Double Take

Were Russia an ardent supporter of the Marshall Plan, desirous of guaranteeing its activation, the Kremlin could scarcely have made a move better calculated to gain its goal than the recently consummated revival of the Communist International. For Senators and Representatives, who might not see their way clear to vote billions for purely humanitarian purposes, may be swayed by allusions to the "Red menace." But the "official party line." far from supporting the Marshal Plan, has damned it as a vile Capitalist plot.

From a superficial glance it may seem that the Kremlin has defeated its own purposes by resurrecting the Comintern. Not only have the Communists supplied powerful arguments to the backers of the despised Plan, but it may well be that they have weakened their influence in the countries of Western Europe still outside the Communist bloc. As the United States has painfully learned, national interest is often a more persuasive consideration than ideology. In countries where the majority of the people believe the Marshall Plan to hold the greatest hope for salvation, Communists stand to lose considerable numbers of adherents by opposing what is generally held to be the national interest.

But the Russians are not striking out blindly. There is method in their madness. At the most obvious level they may hope to disrupt the smooth working of the Marshall Plan, which is designed to be a two-sided proposition. For its part, the United States proposes to furnish money and materials. But Europe is supposed to organize itself into an economic entity to make the best use of its resources. Communist inspired strikes and discontent could disrupt reconstruction and cause weariness and dissatisfaction in both the United States and Europe.

The other and more subtle possibility is that the Russians are playing a deeper game. The Kremlin may be waiting for the economic collapse of Capitalism, i.e. the United States, which it has long proclaimed inevitable. If such a collapse occurs, the United States will be unable to carry out its commitments, and the countries of Western Europe will be bereft of hope of aid by democratic methods. At this time the Communist Party in each country will be able to say, "We told you so." By putting themselves on the record as irrevocably opposed to the Marshall Plan, the Communists in the various countries have put themselves in a position from which they can look forward to the expected chaos with complacent expectancy.