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contented intellectuals in other countries (for it is the intel- -
lectuals rather than the "workers" who make up the hard core of
communism outside the USSR), on the other. It is not enough to
tackle this problem by aiming to silence the propagator. It is
even more important to arm the listener against this sort of
attack. There is some reason why Moscow propaganda is listened to
so avidly, and why this myth takes hold so readily, among many
people far from the boundaries of Russia. If it were not Moscow
these people listened to, it would be something else, equally ex-
treme and equally erroneous, though possibly less dangerous. Thus
the task of destroying the myth on which international communism
rests is not just an undertaking relating to the leaders of the
Soviet Union. It is also something relating to the non-Soviet
world, and above all to the particular society of which each of us
forms a part. To the extent to which we can dispel the confusion
and Lsunderstandings on which these doctrines thrive--to the ex-
tent that we can remove the sources of bitterness which drive
people to irrational and utopian ideas of this sort--we will suc-
ceed in breaking down the ideological influence of Moscow in for-
eign countries.
On the other hand, we must recognize that only a portion of
international communism outside Russia is the result of environ-
mental influence and subject to correction accordingly. Another
portion represents something in the nature of a natural mutation
of species. It derives from a congenital fifth-columnism with
which a certain small percentage of people in every community
NSC 20/1
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- 22 -
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"ocrText": "TOP SECRE\ncontented intellectuals in other countries (for it is the intel- -\nlectuals rather than the \"workers\" who make up the hard core of\ncommunism outside the USSR), on the other. It is not enough to\ntackle this problem by aiming to silence the propagator. It is\neven more important to arm the listener against this sort of\nattack. There is some reason why Moscow propaganda is listened to\nso avidly, and why this myth takes hold so readily, among many\npeople far from the boundaries of Russia. If it were not Moscow\nthese people listened to, it would be something else, equally ex-\ntreme and equally erroneous, though possibly less dangerous. Thus\nthe task of destroying the myth on which international communism\nrests is not just an undertaking relating to the leaders of the\nSoviet Union. It is also something relating to the non-Soviet\nworld, and above all to the particular society of which each of us\nforms a part. To the extent to which we can dispel the confusion\nand Lsunderstandings on which these doctrines thrive--to the ex-\ntent that we can remove the sources of bitterness which drive\npeople to irrational and utopian ideas of this sort--we will suc-\nceed in breaking down the ideological influence of Moscow in for-\neign countries.\nOn the other hand, we must recognize that only a portion of\ninternational communism outside Russia is the result of environ-\nmental influence and subject to correction accordingly. Another\nportion represents something in the nature of a natural mutation\nof species. It derives from a congenital fifth-columnism with\nwhich a certain small percentage of people in every community\nNSC 20/1\nTOP SEORET\n- 22 -"
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