WALTER LAQUEUR
439
Even if socialism were officially abolished in the Soviet Union and
the other East European countries, this would not necessarily bring about
the total collapse of Marxism as an ideology in the West. For it can
always be argued that while the idea
per se
was correct and productive, it
was a mistake to try to build communism in backward countries, and
that the result elsewhere would have been quite different. It could be
maintained that while the October Revolution was inevitable, Lenin
erred grievously by suppressing democracy in the Soviet Union and Stalin
compounded these errors by setting up his machine of terror. In brief, it
is argued, communism is no more disproved by Stalinism than is Chris–
tianity disproved by the Inquisition and other similar aberrations.
Most of those who have argued for many years that America was as
much (if not more than) to blame for the Cold War as the Soviet
Union will no doubt continue to stick to their guns. It has already been
said that there have been no winners and losers, for America has ruined
herself in the course of an unnecessary arms race - not to mention the
domestic political and psychological damage that has ensued - resulting in
the militarization of our thinking and our political culture.
I find it impossible to discuss such views seriously; their proper place
is in a satirical novel in the tradition of David Lodge or Malcolm Brad–
bury. (I wish that Robyn Penrose, Lodge's
Nice Work
character, a lec–
turer in English literature at the fictional Rummidge University, would
travel one of these days, accompanied by his Professor Zap, to the
strange world of the "revisionists.") Nor will they cut much ice beyond
those in the media and
academe
who feel that they have to defend their
record.
There are other, more weighty factors likely to limit the impact of
the collapse of communism. This refers both to developments in the So–
viet Union and Eastern Europe in the postcommunist era and the events
in the West, more specifically in the United States. It cannot be taken for
granted that the transition towards a democratic order in these parts will
be relatively smooth and uncomplicated and that it will be accomplished
in the not too distant future. Some countries may make decisive progress
on the road to freedom, but in most, including the Soviet Union,
prospects are far from brilliant. As long as there is no substantial
economic progress, social tensions will not be resolved but on the con–
trary may grow more acute. (In fact, such tensions may become more
acute irrespective of economic progress.)
Nationalist passions may be running high and may become even
more intense in the years to come, leading to violence on a massive scale.
While communism is at present deeply discredited, it may well look bet–
ter at the distance of a decade or two unless considerable progress is
made. It will be argued, for instance, that for all their other sins, Stalin
