Communist Politics in the Western World

There is no easy solution to the East-West con flict. The post-World War II period has brought both suc cesses and failures to communism. Events following Stalin's death indicated the disintegration of world communism. But since 1956 the various Communist parties have realized that centralized leadership is necessary to their progress and suc cess—Soviet guidance has now been recognized. The cold war is not a contest between two economic systems—it is a politi cal contest. At the Twentieth Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union in 1956, Mr. Khrushchev set aside the old Communist principle of the inevitability of war. This proclamation, however, did not imply a new Soviet course—it meant that war could be avoided because "the imperialists" would not fight; the superiority of communism has been rec ognized, and the West would retreat. The Berlin crisis is a use of this strategy. Russia has remained a continent-bound great power, and to her the number one political issue is Germany. Caution is necessary in any plan of disengagement in Central Europe, for a weak Germany would permit the ex pansion of Russian power over Germany and France. Con federation is proposed in lieu of the unification of Germany. Russia's long-range aim however is the extension of Commu nism in West Germany. On the solution of the German ques tion depends the future of Europe. It is necessary for the West to assume a courageous and dignified posture in this crisis.—Ed.