Little, Alan M.G.

English

Research Papers in Economics

COMMUNISM  - ITS  GOALS  AND  TECHNIQUES
Alan M.  G. Little, Head
Department of Inter-Agency Seminars
Foreign Service  Institute, Department of State
The  goals  of  communism  are  not  difficult  to  define.  They  can  be
summed  up  in  a  single  concept  - world  dominion.  The  techniques,
however,  are  manifold  and  effectively  orchestrated  for  that  purpose.
I  propose  in  this  lecture  to  deal  with  only  one  aspect  of  this  many-
sided  drive  for  world  dominion,  namely  the  Communists'  use of  the
usual media  of human  communication  and  to  show how they employ
these media,  scientifically  as they  think,  in order to further the ends  of
their world  strategy.
Our  thinking  will be  clarified  considerably  if we examine the  kind
of  society  with  which  we  are  dealing  in  the  communist  system  and
recognize  it  for  what  it  is,  namely,  an  oligarchical  system  in  which
government  is  definitely  "of  the  many,"  possibly  "for the  many,"  but
equally clearly  "by  the  few,"  and  not  "by the  many."  In  the  U.S.S.R.
the  population  of  215  million  is controlled  by  the  10  million  party
members  and  candidates  of  the  party,  and as  a  result  of  their  control
of  all  media  of  public  communication-press,  radio,  movies,  printed
books,  and  television,  the  great  mass  of  the  population  learns  very
little  indeed;  in  fact,  only  as  much  as  the  leadership  of the  party  and
state wishes  it to learn.
The  effects  of such control  of the  people  of the  U.S.S.R.  are  diffi-
cult  to  comprehend  by  those who  have  not  lived within  the system  as
I  did when  I  was  press attache  at the U.  S. Embassy  during  1947-49,
the  last  years  of  Stalin's  reign.  But  even  more  difficult  to  understand
is how  the  knowledge  gained  by  practicing  such  control  becomes  an
important  weapon  in  influencing  public  opinion  outside  the  U.S.S.R.,
especially  in  uncommitted  and neutralist  areas,  and  in spreading,  even
in the Free World,  the ideology of communism.
The  best method  of getting across  to Americans  the concept of the
"ideological  struggle,"  as  the  Communists  call  their  drive  on  world
opinion,  is to borrow a title  from Walter Cronkite's Twentieth  Century
Series  on  television.  He  called  one  of  these "The  Communist  Sell,"  a
concept  known to  all Americans  as  the "Madison  Avenue"  technique.
Mr.  Khrushchev  during  his  1959  visit to the U.  S. appeared  in the role
of  visiting  salesman  to  sell  the  idea of  "peaceful  coexistence,"  and  in
essence  the  Presidium  is practicing  a  highly  effective  sales  campaign
on  the  rest of  the  world.  I should  like  to point out three aspects  of the
17system  which  considerably  sharpen  up  the  keenness  of that salesman-
ship,  and further  I would  like to  remind you of four  basic ground  rules
in  the  communist  campaign.
The  three  aspects  of  communism  which  contribute  an  edge  to
communist  salesmanship  are as  follows:
1.  Communism  is  first  of  all  an  ideology,  a  definite  philosophy
complete  in  its concept  of man,  life, history,  society,  and  the state.
2.  It  is  also  a  religion  and  a  militant  church,  with  a  faith  that
presents  itself  as  a  religion  resting  on  rational  bases  claimed  to  be
scientific.  Dialectic  materialism  is not  only  a  dogma,  it  is also  truth
scientifically  demonstrated  by history.
3.  It  is finally  an  ideological  world  army  with its  commander-in-
chief,  its  headquarters  staff,  its  officers  and  other  ranks,  its  strategy
and tactics.
The  perfect  salesman  of communism  is, therefore,  at one  and the
same time  the disciple  of a doctrine,  the follower of a faith,  the servant
of  a  science,  and  the  warrior  of  an  idea.  Never  underestimate  the
strength of an enemy.
The rules  of the game are four:
