II

INFLATION AND DEFLATION

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“You must not try to employ every one,because this will cause inflation.”

“You must not invest, because how can youknow that it will pay?”

“You must not do anything, because thiswill only mean that you can’t do somethingelse.”

“Safety First! The policy of maintaininga million unemployed has now been pursuedfor eight years without disaster.' Why risk achange?”

“We will not promise more than we canperform. We, therefore, promise nothing.”

This is what we are being fed with.

They are slogans of depression and decay—the timidities and obstructions and stupiditiesof a sinking administrative vitality.

Negation, Restriction, Inactivity—these arethe Government’s watchwords. Under theirleadership we have been forced to button upour waistcoats and compress our lungs. Fearsand doubts and hypochondriac precautions arekeeping us muffled up indoors. But we arenot tottering to our graves. We are healthychildren. We need the breath of life. Thereis nothing to be afraid of. On the contrary.The future holds in store for us far more wealthand economic freedom and possibilities of per-sonal life than the past has ever offered.

There is no reason why we should not feelourselves free to be bold, to be open, to experi-ment, to take action, to try the possibilities ofthings. And over against us, standing in the