pashukanis and vyshinsky_ a study in the development of marxian legal theory

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Pashukanis and Vyshinsky: A Study in the Development of Marxian Legal TheoryAuthor(s): Lon L. FullerSource: Michigan Law Review, Vol. 47, No. 8 (Jun., 1949), pp. 1157-1166Published by: The Michigan Law Review AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1284239.

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1949 ] MARXIANEGALHEORY 1 1v1PASHUKANISNDVYSHINSKY: STUDY N THEDEVELOPMENTFMARXIANEGAL HEORY

LonL. FullerSReading ndrei . Vyshinsky'she Lawof the SovietUnionloughto be a stimulatingnd ewardingxperience.t is anexposi-tionof Soviet egalphilosophyndof the theory ndpracticefSoviet ublic r state aw. Throughoutt purportso comparepremiseshatunderlie ovietawwith hose n which bourgeoislegal ystemsrebased.Vyshinsky,famous orldigure nd he

present inisteror oreignffairsf theU.S.S.R., rote art f thebook nd upervisedompiliationf theremainder.hedecisionftheAmericanouncilf Learnedocietieso sponsortranslationfthework ttestsheCouncil'sonceptionf its importanceo Ameri-cans eekingo understandodern ussia.Accordingo the intro-ductiony Professorazard,hebook resentsn authoritativeormthedoctrineow aughtn Sovietawschools.More han hat, texemplifiesSovietedagogicalethods enerally,nd hehabits fthoughthathavebecomeharacteristicf Soviet itizens.Thesemethodsndhabitsn turnhelp o explain, rofessorazardssuresus, much f the determinationf Soviet oldiersn the war ustended. Here,n otherwords,s whatmakesheSovietystemick.With hese uspicesnd his ntroduction,hereaderpproachesthebookwithhighhopes.He expectso gain romt a newunder-standingf the ntellectualnd motionalorces perativeehindheIronCurtain.He hopesurtherhat real aturationn thepremisesof a legal ystemadicallyifferentromhat amiliarohimwillbringa freshnsightnto hemeaningf hisown ystem,ustaseconomistswhorejectMarxismave nrichedheirunderstandingf economicsbystudying arx.These opes re,however,oomedo disappointment.hebookdodgesvery ealproblemts thesismight eem o suggest nd uSstitutesorreasonednalysishescurrilousndabusiveecriminationsforwhichtsauthor-editorasbecomeamousn intemationalonfer-ences. As for ts contents,hebooks made p of themostmiscel-laneousngredients,ompoundedn thegreatestisorder.boutiftyper ent f it is taken pwith tediousndunenlighteningxpositionof thedetailsf theSoviet oliticalnd egal ystem.Anotherwentypercent s devotedo refightingoctrinalattles ithin he Marxist

* CarterProfessor f GeneralJurispmdence, arvardLaw School-Ed.1 Vyshinsky, eneral ditor. Translated y Hugh Babb. New York: The MacmillanCo. 1948. Pp. xvii, 749. $15.

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1158 MICHIGANAW EVIEWranksnd onailing ownmoreecurelyhe idson thecoffinsf thedeviationists,wreckersnd Trotskyistshohave een iquidatedbytheStalin egime. heremaininghirty ercent s given ver odisclosinghe raudsf bourgeoisoliticalnd egaldeologies.n thecourse f thisexpose ome emarkableisinformations conveyed.Presidentruman,orexample, ould e surprisedo learn hat nthiscountryheseparationf powerss a fraudulentover or thehegemonyf theexecutiveower ver he egislative,nd hat hePresidentasthe unlimitedowero preventnystatuterombe-comingaw.

Thebook ontainso genuineomparisonf Russianndbour-geois egalandpoliticalnstitutions.hroughout,he objects toestablishhepropositionhat hingswhichook liken thecapitalistandRussianystems,nd hatmay venbear hesame ames-law,government,hebicameralystem,lections,ourts,rosecutors,rop-erty, egal ights-aren theory nd n fact radicallyifferent. nmost aseshedifferencenvolvedestsmore n table-poundingffir-mationhanon demonstration.he moden which hesequestionsare reateds well llustratedn the short ection n statutorynter-pretation.prinkledmonghe usualplatitudesn thissubject,fthe ype newould ncountern any imilar mericaniscussion,efind heassertionhatwith he Soviet ourtstatutorynterpretationmerelyevealshe meaningndcontent f the statute, hile ncapitalistountriesthe lass ssence f juridicalhicanery istortsinterpretationromts truepurpose.Theymerely raw utof thestatute hat t means; e put nto t our xploitativeiases.So it iswith very theregaldevice nd nstitution. ntheoneside, hereis vigor, urity, onesty;n theother, ecadence,raud, ynicalx-ploitationnd putridapors. ncrediblynough,hispositionsmaintainedvenwith espectocivil iberties. ccordingoVyshinskyit is only n Russiahat here xists true reedomf thepress, truefreedomromllegalearchesnd eizures,tc., tc.In studyinghose arts f thebook evotedo quarrelsithotherMarxists,articularlyhe first hapter,hereader hoattemptsnyclose nalysisf thethought illexperienceconsiderablealaise.In this ield,t seems,abels remoremportanthan deas.Thebookopensby rejectinghe opportunisticerversionf Marxism hichteacheshat heproletariathould takever hebourgeoistate.Ontheother and, talin imselfasunmaskedBukharin'snti-Marxist,counterrevolutionaryheoryf 'blowingp' hestate. hetruedoc-trine s that he statemustnotbe takenver r blownp, butinsteadmustbe shatterednd demolished. his tumsout O

