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understood the nature of the movements better than the left-wing
organizations in the West, and quite understandably advised the
government not to grant the loan. Despite all the clamoring in
your press about how great "a socialism with a human face" was,
the American government made it very clear that they did not like
what was happening there, that they did not want to help, and
that they regarded it as doomed a long time before the Russians
sent in any tanks. At the same time, a much higher loan was given
to Rumania by the United States, which shows that they
understood that the Rumanian type of challenge to the Soviet
Union is compatible with the continuation of a stable society–
where the Party controls the situation to such an extent that they
can guarantee the safety of investment.
Mason:
So we might say that beyond the inherent conservative
character of bureaucratic structures in both the West and the
East, there are also very specific stakes in Western support for the
existing regimes in Eastern Europe. For example, something like
70 to 80 percent of Poland's exports go for servicing Poland's
external debt, which is owed mainly to Western banks and
international monetary institutions that are threatened by the
possibility of a political collapse and a Polish default on its foreign
obligations.
Kavan:
Yes, that's precisely what I'm saying about the present Polish
situation. The West needs stability. On the part of the
establishment, I believe one is confronted with a very conscious
unholy alliance between the two establishments who perceive an
identical interest in preserving the status quo. This is the basis of
their interpretation of world events, and leads to the division of
the world into spheres of interest. Support from Western capitalist
establishments for the opposition movements in the East is
nonexistent, despite all the propaganda. Therefore, it seems to me
that the more right-wing the government you elect here, as you
did recently, the more likely it will be that they will unite with
their partners on the other side to make the situation as difficult as
possible for the Eastern oppositions, with the aim of eventually
smashing that opposition . At the same time, both establishments
would like to see the defeat of left-wing movements in the West.
Many historical examples prove that the last thing the Soviet
Union wants to see in the West is a period of instability, let alone
the victory of some Western revolutionary movement.
Howard:
Let's move from the unholy alliance to the holy alliance at
