The Slippery Slope

These papers were selected for publication by Mr Bailward shortly before the War; therefore in giving them to the public his friends feel that they are fulfilling his wishes. It may seem to some readers that as the Parliamentary Bills which are the subject of his keen criticism have most of them become Acts, it is of no use to cry over spilt milk. It must, however, be remembered that because an ill-advised measure becomes law it is not thereby endued with wisdom; and if, as has happened in the case of many of these Acts, criticism has unfortunately been proved by experience to be well-founded, it may act as a warning. It may not only prevent further mischief, but show the path of amendment.

Two things, at least, stand out prominently in these papers. The first is the remarkable lucidity of the writer's style. Mr Bailward was a master of English, and he was therefore able to say what he wished with ease and humour. Hence, though he deals with subjects which are too often considered uninteresting by the general public, they are handled with such lightness and even brilliancy of touch that there is hardly a dull line in the book.

The author is careful to point out that his writings are not intended to convert Socialists who have made up their minds and who have a settled policy; but to warn those who may still be hesitating on the edge of the "slippery slope." There must be many men and women who have neither time, inclination, nor opportunity for studying the difficult problems of Social Science; but who listen readily to those who recommend the downhill path, partly because it appears to be the easier and follows the line of least resistance, but partly also because they do not want to be thought retrograde or out-of-date: they do not care to be treated with the pitying contempt of which the reformer who professes to disbelieve in the Laws of Political Economy has so large a stock-in-trade. To these such a paper as the one entitled "Social Study on Large Maps" would show clearly that the problems of to-day were those of hundreds and even thousands of years ago; that the remedies applied to social ills in ancient Greece and Rome failed, as they will do to-day, if the weakness and strength of human nature are alike disregarded by those who desire them.