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Show Is U.S. Going Socialist? It's World-Wide Argument By BAUKHAGE News Analyst mnd Commentator. WASHINGTON. As congress sharpens its teeth for the True-Deal" program (The "true" being for Truman), some of the gentlemen who have watched things going on behind the scenes in Washington for a long time (maybe too long) have a habit of blinking and saying in hushed voice: "Say, is America going socialist without knowing it?" Long before the November election a number of European statesmen, editors, professional politicians and others who are backing the various locialist and socialist-inclined governments, including Britain's, were getting really worried lest a probable Republican victory should make an emphatically capitalistic America less sympathetic toward left-of-center regimes. The Truman upset caused them to whoop with joy. After they read the President's state of rr:- "s , , i ' , the union message on January 5, and after his appointment appoint-ment of Dean Acheson- as secretary of state, they pulled out a chair on the left side of the international inter-national table, expecting ex-pecting him to sit right down and join them. What was probably prob-ably as much wishful wish-ful thinking as any- mysterious remarks, it might indicate in-dicate that there is or was an element in the Soviet leadership which felt it was better to try to get along with us. The explanation of the controversy contro-versy among Russian economists is this: Soviet foreign policy, specifically maintenance of the cold war, is supposed to be based on a belief that the United States is headed directly toward another depression. de-pression. This "bust" will so sap our strength that all the Soviets will have to do is to take us over with little or no real military struggle. (The revolt of the proletariat) We'll be too down and out to help anti-Communist anti-Communist Europe. The anti-communist countries will fall easily into Communist control. Then we can be beaten largely by infiltration, fifth column "action committees" and other methods because there will be general unemployment, discontent and general chaos. This belief is based on the teachings of Marx and Lenin that capitalism is bound to destroy de-stroy itself because it produces "boom and bust" cycles which grow increasingly worse, and therefore, it Is impossible for a capitalist country to try to do anything permanent for the masses to increase their standard stand-ard of living. BAUKHAGE thing else caused the official Socialist Social-ist party organ of Franc to hail the administration program as definitely definite-ly socialistic. Most of the rest of Hie French press took about the same view, even to the somewhat lonely, pro-capitalistic Figaro which said the message was "close" to I socialism. The same view was taken by the ' left-wing press in other European J countries (I'm not counting the e Communists who merely rang the Did propaganda changes). However, y the independent Manchester 5 Guardian, long known as the rock- ' ol liberalism and likewise as an outstanding voice in British jour-( jour-( oalism, took a different tone. The I Guardian always has been exceed- t sigly well informed concerning the I United States and probably under- ' 6tands America as well as any toreign newspaper. It said: "Mr. Truman's program is an Indication that socialism is not' the only path for the left. Its V goal might be called the insur- ? ance state. Its method the de- liberate shortening of the odds against the weak. But without abandoning the basically in- ;j dividualist way of life which is ' accepted as characteristically I American." Now, however, along comes Var-ga, Var-ga, introducing a new argument. He argues that by adopting measures which he describes as "state socialism" so-cialism" any major depression in the United States can be prevented or at least postponed for 10 or 20 years. If this thesis were accepted by the Soviets it would be wiser to cooperate with the United States and other non-Communist countries, coun-tries, rather than to take for granted that our economic system as well as theirs is going to continue for some time. On that theory it would be to the Soviets' interests, for the present pres-ent at least, for the Kremlin and the Whits- House to play ball. What are the measures of "state socialism" Varga is talking about? The various social and welfare proposals like expanded social security, se-curity, national health insurance, federal aid to education, . undertakings under-takings like the Tennessee Valley Authority and the many other reforms re-forms which started under the New Deal, and which President Truman now urges should be carried forward for-ward or expanded. In the early part of the President's Presi-dent's state of the union message he announced in popular language the underlying theory of his administration. ad-ministration. He said: , "We have rejected the discredited dis-credited theory that the fortunes for-tunes of the Nation should be in the bands of the privileged few. We have abandoned the 'trickle-down' 'trickle-down' concept of national prosperity. pros-perity. Instead, we believe that our economic system should resi on a democratic foandation and that wealth should be created for the benefit of all." Whether or not the majority of the people have rejected that theory remains to be seen. There are still many people who believe that no country can be prosperous unless it is strong at the top and that it cannot can-not be strong at the top, that business busi-ness and industry cannot prosper, unless free enterprise have the widest liberty possible. That capital should be encouraged by the incentive in-centive of profit to take risks and challenge competition. That government govern-ment interference destroys the initiative ini-tiative which has made the country great. That once business is unshackled un-shackled by federal bureaucracy, the benefits flow (not trickle) down and spread out to benefit the whole people. The National Association of State Chambers of Commerce, one of a hundred business organizations testifying tes-tifying against a bill which would would permit the TV A to build a new steam plant at Johnsonville, said: Comment from the extreme right m this country, in congress and out, ;hose to see Skipper Truman charting chart-ing a course for the Ship of State , jvhich veered far to the left of cen- 0 ;er, in fact headed straight for the y 'ocks on which free enterprise, in- : - Jividual initiative, in fact all phases if capitalism, would be sunk without with-out a trace. That, however, was not the opinion opin-ion of the majority of the Repub-j Repub-j lican party, and, already signs are ."y showing that it isn't the intention of s the majority of the Democrats to let ul such a catastrophe overtake us, vit even if they think the Skipper would 'a be willing to risk it, which they ' don't believe he is. ! The alarmists point to the rather Btartling suggestion on the part of the President that the government study production with a view is offering loans to the steel, and other industries for expansion of plants and increased production. If the companies refuse i. cooperate, co-operate, it was suggested the government-owned steel plants e, would be Erected. That des aj sound like a long step toward so nationalization af industry. But other observers, both those wk consider the idea fatal to free enterprise and these who believe be-lieve in snch government-run ventures as the Tennessee Val-. ley Authority, consider it mare ef a threat than a promise. ; In that connection the recent con- troversy behind the iron curtain i which has finally leaked cut in j specific and detailed form is interesting. inter-esting. One document consists of reports of a three-day conference I of Soviet economists held last May, "Ir the other is a study of Russian na economy during World War II, by s- a member of the all-powerful polit- ft; buro. Both documents attack the 'n( theories of Eugene Varga, interna- tionally known Russian economist "J and former director of the World rn Institute of Economics in Moscow. $ Those 'Anxious' 1 ! Russian Leaders ci; .j This controversy, according to )wi Walter Lippman, may be the real Sil basis of President Truman's Kansas City statement that there were I"1; "certain leaders" in Russia who r were "exceedingly anxious" to reach an understanding with the United States. Even if the row g among the economists wasn't the inspiration for the President's ' ". . . this government cannot can-not continue much longer to a i d in the growth of tax-exempt or govern-ment-owned enterprises, thus narrowing the nation's tax base, without throwing greater burdens bur-dens upon the remainder of the taxpayers and without gradually strangling free enterprise to death." |