Evening star., 1950-04-29
Communism Opposed
By Radical Thinkers,
Study Of Aims Shows
Society Must Keep On
Moving and Changing OF
1t Dies in Its Trucks
By Dorothy Thompson

''S'uS oto S"At3uS VI
1t Dies in Its Tracks
By Dorothy Thompson
One trouble with the un-Amer
lean activities people is that man.
of them equate communism with
every form of doctrine that chal
lenges the organization Of Amer
tcan society as it is. Now, sine,
society has to keep on moving ant
changing or it dies in its tracks
this attitude is a contribution Il
stagnation. 1t also demobilize
some of the most effective anti.
Communist opposition. because i
terrorizes those reformers whit
have-and passionately hold
other ideas than those of tn,
Communists. The smugly com
Portable, who accept the world a!
1t is, are ineffective against torch.
bearers who are better confronted
by other torchbearers.
Six Types Of Social Critics.
There are at least six classifica.
tions of social critics who are op.
posed to communism.
First: Members and promoters
of cooperative movements aim.
ing at increased control Of the
small producer over his produce
and the widespread distribution
OF private property and ownership
often followers of Henry George
who differentiate between profits
accruing from the creative use OF
capital in producing wealth and
profits accruing from the exploita-
,, ton of social values.
Second: Socialists who believe
In the naturalization of the basic
means of production, to be
achieved by the democratic proc
ess with full and continuing civil
rights and legal protection for the
opposition.
Third: Syndicalists who believe
that the means of production
should be owned, neither by
corporations, nor by the state,
but by organizations of producers,
Including workers.
Fourth: Anti-monopolists, who
oppose cartels, trusts, and inter-
locking directorates of industries.
Fifth: Believers in industrial
capitalism but highly critical of
the banking system, who often be-
lieve In social credit" and oppose
the institution of interest as usury
. Sixth: Devotees of human rights
who oppose and protest racial. re-
Ggious, and political prosecutions,
whether of groups or individuals,
anywhere in the world.
Radical No. 1.-The distributist
---loathes the Communist. con-
sidering him the ugly spawn of q
cooperative capitalism which has
proletarianized industrial society
A well-versed follower of Henry
George can mop up Communists
In argument much more effectively
than vice president of the Bank
ers Trust Co.
Ell The same is true of radical No. Q.
Many of the most intelligent and
nsistent attacks on communism
are made by democratic socialists.
Radical No. 3-the syndicalist
lis a philosophical anarchist who
thinks the state is, by it's nature,
an instrument of oppression, and
that transference of economic
power from big business to big
government substituting state
capitalism for big business capital
ism is simply avoiding the issue
and confounding progress.
" Radical No. 4 is a descendant of
the Populist movement. a native
born grass-roots American.
Radical No. 5-A group includ-
ing many great industrialists, of
whom Henry Ford (the elder was
the outstanding example. When
Ford got on the subject of "the
bankers. he mounted a soapbox
with fire in his eye.
.- Radical No. 6-the crusader for
human rightS-crusade against
anti-semitism. lynching and Jim
, Crowism land the Communists
sapplaudD, and against Soviet JUS
tice and Soviet slave labor camps
(and the Communists denounce
him).
= Step on Lots of Toes.
All these radicals step on lots
OF toes. separately, together, and
on each others. The Southern
Senator applauds radical No.
when he concentrates on Soviet
slave labor. but howls "commu-
nism" when he attacks Jim Crow
ism. Cooperative movements run
up against promoters, merchan-
dizing corporations, and what not,
who yell Communist" a
cooperative is a corporation too
When a single-taxer gets after
the real-estate interests, he looks
worse than a Red. And the dull
mind Jumps them all together as
eubversive. OF what?
Radicals are necessary. They
think and care about things
Communists are despicable-and
they aren't radicals any longer
They haven't had a new idea fol-
q hundred years, can't speak OF
think except in slavish slogans
and If there is anything obscene
it is some one who schemes tt
overthrow the whole of human
society in behalf of the millennium
while chanting a confession tt
some super thug. They manage tc
be menace and a deadly bore al
the same time.
But this country needs plenty
of radicals. of all kinds. Wher
there are enough, the crackpots
cancel each other out while grad
ually some parts of their various
thoughts, observations and expe.