The Nation: Nixon in the Pulpit: Economic Evangelism

ANY President must divide his presidency into distinctive roles. Last week Richard Nixon was the Chief Executive, urging the reconvening Congress to act on his New Economic Policy, meeting with labor leaders to help plan what wage and price restraints will follow the end of the 90-day freeze—which the President said he would not extend beyond Nov. 14. Nixon was also the economic evangelist, preaching a new-old faith in the basic strength of the American system.

Since he has largely pre-empted Democratic proposals for aiding the economy, the Democratic-controlled Congress is likely to give him most of what he wants, although perhaps not quite the way he wants it. But the White House meeting with labor leaders on future wage-price stabilization—which will be followed this week by similar meetings with congressional leaders, businessmen and farm officials—ended on a mildly truculent note. Most of the union officials warned that they would not forgo strikes. They would accept the creation of a stabilization board representing labor, business and the public, but not, as Nixon wants, Government.

Unsuitable Role. Reviving a faltering economy depends almost as much on psychology as on programs. If the U.S. public is convinced that Nixon's policy is going to work, there is a good chance that it will. That is why his evangelical role is so important. Unfortunately, it is not a role that suits him. While his goal was sound, his rhetoric last week was less than convincing. Considering the drastic measures he has taken, Nixon has encountered little opposition from any side. A Harris poll last week showed that since the New Economic Policy wars unveiled, there has been a quick 10% rise in the number of people who feel that he is "keeping the economy healthy"; 63% still react "negatively" to the way he handles the nation's economic affairs. People are obviously waiting for results. Meantime, Nixon has apparently decided to build enthusiasm by appealing to pride and self-interest, condemning sloth, pushing a rather protectionist line and proclaiming that in economics, as in other respects, the U.S. must remain first in the world.

In his Labor Day radio speech, he extolled the work ethic, which is so "ingrained in the American character," he insisted, "that most of us consider it immoral to be lazy or slothful." The speech contained much muddled logic. Nixon equated the work ethic with the competitive spirit, although they are obviously not the same; faith in the value of work is not identical with the desire to push ahead in the marketplace. He suggested that the work ethic is threatened by wrongheadedness and indolence, when in fact it is most seriously challenged by the technological revolution, which (at least potentially) has abolished scarcity and has made many kinds of work unfulfilling or even unnecessary.

Getting More. Nixon spoke pertinently about the need to make work more creative and rewarding, but he seemed to suggest that this is a problem requiring relatively minor repairs rather than a major overhaul. Ultimately, he said, the goal must be to increase productivity, which in Nixon's uncomplicated definition means simply "getting more out of your work."