1.  Communists  have  made  clear  that  they  are  operating  on  the
assumption that peace  between them  and us is impossible;  that hostility
must  exist;  that  this  hostility  is  unending;  that  it  will  continue  until
either they or we have triumphed.
2.  The Soviet rulers have made  it clear that they consider  it neces-
sary  to  struggle  constantly  against  us.  Soviet  doctrine  holds  that  im-
mutable  laws  of history will  bring about  certain  conditions  which will
make  possible  ultimate  communist  triumph.  Soviet  doctrine holds  that
triumph  can  come  only  if  the  faithful  go out  and  force  it  to  come.
The apple  will  fall  only if the tree is shaken.  While  Marxists  do believe
that  the laws  of history will necessarily  create conditions that are favor-
able  to  their triumph,  they emphasize  that  to capitalize  on these  condi-
tions,  the  party  and  its  allies  must  drive  forward  and  through  action
force  victory  out  of the  favorable  situation.  Lenin  repeated  this  point
over and over again.  Like Stalin, the present members  of the Presidium
give  it  equal  emphasis.
3.  The  Soviet  leaders  have  made  clear  that  in struggling  against
the  noncommunist  world  they  consider  as  legitimate  any weapon,  any
activity,  whether it involves  armed  force,  dissemination of information,
a  diplomatic  parley,  strikes  and sabotage,  or  what  not-if  it  will  help
them  in  establishing their  position.
184.  The  Soviet  rulers have  made  crystal  clear  that  their aim  is  to
create a crisis condition in  the Free  World,  a crisis condition  which will
enable  them  to strike  against  it a  series  of "decisive  blows"  that  will  in
the end lead  to communist  triumph.
In  the  days  when  he  was  drawing  up  the  blueprints  for the  new
society  which  was  to  replace  the  Tsarist  system,  Lenin,  long  before
"Madison  Avenue"  or the  U.  S. Information Agency  had used the term
"target  groups,"  was analyzing  the  main  forces  of public  opinion  that
were  on the  side  of  the  revolution.  Along  with  Plekhanov,  a  philoso-
pher,  a  co-worker,  he  found  two  main  targets,  (  )  the  masses  and
(2)  the  few,  or  the  intelligentsia  in Tsarist  society,  and sought  to  put
into  language  the  proper  approach  to  each  audience.  Plekhanov  came
up  with  the  proper  definitions-for  the  masses,  agitation,  which  he
defined  as  "the  presentation  of one  idea  to  a  mass  of people";  for  the
intelligentsia,  propaganda,  defined  as  "the  presentation  of many  ideas
to one or a few people."
When  the  revolution  was  accomplished,  Lenin  established  control
over  all  the  existing  media  of  communication  and  realized  that  the
radio  and  the  movies  were  new  instruments  for  agitation  at  his  com-
mand,  the  new  mass  media.  At  the  same  time  he placed  under  party
censorship  all  published  materials  in  the  U.S.S.R.  Education  in  the
party's  views  was  established  through  an  all-embracing  net  of  propa-
ganda  and  agitation  schools  which  assured  that everyone  according  to
his  lights  was  at  some  point  in  his  life  exposed  to  the  party  ideology.
Lenin  established  agitators  in every  Russian  apartment  house  in order
to  reach  the  masses  throughout  the land  and sent  party members  back
to  school  constantly  to  learn  the  rationale  for new  shifts  in  the  party
line.  Finally,  through the daily press closely  following  the model  which
he set up for a party newspaper,  he maintained  a pipeline to the people.
It  can  be  shown  that  in  this  setting  up  a  conditioning  atmosphere  for
public  opinion  he  was  seeking  to  apply  the  scientific  concepts  of  the
great Russian  physiologist,  Pavlov.
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COMMUNISM - ITS GOALS AND TECHNIQUES

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