

print.

The

book

is

divided

into

two

parts-

streamlining

the

structure

of

our

democracy

and

recasting

its

program.

The

first

part

includes

chapters

on

lawmaking,

adminis-

tration,

and

world

organization.

Merriam

holds

that

the

correct

role

of

Congress

is

to

indicate

broad

policy

directives

rather

than

details,

to

hold

the

administration

ac-

countable,

and

to

conduct

public

contro-

versy

at

a

high

level

in

the

interest

of

political

education.

Among

the

few

con-

crete

suggestions

offered

to

achieve

this

role

is

to

double

the

pay

of

Congressmen.

The

chapter

on

streamlining

the

administra-

tion

moves

with

a

surer

touch.

Sample

sentences

will

bear

quotation:

&dquo;Not

all

the

ills

under

which

mankind’

suffers

can

be

cured

by

better

administration,

but

few

of

them

can

be

remedied

without

sound

and

competent

modes

of

management.&dquo;

&dquo;Gen-

eral

policies

will

come

from

the

policy

makers,

but

much

of

the

initiative

for

and

correction

of

these

policies

will

come

from

the

practical

experience

of

administrators.&dquo;

&dquo;Over-restriction

might

properly

be

called

the

’kiss

of

death’

to

modern

types

of

tech-

nical

competent

administration.&dquo;

The

ne-

cessity

for

a

world

both

free

and

jural

is’

the

central

theme

of the

chapter

entitled

&dquo;Democracy

and

World

Order.&dquo;

The

believers

in

democracy

have

long

sought

dramatic

and

challenging

alternatives

to

the

programs

of

the

totalitarians.

Too

often

these

alternatives

have

been

couched

exclusively

in

the

somewhat

negative

terms

of

nineteenth-century

liberalism.

Not

so

with

Dr.

Merriam.

In

the

second

section

of

the

book

he

outlines

in

striking

and

forceful

terms

a

program

whereby

the

gains

of

civilization

can

be

made

into

mass

gains.

A

brief

history

of

our

experience

with

na-

tional

planning

is

the

preface

to

an

analysis

of

the

problems

and

objectives

which

will

face

our

planners

in

the

future.

The

possi=

bilities

of

implementing

a

social

bill

of

rights

are

outlined

in

terms

of

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