KENNAN BREEDS OVEROPTIMISM, SAYS DALLIN
DALLIN, DAVID J.
Kennan Breeds Overopfimisin^ Says Dallin By DAVID J. DAMN Associaia Editor, The New Leader " I S WAR WITH RUSSIA InevitI able?" is the title of an article by George F. Kennan of the...
...ti^tt it pnrvants many paopla from earning an independent livelihood...
...Sensenkh and his coUaaguea came to Washington ^t weak, apaak' ing officially for tha Amarkan Madkal Association, to tell us that ha and hla fellow fat caU disagree with tha Idaa that social security Is a right, net a form of charity...
...An Editorial The Ruble Bloc THE SOVIET announcement that henceforth the ruble will go on the goU standard and will be worth six cents more than the old ruble (nineteen cents) is not Just propaganda, as some U.S...
...The general tenor of Kennan's article is- optimistic and "five solid arguments for p e a c e" are advanced by him...
...Had Mussolini not attacked France in June 1940, he might have kept his Italian Empire intact...
...PltESII»MT mUMAN wanU to Improve .the aoclal lacurity laws to provide pensions for persons who become permanently disabled at any age, by treating them the same way as if they already had reached the retirement age of 65...
...The ImpUcaUon is also left that the Board of Truatees of the AMA—or, at lamt, tfaair ofikial ipohaanian—have a }aw opinion of people generally, including the 144,000 phytkkuu they claim to represent...
...James Burnham tries to look deeper into the matter, to examine the possibility, under present political conditions, of bringing about a genuine European revival predicated in a sound economy...
...For a long time they will therefore have rui)le balances...
...There are other representatives . . . but most people do not realize that...
...For Instance, at another point Dr...
...IT MADE SOME OF US WONDER not only what kind of doctors these are, but what kind of people they are...
...To insure Japan's defeat...
...nor is it inclined to start military aggressions in the forseeable future...
...the tMss ran high...
...and that it makes many old people burdens on their families if not, indeed, wards of charity...
...In fact, it is tantamount to a statement by the government of the United fundamental piin' ciples of its attitude toward Rufisia...
...the rsefl are perilously dose...
...Ife live in « permaaent crisis...
...In the Old World, both East and West have lost markets as well as raw materials...
...Accordhig to him, it seems to be the AMA view s that, rather than let one malingerer get away with anything, it Is prepared ' to lot honest men suffering from soma permanent disability to go unaided through the physical and spiritual miseries of their helplessness...
...Basically, this, is a step toward consolidation of tlie Soviet Empire...
...Senaenkh 'ixplained: "WUh rafaranca to tba complaint that in tboaa araaa whara madtoal eara Is provided by a fovarnaMntal a0*Boy ihe need must ba damonatratad...
...But the Soviets never fight merely to honor agreements...
...Sensenich if a worker beconys a charity patient...
...living'standards are 30 per cent lower than they were In the 1930's...
...As far as Europe i.s concerned, creation of the new Soviet currency area means a further tightening of the reins on the satellite countries...
...Should he be shrugged off bacausa he is unable to meet the only acceptable criterion of unamployability-~old age...
...An able, intelligent, well-informed worlcer in the laboratories of American foreign policy, he was one of the fathers of the Truman doctrine, and his interpretation of the doctrine three years ago revealed a profound understanding of Soviet policies...
...In the Far East the titustion is even worse than it is in Europe...
...today she has to import it from this country at a cost of from $25.00 to $38.00 a ton...
...It is doubtful whether, in her present state of financial disorder, China can be included in the ruble bloc without jeopardizing the ruble...
...that, liecause he would need foreign help through loans and trade intercourse, he was bound to maintain friendly relations with the West Today Stalin keeps au army whose, peacetime strength is unprecedented, an air force superior to any, and a navy in the eafly stages ol expansion...
...Sansenkh what he meant by that Dr...
...that he had no Intention of expanding at the expense other na-^i tions...