[ Vol. 47




1949 ] MARXIANEGALHEORY 1159mean, boutixty agesater,hat heexistingourgeoisachinefthestatemust e utilized nd, ver period f years, urgedf itsbourgeoislements.When nehas truggledhroughemonstrationsf this ort,ryingvainlyo see ust hat it is that s being ejectedndwhat ccepted,one recallswithbewildermentrofessor azard'sntroduction,nwhich t is assertedhat he Soviet tudent who easons is waythroughheponderousassagesf thisand imilar orks aspreparedhimselfo dealwithWesternhought. submithatanyonewhoseriouslyttemptedto easonisway hroughhis irst hapterouldhavepreparedimselfornothingo much s a nervousreakdown.These, hen,arethe disappointmentsndfrustrationshat hebook ringsoronewhoattemptso deriveomethingf intellectualsubstanceromtscontents. ut orall tsvacuity,tsabusiveness,nditsplatitudes,hebook emainssignificantilestonen thedevelop-ment fattitudesowardawand overnmentithinheSovietystem.Whatmeaningr essonanweextractromt? I thinkhebestwaytoapproachhisquestions tobegin ycomparinghebookwithwhatit superseded.eforeheascendancyf Vyshinsky,he eadinguristof Russia asEugene ashukanis,ho n oyed decadef glory riorto hismysteriousisappearancen theearlymonthsf 1937.Pashukanis'rincipal ork s calledGeneralLegal TheoryandMarxism.2n this hort ook, ashukanisxpoundsithclarityndcoherencen ngeniousevelopmentf Marxistheoryhathasbeencalled he Commodityxchangeheory f Law. His works inthebest raditionf Marxism.t is theproductf thoroughcholar-shipandwide eading.t reachesonclusionshatwillseem o mostreaderserversendbizarre,et n theprocessf reachinghese on-clusionst bringsamiliaracts f lawandgovernmentntoan un-familiarutrevealingerspective.t is thekindof book hatanyopen-mindedcholaranreadwithrealprofit, oweverittlehe maybeconvincedy tsmainhesis.Pashukanis'egal heorys foundedn twoprinciplesell-estab-lishedn thewritingsf theSovietoundingathers:1) lawand hestate rea superstructureelRectinghebasic conomicrganizationfsociety,nd 2) in thesocialistconomyf the uture, oth awandthestatewill witherway.Proceedingrom hesepremises,ashukanishenexpoundsisown heory, hichs brieflys ollows:hebasicnstitutionf capital-

2Being unableto read Russian, am familiarwith this book through he Germantranslation f the third Russianedition,which appearedn 1929 under the title ALL-GEMEINEECHTSLBHRBNDMAR=SMUS. n Englishtranslation y Professor abb isnow awaiting ublication.




1160 MICHIGANAWREVIEW [Vol. 47ism s exchange;llgoodsincludingabor) reviewed s commodi-ties, hat s,asdestinedor xchangenthemarket.n keeping ithWIarxistheory,herefore,e shouldxpect ourgeoisaw o be per-meated ith he conceptf exchange,nd o take ts originn theactof tradingrbartering.Thisexpectations confirmedy historynd ociology. hefirstappearancef the criminalaw n its rudestorm s in connectionwithbartering,hat s, n thebuyingffof thebloodeud.3Through-outhistoryhedevelopmentf lawhasgonehand n handwith hedevelopmentf trade.

Mostdefinitionsf lawmistakenlyryto maket equivalentoan authoritativerderingf social elations,utthisdoesnotexposeitsreal ssence. he deal ype f anauthoritativerderingould ea militaryompany archingn perfecttep, eadyo follow verycommandf itscaptain. et uch phenomenons notonlynot egalin nature,utactuallytandst theoppositeole romaw. This struegenerallyf mere elationshipsf power.Slavery,orexample,requireso legal orm. f therelationf masternd laves in anysenseegal, t is onlybecausehemasteranexchangeheslave orother oods, rbecausehe awrecognizesome emblancef a rightin theslave gainsthemaster. aw ppearssa distinctocial hen-omenonotwhenwehave neman tandingver nother,utonlywhenwe havemenstandingowardne another ithrights ndduties.Thebasic onceptf law s, then, he egal ubject,hepossessorof rights ndduties.The egal ubjects, however, erelyheeco-nomicradereen n hisjuristicspect.Take rom he egal ubjectthepowero settle rcompromiseisdiflTerencesithhisfellows ya processf barterndhe ceaseso be a legal ubject.Legal ightswhollyemovedromhearea f traderenot egal ightstall. Everylegal ubjects thereforepotentialrader,ndhiscapacityopossessrights ndduties nd o enteregal elationsithothers erivesromthis act. The economicnstitutionf exchanges accordinglyre-supposedn theconceptionf a legal ight.Thewholeegalorder,in turn,has ts reasonorbeing n the vindicationf rights.Themodernotionhat he ndividualerivesis rightsrom he aworfrom hestates thesymptomf a decadentapitalism. hen ap-italism as tself revolutionaryorcet wasuniversallyhoughthatlawexistsOprotectights,hat ights recedeaw.

