Evening star., 1960-08-21


fronting the people of the
United States and free peoples
everywhere in the last half of
the Goth century is the threat
to peace and freedom presented
by the militant aggressiveness
of international Communism
A major weakness in this
struggle is lack of adequate
understanding Of the character
Of the challenge which Com
munism presents.
I am convinced that we are
on the right side in this
struggle and that we are well
ahead now in its major aspects.
But If we are to maintain our
advantage and assure victory
in the struggle, we must de-
velop, not only among the
leaders, but among the people
Of the free world better
understanding of the threat
which confronts us.
The question is not one of
being for or against Com
munism. The time is long past
when any significant number
of Americans contend that
Communism is no particular
concern of theirs. ...
The days of indifference are
gone. The danger today in our
attitude toward Communism is
Of a very different kind. 1t
lies in the fact that we have
come to abhor Communism so
much that we no longer recog-
nice the necessity of under
standing it.
We see the obvious dangers.
We recognize that we must re-
tain our present military and
economic advantage over the
Communist bloc, an advantage
which deters a hot war and
which counters the Communist
threat in the cold war. In the
fields of rocket technology and
space exploration. we have risen
to the challenge and we will
keep the lead that we have
gained. There is no question
that the American people gen.
orally will support whatever
programs our leaders initiate
in these fields.
Stresses Faith
What we must realize is that
this struggle probably will not
be decided in the military, eco
nomic, or scientific areas, i'm
portant as these are. The battle
in which We are engaged Is
primarily one of ideas. The
test is one not so much Of arms
but of faith.
1t is not enough to- rest our
case alone on the assertions,
true as they are. that Commu-
nism denies God. enslaves men,
and destroys justice.
We must cut through the
exterior to the very heart of
the Communist idea. We must
come to understand the weak
nesses of communism as a sys-
tem-why after more than 40
years on trial it continues to
disappoint so many aspirations.
why it has failed in its promise
Of equality in abundance. why
it has produced a whole library
Of disillusionment and a steady
stream of men, women and
children seeking to escape its
blight.
But we must also come to
understand its strength-why
it has so securely entrenched
itself in the USSR. why it has
been able to accomplish what
it has in the field Of education
and science, why in some Of
the problem areas of the world
it continues to appeal to lead
ers aspiring to a better life
for their people.
It is to find the answers to
these questions that in this
statement I want to discuss
communism as an idea-its
economic philosophy. its phi
losophy of law and politics, its
philosophy Of history. :.
In discussing the idea I will
not offer programs to meet it.
I intend in a later statement
to discuss the tactics and vul-
nerabilities of the Communist
conspiracy and how we can
best fashion a strategy Tor
victory.
Traces Stages
One of the fundamentals OF
the Communist philosophy is
q belief that societies pass In
evitably through certain stages.
Each of these stages is sup
posed to generate the neces-
sity for its successor. Feudal-
ism contained within its loins
the seed Of capitalism; capi-
talism was, in other words. to
supplant feudalism. Capital
ism. in turn. moves inevitably
toward a climax in which it
will be supplanted by its ap-
pointed successor. communism.
All of these things are matters
of necessity and there is moth
ing men can do to change the
inf1exible sequence which his
tory imposes.
One of the most startling
gaps in the Communist theory
is the lack Of any clear notion
of how a Communist economy
would be organized. In the
writings Of the great founders
of communism there is Virtu-
ally nothing on this subject.
This gap was not an over
sight, but was in fact a neces-
sary consequence of the gen.
eral theory Of communism.
That theory taught, in effect,
that as a society moves inevita-
bly, from one level of develop
ment to another, there is no
way of knowing what the next
stage will demand until in fact