...It seemed incredible that this could really be the opinions of the 144,000 physicians for whom Dr...
...Now thia aounds very much as if Or...
...Having reached a population of eighty millions—as much as France and Western Germany together—she cannot live without trade with the continent...
...Not one stopped at the "right" moment...
...Foi instance, last week three gentlemen came to Washington...
...I dan't think It should ba ambarrasalnff to tha tedlvidua...
...it is limited in scope and in time...
...thcj^maj^r currency-Tr perhsps soon the only currency^within the Soviet bloc...
...One might hava acceptad medkal objections from Dr...
...In aootlier interesting book (Half Slave, Half Fr*e), Hallett Abend says that "it is difficult to see Jiow Japan can become self-supporting in any predictable future without herself becoming part of the Red bloc in that part of Uie world...
...But this may not exclude bringing Manchuria, and other parts of China, into that bloc...
...tciu-hes that every nation moves by its own forces toward communism and that it is the t|ask of the "native Communists" not that of the Soviet army, to bring about the tranformation of the social fabric...
...In 1949, Abend reports, Japan's industrial production amounted to only S3 per cent of her 1930-34 output...
...has been trying tu establish the ruble as the basis toi trade relations with its satellites...
...He rejects both extremeproposals: a comprehensive agrmment with Moscow and a so-called "preventive war...
...group...
...But those Ways have rarely been peaceful____ "There Is no state of mind more dangerous than self-assurance, eompla-> cency, or...
...By basing *i5f rejrl« on gold, the Soviet aims to jabq^i an independent "international" ortf attempt will Toe made for present to gain recognition for the ruble outside the Soviet sphere, but it ¦;'will j?«*>«[ne...
...experts maintain...
...From his newest article it appears that after three years Kennan sees no reason to alter anything in his original argument...
...What he aaid might hava come from a typical representative of a group of manufacturers, brokers, bankers or any well-to-do...
...Thus the latter becomes in fact, a ruble area...
...The result was hardly fortunate...
...We all remember the prevalent optl-,^ mism of the war years...
...But he wasn't really expressing medical objections at all...
...strong nerves and ruthless actions are required...
...But the answer was soon forthcoming...
...If that happens, it will mark a decisive ^ep toward separation of Manetttp'ia mm ©tttna and ita4i|tt«r«tt^inU> the soviet Union...
...Dynamism," is the polite word we used to apply to the peculiar politicalpsychological phenomenon we have noted above...
...Still another thought ia expressed in Dr...
...To faithfully execute the terms of an agreement...
...It li SRsUn's belief that wt live In a prolonged period of social rsvoliiwm which In its entirety may last fifty years or more...
...Rus.<-ia is able to buy almost all tiiat the satellites can produce, but is unable to supply them with the commodities they need...
...His propaganda is conducted on a war footing...
...THE SENATORS listening to him asked Dr...
...Obviously, he is moved by considerations which to him appear more important than the trivial well-being of individual citizens...
...Once that became apparent, a lot more became clear...
...Given these premises, concern for the welfare of the individual implies weakness...
...Sensenich later undertook to answer the questions he had raised...
...Of all the great warriors, conquerors and dictators in history, not a single one was "sensible" in the way George Kennan understands the word...
...They said they were representatives of the 144,000 physicians who belong to .the American Medical Association...
...The magazine stresses the "unusual importance" of the article...
...Since 1948 the U.S.S.R...
...From our eaplains w« must expect not soothing tMcrtions, but f srslghtediiMM, bold Initiatlvs and ireat leadontate...
...All this is well kntfwn in Russia, and abroad...
...is the title of an article by George F. Kennan of the State Department in the March issue of the Reader's Digest...
...and In any way harmfuL" In plain words, it Is not going to embarrass Dr...
...To cite one example: In prewar days Japan used to buy coal from Manchuria for $5.00 a ton...
...R. L. Sensenich of South Bend, Ind., who is the immediate past president of the American Medical Association...
