The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1948-11-25
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have come along since election day,
because Of the prediction that Mr..
Truman would be elected.
These are welcome, indeed
But there are to be no predictions
as to whom will be in the new
cabinet.
Nor will there be any prediction
as to when we shall get into a
shooting war with Russia.
One win like that in a year ought
to be enough.
However, there are things to be
said about Russia and this is a
good time for saying some Of them.
Undoubtedly there will be things to
write about Russia for a long time
before war or otherwise.
But let's have go at what is in
mind at the moment.
4 :. Il
Karl Marx, after whom the SOW
lets claim to pattern their philoso-
ply of government, taught Belief
in the theory Of economic determin-
ism. That is to say, wars grow out
Of the economic interests Of ma
tions. Individuals, too, Marx taught,
respond to the urgings of their
economic interests.
Now if that held true we should
have some way Of measuring Russ
ian communist probabilities and we
could come somewhere near arriv-
ing at good predictions.
But Marx not only disregarded
or didn't understand a lot Of fac
tors about morality and such
things; he didn't foresee that his
own philosophy would add a new
factor to the picture.
So, Russian communist aims are
based not so much upon economic
determinism as they are upon poll
tical determinism.
1t is that added factor which so
many Americans fail to take into
account, but it is also that factor
which makes it impossible to know,
or even fairly well guess, what
Russian communism will do.
That, in fact, is the needle in the
haystaek!
Of course, as has been said so
many times, there is no peace with
Russia. There is, on the contrary,
constant conflict.
In strictly modern war there
doesn't have to be any shooting.
Let it be put this way; shooting is
not a necessary part of certain
phases Of war.
The Berlin question is a form of
war. Russia stops our train trans
port, so we have to use the airlift.
Russia stopped the trains as a
way of irritating US and making
our job harder, if not impossible
Russia obviously hoped we would
have to quit.
But we do not quit. We use the
airlife by the way of response, or
by way of fighting back.
In Korea we. go about the same
thing. Russia builds what is called
a police force, but which is actual
ly a red army, in Northern Korea.
Then Russia suggests that Russia
and the United States get out of |
Korea. Of course that would mean
leaving all of Korea in red hands.
So we sit tight.
!. Il T.
1t is not economic determinism |
that causes Russia to do these
things. 1t is political determinism
that causes her to act that way.
Russian communism clings, of /
necessity, to the idea of world rev.
Olution-toward an all-communist
world.
So, we have strictly modern war
with Russia. We don't call it war
yet, because we are all so used to
thinking of war in terms Of shoot
ng. If we begin to think in terms
If conflict, using any kind of mea-
sures, then we can start under
standing modern war.
1t is possible that either we or
Russia could win this giant conflict
any shooting at all. Russia
loesn't care how she wins, nor do