Initiation and initiative : an exploration of the life and ideas of Dimitrije Mitrinović

POLITICAL INITIATIVES 119

Don’t expect to get more from a first reading than the atmosphere. Then put your mind at work; then read a third time with attention; and finally read a fourth time so that you may hear the music of its hidden meaning.*”

For those without the time or inclination to persevere through to the “hidden meaning” of M. M. Cosmoi, the early issues of the paper also carried a seven-fold statement of “What New Britain Stands For,” with Purdom providing a commentary in successive issues.

1. “The belief that an altogether new and different Britain is necessary and possible.”

The call was for a reconstruction of the British economic, political and social order through individual initiative and personal alliance. In Purdom’s words:

We in NEW BRITAIN are here to help to lift up the whole consciousness and feeling of the nation so that the clash of the sinister forces of Fascism and Communism may be prevented. We must succeed because nothing else is left but to expect the worst and civil war.%*

2. “The conviction that in this emergency the initiative of every British man and woman is called for.”

Just as Britain needed to make a unilateral move towards the reordering of Europe and the world, so must the British people make their own efforts to reconstruct Britain without relying on leaders bankrupt of ideas and policies.

Unless there are sufficient men and women who will translate their beliefs into action, the new society will not arise. . .

Whether you live in London or a country town or are isolated in the country; whether you are a clerk or a Member of Parliament, a charwoman or a duchess; whether you are an employer or a trade unionist, you can act upon your own initiative for the creation of the Social State. You can take the first step just where you are. That is what we invite you to do. Take upon yourself the responsibility for New Britain.“

3. “The affirmation that the perfection of the individual is the true aim of national existence.”

The twentieth century was an age of mass industry and mass politics. The development of late-capitalism and the pre-eminence of the finance houses had reduced the worker to a wage slave—individuality was lost,