712
R. H. S. CROSSMAN
in these countries not by mass electorates but by eager, educated
elites,
to whom the enthusiastic certainties of Communist dogma
make a much stronger appeal than the sophisticated scepticism of
our Western democracy.
It is possible, therefore, to predict with a good deal of assurance
that, until and unless there is a fundamental change in the structure
of our modern and managed capitalism, the peaceful competition
which has now begun between East and West must result in a series
of Communist successes.
True enough, the peoples of the West have recently recognized
the evils of colonialism and at long last have begun to realize that
the principles of democracy-equality as well as liberty and frater–
nity-must be applied between nations as well as within each na–
tion. In Britain, for example, there has been national approval for
the decision of the Conservative Government to abandon the
Em–
pire throughout Africa and to make it clear that the white settler
cannot rely on British support in maintaining his ascendancy. But
good intentions-even mass good intentions-are not sufficient.
What matters in relations with Asia and Africa is not what ordinary
people think and feel but what economic policies our Governments
adopt. Our Western way of life may seem tolerable to the non–
political worker in the British or American motor-car factory. It
may at first sight seem heaven on earth to a visitor from East Ger–
many or Poland. But the colonial peoples are bound to view it more
suspiciously, and they will regard us as enemies if our Governments
decide that our economic relations with those countries should for
the most part be conducted by private financial and business inter–
ests, whose sole concern it must be to buy cheap and sell dear.
It
is
not sufficient merely to wind up colonialism, in the sense of ending
the direct administration of these territories by European officials.
What is even more important is to end indirect colonialism, and
that can only be done by subordinating all private enterprise in our
trade with these ex-colonial areas to strict public control.
Until that
is done, no British Colombo Plan or American program of economic
aid, however ambitious, can halt the advance of Communist influ–
ence in Asia and Africa. This advance
has
already begun and
will
proceed even more rapidly in the course of this decade.
