Napoleon once said that the good soldier is he who knows what he is fighting for. If millions have been spurred on by the Kremlin and its agents with Communist ideology to enslave mankind and their posterity, it is necessary and expedient that democratic nations should formulate far better ideas that they may fight with courage and faith for human freedom and an ideal world order.
A few years ago, the late Professor Laski, English authority on politics, stated that Communism is an idea which can be beaten by a better idea. Similarly many a writer has pointed out that an idea is more powerful than the A-bomb. Such statements were made to convince the Western World that with the revival of idealism the flower of Western Civilization might bloom again.
Generally speaking, freedom and control, democratic ideas and Communism, are two rival tendencies which originated with the development of human culture. This is evident in western history. It may be said to date back to the Wars between Greece and Persia, and between Athens and Sparta.
Athens was a commercial and industrial state with the earliest free thoughts and democratic experiments, while Sparta was an agricultural state and had the earliest system of centralization of power. Plato's “Republic”, as explained by Russia, was Spartan for the most part, but Plato himself was the first one to advocate Communism. On the other hand, however, Aristotle was Athenian.
Like the union of America and Russia against the Nazis, a united front against Persia was once established by Athens and Sparta. They waged a long war between themselves, but both were ruined by Macedonia. Later in the Roman period, the opposition rivalry appeared between the Greeks and the Hebrews. The latter was represented by Christianity. Eventually the ancient civilization, as mentioned by Gibbon in "The Decline and Fall of Roman Empire,", was broken down by the barbarians from the north and Christianity itself. Not till the Renaissance, did Greek culture revive. There were books like "Utopia" by Sir Thomas More and "Civitas Solis" by Companella to publicize socialism. In the 17th century, when philosophers like John Locke, were advocating liberalism, there were "Ground-digging Movements" and "Equalitarian Movements" in England. In the French Revolution, a "Communistic Movement" was started by Babeuf. At the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, Owen and Saint Simon first introduced the name "Socialism", and in its palmy days, Marx announced the "Communist Manifesto" and organized the "Internationale", the direct originals of today's Communistic movement.
From what we have seen above we are inclined to say that the struggle between the two trends, freedom and control, in history, always ended in the failure of the latter, with the exception that in the battle between Athens and Sparta, both sides were annihilated; and in that between Hellnism and Christianity, the but defeated the former which was not restored until the Renaissance. At all events, the conflict between them will surely be of interest to historians.
Western civilization dominated the world in the 19th century. The three civilizations dominated were the civilizations of the Far East, India and Mohammedanism, led respectively by China, the Mogul Empire and the Ottoman Empire. By domination, it has replaced the three civilization's which were not willingly brought to their knees but subjugated reluctantly. Then there appeared the Western Civilization of the 19th century with Great Britain as its centre, known as Pax Britannica.
What the two great wars and two revolutions (the Nazi and the Communist) has brought into the world is a competition between Pax Americana and Pax Sovietica. After rive years of cold war, however, Far Eastern civilization has mostly yielded to the leading of Pax Sovietica, while that of India and Mohammedanism has been gradually if not entirely subject to the influence of Pax Americana.
It is really worth studying and a matter of concern whether Western civilization is going downwards or whether it may be reformed. Who will secure a victory, America or Russia? As we know, in the history of civilization, Greek and Hebrew influences were always in conflict with each other, rising and falling by turns.
Western civilization, rising in the Renaissance came to maturity in the middle of the 19th century, the period of Darwin and Spencer. After that, the expansion of imperialism in foreign relations and the system of wage slavely at home were similar to that of the Roman Empire. The accumulation of wealth, though not as corrupt as in the Roman Empire, already revealed to the people the approach of a fin de siecle. Spengler, right at the beginning of the 20th century, wrote on "The Decline of the West", and Marx, in the middle of the 19th century completed his "Communist Manifesto" as the Bible of the proletariat, predicting that Capitalism would inevitably totter to its fall, and that the great, work by the proletariat of the whole world in waiting anti, building up an earthly paradise would undoubtedly be materialized.
With the new Revelation, laborers of all countries were incited to organize political parties for struggle. Though the prophecy of Marx does not entirely correspond with the fact, there is a grain of truth in it; it is spiritually the very source of the occult power of Communism.
