Preface of Brotherhood Economics

Once more in the twentieth century I am reflecting on the words of the Lord Jesus, when he said, "Those who merely repeat 'Lord, Lord,' cannot enter into Heaven, but only those who really practice His words will do so." I have never heard of such a period as the present, when the teachings of Christ are being challenged. If the Church were trying to practice love in society, there would be a reason for its existence. With creeds alone I do not expect it to be able to save the world. Not that creeds are unimportant, but along with creeds and dogmas there is need for the application of redeeming love in social life.

Capitalism to-day is like a fisherman going out to fish. He prepares the rod and bait, but the fish have their own ideas! There is no coordination, but rather conflict, between the underlying purposes of fisherman and fish. In the new age we must solve this unnatural contradiction between two things which properly go together, supply and demand. We must bridge over the gap between producers and consumers with brotherly love. Otherwise, society will never be saved; but depression, panic, and unemployment will go on forever.

The theory of relativity and quantum mechanics have completely done away with the nineteenth century's conception of matter, and have rolled solidified determinism into the world of possibilities! Hence, in the twentieth century materialistic capitalism and materialistic communism also must both be abandoned. In this book I have tried to discover a new way to reach the new social order through psychological, or conscious, economy.

This volume is a development of the theme which was presented in four lectures on the Rauschenbusch Foundation at the Colgate-Rochester Divinity School in April, 1936, under the title, "Christian Brotherhood and Economic Reconstruction." The first draft of this volume was written on the Pacific Ocean as I was on the voyage to the United States.

If Mr. Sosuke Suzuki had not helped me on the rough seas, I might not have been able to finish the book. The manuscript was written originally in Japanese, and was sent back to Japan, where Miss Jessie M. Trout and Reverend Kiyozumi Ogawa gave me kind assistance in translating it into English. Several students of Colgate-Rochester Divinity School, Andover-Newton Theological School and Chicago Theological Seminary assisted in literary criticisms of the English manuscript.

Since that time it has been somewhat expanded and reshaped through the good offices of Miss Helen F. Topping, who has been assisting me for many years, Miss Esther Strong, Assistant Secretary of the International Missionary Council, and Professor Earle B. Cross, Chairman of the Rauschenbusch Lectureship Committee. I take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to these friends who have given their services to the preparation of this volume for the press.