...He knows, of course, that his expansionist policy retards the economic progress of Russia, and that the Industrialization of that backward country lags because of the military burden imposed upon It and its dearth of manpower...
...For Russia the war ended in May 1945...
...It must retain the initiative...
...Stalin's only motive was to acquire new territories and to give a mijfhty push to the avalanche that soon rolled over the whole of Asia and has now reached its southeast peninsula...
...I am not so much coaoarnad about this naad definilVm...
...Thus the Kremlin has invented an instrument for strictest control of economic relations between the satellites and the West...
...The bill before the Senate includes i new social security proviaiAqL to establish what amounts to pension paymcnta for people who, through fate or accident, become totally-disabled and can oavar work again or aam a living...
...Sensenich claimed to speak...
...It is not true that Stalin, as Mr...
...But the Japanese were already beaten...
...If such a person is past 65 he can get an oldage pension to help him meet his problems with self-respect...
...Separated by another Iron Curtain frbm the Continent of Asia, Japan cannot revive...
...The point of the logic is that old age is not only the only disease that disables wage earners and leaves them helpless...
...Financial assistance tt> the locality should only be advanced from state or federal sources when u need can be clearly shown...
...So long as American taxpayers are prepared to bear the burden, Japan can live...
...Ktiinaii ^NtiJiWI Vtftf conclu^on that although war at an early dbtc Is not impossible, it is nol probable...
...Communist doctrine, Kennen reminds us...
...Sensenich...
...After the war, we were told by a host of correspondents and "experts" that Stalin would be peaceful and modest In his demands...
...The standard of living of the Russian people could be considerably higher, and slave labor would be unnecessary, were the tnemendous resources expended on military purposes used in other ways...
...What are Stalin's primary motives...
...Or was his article so revised in various offices that it lost much of its initial flavor...
...One wotwiered why the American Medical Association and its three medical spokesmen should internt themselves in the non-medical question of social security...
...It must keep the political and social situation In a perpetual turmoil...
...totalitarianism is always at a (ever pitch, always on a war footing, always keyed taut____" If it were not for this "fevtor pitch," ths Fuehrer, at the peak of his successes in 1039, would have abstained from new aggressions and by now might have commanded a truly powerful Gemany...
...He comes to the conclusion that, partitioned in two, Europe is doomed to waste away...
...European economic recovery," Burnham writes, "is possible only if the European Iron Curtain is lifted, if some measure of European unification is brought about, and if the whole world is opened up to relatively free economic exchange____More generally: granted the present conditions, Europe will never recover...
...that only breathing spells, not real peace, are possible between armed conflicts...
...There is, for instance, the person who contracts an incurable cancer...
...Kawntlally, this la an aftension of the idea that old aga...
...Most of them lost everything, because, mighty geniuses that they were, they overestimated their potential strength...
...A totalitarian enterprise," Burnham says, "is by its nature highly unstable...
...to live alone spells paralysis...
...In Moscow, parlance, "lack of vigilance...
...Stalin has extended Soviet power over vast new areas...
...Why, then, did she launch military operations against Japan in August of that year...
...These considerationa are overlooked by Mr...
...The sea ii rough...
...Konnan, makes it the "sacred duty" of the Soviet Uidon to assist in the rovohttlonsry tranitormations of othtr nations...
...Sensenich expressed their views...
...The Soviet Government al.so knows (but the Russian people are not told) that the eold war can be stopped the moment Stalin chooses to stop it...
...Sensenich said the Board of Trustees of the AMA was against permanment disability insurance...
...Thus, in Europe and Asia we have reached a dead end...
...The occasion was a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on the proposed bill to improve the Social Security Law...
...Once well under way, it cannot stand still, it cannot even move equably...
...One of the three was Dr...
...Senaenkh were implying that doctors and their patienta might go into cahooti on a wideapread tcala to do a kit Ql ctacatkig-xwbkh Ig a sUrtling imputation for an AMA leader to make...
