Relationship to anti-Semitism

Social Crediters, and Douglas himself, have been criticized for spreading anti-semitism. Douglas was critical of "international Jewry", especially in his later writings. He asserted that some Jews controlled many of major banks and were involved in an international conspiracy to centralize the power of finance. While some have claimed that Douglas was anti-Semitic, it is clear that his criticism of Jews had nothing to do with Jews as a race. "There is probably no single piece of evidence existing which would justify the growing dislike of Jews as a race".^[54] Douglas was critical of Jewish philosophy, arguing that “It is not too much to say that one of the root ideas through which Christianity comes into conflict with the conceptions of the Old Testament and the ideals of the pre-Christians era, is in respect of this dethronement of abstractionism.”^[55]

Social Credit is opposed to abstractionist philosophies, as Douglas believed these philosophies inevitably led to the elevation of abstractions, such as state, over individuals. He also believed that what he called Jewish abstractionist thought tended to lead them to communist ideals and the emphasis of the group over the individual. “Anti-Semitism of the Douglas kind, if it can be called anti-Semitism at all, may be fantastic, may be dangerous even, in that it may be twisted into a dreadful form, but it is not itself vicious nor evil.”^[56]

In her book, Social Discredit: Anti-Semitism, Social Credit and the Jewish Response, Janine Stingel claims, “Douglas's economic and political doctrines were wholly dependent on an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory".^[57] John L. Finlay disagrees with Stingel's assertion in his book, Social Credit: The English Origins arguing that "It must also be noted that while Douglas was critical of some aspects of Jewish thought, Douglas did not seek to discriminate against Jews as people. It was never suggested that the National Dividend be withheld from them."^[56]