THE DOUBLE
CRISIS
as I mention would "throw the national economies into chaos." One
must plan with care, move cautiously, have a "long-term perspective."
Can the reply be given without irony? What could be more chaotic,
more desperate, than the present condition of the European national
economies?
The point is, to begin.
Let me add the obvious: the Kremlin has begun, and much
more than begun. Stalin and Zhdanov are not waiting for the leaders
of western Europe to make up their minds.
You ask about the attitude of the United States toward Euro–
pean federation, and the wider question of an Atlantic federation
of which the United States would itself be a part. I know that
many Europeans wonder, with a very just concern, how the United
States conceives its own role, and its own relation toward Europe.
If
Zhdanov is telling the truth about "American imperialism," the
choice for Europe is hardly worth making.
It is easy to become overabstract in the answer. The facts of
today are these :
First, the immediate threat to France, and to the other, still
free nations of Europe, is not subjugation by the United States but
enslavement within the Soviet empire. This threat is not at all abstract.
Second, the present material power of the United States greatly
exceeds that of any nation or aggregate of nations outside of the
Soviet sphere. Historical experience shows that from this second
fact there arises, or may arise, a tendency on the part of the United
States to limit the sovereignty of these nations. Thus the problem that
you raise.
Third, the United States does not have either the manpower
or the historical training or the institutional structure to permit it to
establish a tyranny over Europe, or the world, no matter what might
be the plans of its leaders. Hence the negative part of the answer.
Finally, the United States requires, objectively, a strong and
prosperous Europe. There are doubtless individuals within the gov–
ernment who prefer a weak Europe, because weakness is easier to
manipulate; and a depressed Europe that cannot be an economic rival
in world markets. Nevertheless, a Europe remaining weak and de–
pressed would be a double disaster for the United States. It would
be a wounding economic liability-after all, the destitute do not
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