...Japan's dilemma is similar to Europe's: To maintain normal relations with China, Japan would have to join the Soviet Empire...
...They don't seam to think it Important to presarva the self-respect of people,, io they sea nothing wrong with liMirlllg people to declare themselves 'puiti i n and proving their need befoi% thay can get help...
...As long as the ruble was pegged to the -4nJ^^ however, the latter continued fSllxJJ'fTs shadow upon Soviet-satellite trade relations because most prices ^~*<i'tfd to world prices—i.e., were P^9Rj{*»si7 terms of dollars...
...Total and permanent disability," he maintained, "is often a condition over which the individual who is disabled and his physician may excercise controL This subjective control which may be cxcercised by the individual multiplies the opportunity for malingering...
...AMA Lobbyist Prefers Charity to Security By JONATHAN STOUT New Leader Washington Correspondent WASHINGTON, D. C. THERE APPEARS TO BE an overproduction of representatives in Washington...
...Sensenich said: "The American Medical Association recognizes the need for asaistanca to ^ the disabled-needy, and feels that thia ' aid should always be administered on a local level...
...Drt Sensenich warned about what he called the high additional percentage of national income to be committed to social programs by the enactment of the extensions in the social security bill...
...Though they cannot live severed from each other, the Iron Curtain prevents them from coming together...
...her recovery is artificial, however...
...But Stalin does not choose to call a halt the cold war...
...that during this long revolutionary era sacrifices are inevitable, poverty almost natural, great privations necessary...
...Besides, Stalin is deeply concerned with the further industrialization of , Russia, "Large scale destruction of ' Russian cities or industrial communities would constitute a major tragedy from the standpoinffetboth the regime and thp peopje...
...Some diseases—unlike age— do not wait until we are old before they incapacitate people permanently...
...Since the conclusion of the war the Soviet Government "has not taken one inch of land by outright military aggression...
...Kennan says, has never employed force to gain territories...
...m HIS REMARKABLE new book, The Coming De]eat of Communism, James Burnham deals with the same question that George Kennan does in his magazine article...
...The three doctors from the American Medical Association came to Washington last week to tell the Senatorial conunittee that they dont think such a provision would be good for the American people...
...But what if such a person is only 35...
...and they told a visibly-impressed group of important Senators what kind of legislation the people of America ought to have...
...They will use whatever portion of these rubles they cannot spend in intersatellite trade in trade abroad, but only after the Soviet Union—which alone has the power to convert lubles into gold, dollars or sterling—has determined that the rubles cannot be spent inside the Soviet Empire...
...ia an unavoidafato disaasa all of us ev«attMll|r eatcb-4f wa live ttiat long...
...statement...
...Sensenich, in short, was expressing concern over his pockatbook...
...Sensenich...
...What is meant is a sort of steady unrest, a morbidly exaggerated initiative in home as well as in external affairs...
...that seoma to be a vary painful nattar to a certain group who conatantly tay that it should ba tat up in such a way that it U a matter of rloht and that the matter of datarminatlon of naad Is a vary painful and undesirable thing...
...Representatives of the people are not confined solely to Congressmen...
...He advocates the c«mtlnua-| tion of present policies: rearming <rf Western Europe and a "military posture" for the United Statei to deter CSEORQE ifnCNltAlf knows more and understands the situation better than' he indidates in his article...
...but more pertinent is the question whether the 144,000 physicians in the AMA will think Dr...
...It will not until the basic structure and eon41tioas are themselves changed...
...l that his primary desire was to rebuild ' Russia...
...It would be erroneous to anuine that economic conslderationi dominate - his thinking...
...From dead ends, of which there have been a great number in history, a way out ha!( usually been foimd after a time...
...Whether the general public would approve what he said is a moot point...
...In any event the Kennan piece is too official and too optimistic to be entirely convincing...
...OfRclal Communist doctrine, according to Mr...
Vol. 33 • March 1950 • No. 10
