We are not concerned here solely with the duty of a choice group of
intellectuals. The questions at issue affect the people at large, those
to whose service these young men have devoted themselves. A new spirit,
an active faith, are requisite. The war has brought to light the weak
spot in the Swiss character. Touching is the shame felt by these
truehearted youths owing to the attitude of their country at the outset
of the war. They are personally hurt by such surrenders of principle.
In the strongest terms they censure the abdication of the Swiss soul at
the time when Belgium was being invaded, noting with pain the absence of
any national and public protest. But now there is a change of spirit.
"We have a young and virile movement, the movement of those who are not
satisfied with the mere existence of Switzerland, but who desire that
Switzerland should prove herself worthy to exist, by her moral greatness
and by helping to bring salvation to other peoples" (Schmidhauser). "The
recognition of this duty will regenerate our national life" (Genevese
section).
The practical difficulties are enormous, and must be frankly faced.
Switzerland is in danger of being crushed in twofold fashion--military
and economic. The fate of Belgium and the fate of Greece are plain
warnings. She cannot forego her army, for this is a necessary safeguard
of the ideal she represents. But this army, however large, does not and
cannot suffice to avert economic pressure, which is an inevitable
outcome of the existing system of society. We have, therefore, to draw
the fatal conclusion that Switzerland is doomed should capitalist
imperialism endure. For Switzerland neither can nor ought to come to
terms with either group of allied powers. To take such a step would be
to pass sentence of death upon herself. "Her existence is inseparably
associated with the victory of the ideas of supra-national solidarity,
of world-wide socialism, world-wide individualism, world-wide
democracy." Grob boldly affirms: "To imperialist immoralism, with the
device, 'Our interest is our right,' we counterpose, 'Right is our
interest.'"
What are the leading tasks of Switzerland?
They are three: the universalisation of socialism; the universalisation
of individualism; the universalisation of democracy.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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