38
PARTISAN REVIEW
the future of the European Commu n ist pa rti es depends on wha t on e
mi ght ca ll genera ll y the democra ti c mora le of Western Eu rope, the
extent to whi ch p u bli c op ini on in Wes tern Eu rope is or is no t deep ly
au ach ed to th e idea ls of democracy, and the extent to whi ch , if th ey
are so attach ed, th e p ressures on th e Eu ropea n Communi st p arti es
w ill continue in the future.
I don ' t think we have add ressed th a t questi on ·toni ght. But the
thi rd and las t point I woul d like to ma ke....
It
seems
to
me tha t Mr.
Laqueur 's pess imi sm does no t st.em simp ly from lookin g a t the
European Communi st p arti es.
It
a lso stems from t.h e gen era l sen se o f
pessimism a bo ut th e overa ll ba la nce of power in Wes tern Eu rop e.
T he feeling tha t somehow the ba la n ce of power, in terms of mo ra le,
parti cul a rl y in terms of milita ry power, is shifting towa rds the Soviet
Uni on , and that th erefo re, in the long run , the European Commu–
ni st p arti es, whatever they a re say in g now, w ill go with the times,
will revert to Sta lini sm and th e curse of th e emergin g p reponderan ce
of the U .S.S. R .
And those of us who continue to beli eve in detente in sp ite o f
thi s are cas t in the gui se of Mr. Ch amberl a in and the appeasers. T hi s
ques ti on of the overall balan ce of power in Eu rope is no t simpl y of
fund amenta l impo rtan ce to th e po int of vi ew of the Europ ean
Communists.
It
is also of course of fund amenta l impo rtan ce to the
future of Ameri can fo reign po li cy. Upon the a nswers we g ive to these
ques ti on s depends reall y th e future o f detente betwee n the Unit ed
Sta tes and the Soviet Uni on , th e future of Ameri can milita ry po li cy.
Wi lliam Ph illips:
T hank you . Well , wha t do you two want to do? Do
you bo th want to an swer? You want to as k a ques ti o n , J a n e?
Jane Kramer:
I just want to as k if a n yon e here se ri ou sly beli eves tha t
as ide from th e Po rtugu ese Communi st p a rt y, whi ch cl ea rl y did
intend to ta ke power, a n y la rge Communi st leadershi p in Wes t.ern
Europe a t thi s po int has a n y intenti on of seekin g power in their
country.
William Ph illips:
I su spect th a t everybody here think s tha t the thin g
the Communi st pa rt y is mos t sca red of is takin g power.
Jan e Kramer:
So when you ta lk a bout wha t communi sm mean s in
Wes tern Europe, in terms of autho rita ri a n dircct ion , and in terms of
spo ils, in terms of centra li za ti on o f power, we are onl y ta lking
rh etori ca ll y. We a re ta lkin g a bout Eu ro-communi sm-I don ' t like
the word-a bout Communi st p a rti es in Wes tern Europe. Now we a re
ta lking a bout votes represen tin g p ani cul a r groups. The ques ti on is
no t power a t thi s po int. And I think thi s is a very seri ous di stincti on
to ma ke becau se once tha t di stincti on is made, th e o rgani za ti on
