The Political Basis of Federation

Extract

A predominant note in the speculations of liberal-democratic thinkers on the subject of post-war reconstruction has been an insistence on the need for “some kind of a federation.” As a popular catch-word, “federation” has undoubted propagandist value. It has come to acquire some of the magic properties once associated with phrases like “a parliament of man,” “league of nations,” and “outlawry of war.” For the pamphleteer and orator, therefore, it is a readymade formula which should be fully exploited for the purpose of engendering a readiness for international collaboration.