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MA.RXISM TODAY, I-EBRUARY 19 6 2

at him, to cover up our own fears and

inadequacies by asser t ing our own vir i l ity a

phon ey co mm ercial sales gimmick ; we grow to

value him as a pers on. All this further challenges

Victorianism and big business sex.

True, there are many quest ions unanswered

this is no t a Marx ist fi lm. Wh y do these problem s

arise? Wh y do corrupt ion , ugl iness, and

disto rted personalit ies exist? The film does not

say ; yet thou gh it does not reve al those who are

responsible, i t does cherish those who are the

vic t ims. Tru e , the homo sexual goes away,

pro bab ly bacic to his twilight wo rld. Tr ue , the

first lover never returns . Yet never is there a

hint of cynicism . Even the weak and co rrup t

mother has lovable traits and some love left in

her. Ne ver is there a con tem pt for these victims

of capitalism . In this the film is at one with g reat

humanist wri ters l ike Arnold Bennet t or Chekhov.

No intelligence is insulted, nor are commercial

values exploited (the hoardings belong to the

distributors, not the artists).

True, the film finds its values amongst squalor

and ignoranc e. But wh ere shou ld it go? To cosy

suburban drawing-rooms, or the board meet ings

of a city ban k? Can we accept the assertion of

life only in the context of trades union branch

meetings or a rent struggle? Is anyth ing else

em pty ? No , the film reasserts a faith in

humanity, a belief that man can be brother to

man. deriving it from those very people whose

faith has been systematically assaulted by all the

attendant evils of capitalism for over a century.

This is not an em pty film it is eloqu ent,

beautiful, shou ting out for life. We should

honour and respect Shelagh Delaney and a l l

those associated with her, for producing the most

consistent , warmest , humanist work so far shown

in British cinema.

S t a g e s o f S o c i a l D e v e l o p m e n t

F. Gannaw ay

O M R A D E S I D D O U G L A S ' S c on t ri b u ti o n

to this discussion (December Marxism

Today)

seems to clarify some of the issues

ra ised by Co mra de Robin Jard ine; yet in a t temp

ting to sort out definitions he seems to have added

confusion.

Ho quotes Ma rx 's four modes of product ion

(1) Primit ive Communism (Asia t ic)

(2) Slavery (Ancient)

(3) Feudalism

(4) Capitalism.

Yet he is able immediately to call these eth-

r.ological stages by the mere act of dividing (I)

above into two stages of social development.

Surely the differences between savagery and bar

barism, or say, socialism and communism (to

give a comparable phase at the opposite end of

histor ica l development) are not determined by

differences of racial, ethnological development.

His own point in reply to R. Jardine is that

different races have passed through the same

stages. He says in reply to R. J. It is incon

ceivable that the Chinese having reached the

Syndyasmian Family and last stages of primitive

communism then jumped a complete e thnological

stage (slavery) . He has a l ready quoted Ma rx 's

epochs based upon the mode of product ion, so

why confuse the issue by again calling slavery an

ethnological stage?

If we add socialism to the above four stages

we have five economic stages based upon changing

modes and re la t ions of prod uct ion which have

occurred during the three great epochs of

savagery, barbarism and c ivi l isa t ion .

Another point of similar nature: he (correctly

I think) says in answer to Robin Jardine that

slave society brok e down n ot throug h sheer in

efficiency but because the social relationships act

as fetters upon social production. Nevertheless,

later he says that slave economy almost inevitably

occurs w here a com mu nity has a low level of

development in the forces and means of produc

tion which, however, is in adva nce of barba rian

levels,

and where such a country is isolated from

more advanced economies. Again he is correct the

first t ime with regard to the significance of change

in the forces and means of production, but surely

it is not which, however. but because they are in

advance of what he calls the barbarian stage, but

which for the sake of clarity would be more cor

rectly called primitive communism.

I think that Comrade Douglas has advanced

the discussion along co rrect l ines, but th at he

will be able to make further progress in the sub

ject and help in the study of this fascinating and

valuable s ubject to the extent tha t he clarifies

and adheres to his definitions.

Published by the Commu nist Party, 16 King Street, London,

Aldenham

W C 2 and printed by Farleigh Press Ltd. (T.U. all depls.)

Herts.

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