According to Marxist historical materialism and the historical iron rule of Marx's dialectic, Communism was meant to supplant the decadent capitalism. The first place where it should be realized must be in the most advanced industrial nations in the world, but the result has been quite to the contrary; it has been developed not in the advanced countries like England, Germany and America, but in the semi-Asiatic, underdeveloped Russia. This situation has caused a deterioration of Communism. However, there is no denying: the fact that European culture lost its activity toward the end of the 19th century, and that Western civilization had to transfer its leadership to America on the New Continent. Meanwhile the makeup of another new civilization is under way. This serious change in the situation will decide the fate of man for many years to come.
Recently, Toynbee, in his masterpiece "A Study of History", discussing the menace of Mohammedanism of the 16th century to Christian civilization, stated that, without inside weakness, a civilization should never fear a threat from the outside. Again in his "Civilization on Trial", he mentioned that it was when Roman civilization died away that the living standard went downwards, intellectualism declined, and morality especially declined. Of course, there is something in the reproach brought on capitalism by the Communists, but the incarnation of Communism in Russia makes Communists unqualified to stand for justice. On the other hand, America, the, incarnation of capitalism, does not betray her inner weak points and the decline of her creative power, but rather, on the contrary, she proves herself fit for cultural progress, not repeating the error of Western Imperialism. The so called "Point Four Programme", "Four Freedoms", "United Nations Charter", "Truman Doctrine", and "Marshall Plan" are to urge the realization of a peaceful, new International, and to promote the civilization of a new liberalism.
As a matter of fact, even after five years of cold war, Communism could, not break into advanced industrial nations like England and America and has had to retreat from the comparatively advanced Western and Northern Europe. As a next area to aim at, it has turned to the under-developed Eastern countries and the long tortured and confused China. The development in the opposite direction does not mean the expansion and vigorous push of Communism, but an ebbing and retreating Communism.
Therefore, the outcome of the struggle between America and Russia will never be Russia's world dominance. It might be possible that America would endeavour to support the UNO to facilitate some more advanced system internationally, politically and economically, for the establishment of a strong sphere of co-prosperity outside of Russia. Undoubtedly this will defeat or neutralize Russia.
As explained above, the fight is similar not so much to that between Greek and Hebraic influences, as between Greece and Persia. For the purpose of estimating the future of the right, we should survey the situation from the cultural achievements, cultural origins, components and spiritual values or both countries.
Since the success of atomic fission, the theory of atomic energy has gone a step further in practice. Regarding the potentiality of the scientific miracle, its motive power has appeared again as a promethean invention. Due to the fundamental change in productivity and productive relationship as well as Keynes' new theory on economy (the enemy of Communism) the different systems o( politics, economy and. society in both groups, Western and Eastern, have dropped out of significance, even without a war.
Judging from the angle of science, Marxism and Leninism have already lost their historical value.
On May 21, 1950, Truman addressed the assembly of ADWA, laying particular. stress on the fact that America will endeavour after the peaceful development of atomic energy to make UNO a really effective: organization to settle international complications by arbitration, and at the same time do her utmost to develop atomic energy for peace, in the belief that the coming century will be the best period in human history.
In accordance with the "Truth Movement" announced by Truman on July 12, 1950, the State Department officially opened an office called "National Psychological Strategy Committee" to take charge of the psychological war of the whole world against Russia.
This is a foundation work to carry on the struggle between ideas, land is more important than political and economic war or even armed conflict. War of the past was by the power of materials, but the war against Communism must be waged both morally and materially.
Samuel Alexander, a noted philosopher of England, once hinted that one ounce of original ideas would be worth much more than one toil of secondary ideas. Today's anti-Communist war is a cultural one. In order that we may win a victory in this war, we should mobilize all thought, give full play to our wisdom, exercise self-denial, and pay attention to the beauty inside our minds. Beauty may be illusion today, but will soon be truth tomorrow. We should adjust all our desires to the ideal world.
This will undoubtedly follow the "Truth Movement" announced by Truman and materialize the proposal for a "Moral Marshal Plan" to awaken the reason of all mankind. This will give a fatal blow to Stalin's aggressive totalitarianism and encourage all nations to fight for a New International and World Government, peaceful and philanthropic. The military forces of big powers shall be internationalized and the legal, new order of the world shall be completed. And finally, mankind will be firm in the belief that, as the essence of a worldwide "Truth Movement" is called for by the atomic age, it would be possible to unite and create a new universe of lofty consciousness, brilliant, free, prosperous and philanthropic.