What is the conclusion of what I have tried to say to you? There are at
the present time two great causes of fighting and hostility. There used
to be three. There was a time when men fought about religious doctrine,
and though I do not defend it, it was perhaps less sordid than some of
our fights to-day. Now the two great causes of fighting are greed and
fear. Generally speaking, I think we may say that greed in international
matters is a less potent cause of hostility than fear. The disease the
world is suffering from is the disease of fear and suspicion. You see it
between man and man, between class and class, and most of all between
nation and nation. People reproach this great country and other great
countries with being unreasonable or unwilling to make concessions. If
you look deeply into it you will find always the same cause. It is not
mere perversity; it is fear and fear alone that makes men unreasonable
and contentious. It is no new thing; it has existed from the foundation
of the world. The Prime Minister the other day said, and said quite
truly, that the provisions of the Covenant, however admirable, were not
in themselves sufficient to secure the peace of the world. He made an
appeal, quite rightly, to the religious forces and organisations to
assist. I agree, but after all something may be done by political
action, and something by international organisation. In modern medicine
doctors are constantly telling us they cannot cure any disease--all they
can do is to give nature a chance. No Covenant will teach men to be
moral or peace-loving, but you can remove, diminish, or modify the
conditions which make for war, and take obstacles out of the way of
peace. We advocate partnership in industry and social life. We advocate
self-government, international co-operation. We recognise that these are
no ends in themselves; they are means to the end; they are the
influences which will facilitate the triumph of the right and impede the
success of the wrong.
But looking deeper into the matter, to the very foundations, we
recognise, all of us, the most devoted adherents of the League, and all
men of goodwill, that in the end we must strive for the brotherhood of
man. We admit we can do comparatively little to help it forward. We
recognise that our efforts, whether by covenant or other means, must
necessarily be imperfect; but we say, and say rightly, that we have been
told that perfect love casteth out fear, and that any step towards that
love, however imperfect, will at any rate mitigate the terrors of
mankind.