8 lfihe heory f a greatanthropologistoncerninghe originof law in primitiveocietypresents surprisingarallel o Pashukanis'onception.Malinowskin effectsees law be-cominga distinct ocialphenomenon hen recirocity becomes xplicitand formalized:CRIMEANDCUSTOMN SAVAGEOCIET1r8 (1926).




1949 ] MARXIANEGALHEORY 1161In modernriminalaw, a firstcousin f economicxchangeappearsn thenotion f retribution.hecriminalode s a kindof

schedulef compositions,ettingheprice in terms f punishment)appropriateoreach rime.Accordingo theprinciplefnulla poenasine lege thecriminal ust egiven chanceoknown advancevZhattheprice f each ind f miscondllcts. Advancedollrgeoisriminol-QgiStSave ongcondemnedheseconceptionss irrational.heycontinue,owever,o be entertainedythebulk f societynd o beappliedythecourts.When hepublicollows criminalrialn thenewspaperst is not nterestedn learning hetherhecriminalanbe rehabilitated,r whether e is maladjustedo social ife, butwhethere actuallyidwhathe is accusedf doing ndwhethereis going o getwhat s comingo him. The attitudesngenderedyaneconomyoundednexchangere oodeeplyootedobedestroyedby earnedreatises.Thoughn bourgeoisociety,aw s an instrumentf dominationby theruling lasses,t is so only n an indirectense. To sav hatlaw s a meansf dominationrexploitationails o revealtsessence.Thedominationf oneclass yanotheranexistwithoutaw,where,forexample,t is foundedn religiousuperstitionrmilitaryower.The exploitationf the proletariaty the capitalistakes specialandpeculiarorm. On tseconomicide, t is primarilyhroughhemarket;nthe egal ide, t is throughhenotionhat heworkeretshis egal elationsithhisemployerhroughontract.t is anexploi-tationhroughxchange,nd, n keeping ith heMarxianheoryftheprimacyf theeconomicorm,tsessentialatures determinedythis act.Thisanalysisf law s not implynanalysisf bourgeoisaw,butof lawgenerally.n truth,heonly aw s bourgeoisaw.To be sure,legal nstitutionsn embryoanbe foundn a feudal rslave ociety,where heyare intertwinedith religiousnd militarylements.Moderncholarsre ikely o misinterpretheserudimentaryegalelementsn pre-capitalisticociety s theequivalentf modernaw.Actually,hese mbryonicndundifferentiatedegal lementsre ikethefirst entativeropingsoward capitalisticrganizationhat anbe detectedn even hemost rimitiveocieties. hefull nnerogicof theconceptionf lawcanasserttself nlyunder apitalism. heideal f law s realizedt thesame imeas the deal f themarket;bothpresentmanas the trader,s an autonomousgent etting isrelationsithhisfellows.Notonly s law oundedntheconceptf exchange,ut hesamethingmaybe saidof morality.Moralityasto do withconfiictsfinterestsetweenndividualshoare onceivedohavet withinheir




1162 MICHIGANAW EVIEW [ Vol. 47powerO determine hat heyshalldo or notdo toward ne another.Such individualsre simply conomicraderseen in the light ofethics. Moral reatisesay downa kind of minimumtandardfconduct esignedo maintainhe principle f reciprocity. hey donot answer uchquestionss whether manshould olunteern asuicidemission; ctsof heroism r of extraordinaryevotiono thegroup alloutsidehe competencef ethical hilosophy.Kant'son-ception hateverymanshould e treated s an end in himself, s aSelDstzweck,mplies trading conomy.Only n suchan economycan a manwho is conceivedo be an end in himselfbe brought,throughelf-interest,o serve he endsof othersa result ssentialfanycollectivectivitys to be achieved.Fromhesepremisest followshat awandmorality illdisappearwhen,andonlywhen, he lastvestiges f the economicnstitutionfexchange avebeen rooted ut of society.The Soviet ystem tillcontainsmportantlementsf exchange. heseexistnotonly n thearea et aside orprivaterading, ut in the relationsf governmentcorporationso oneanother, nd n the paymentf workers, hoarecompensatedn the basisof workperformed,n violation f the for-mulaof mature ommunism,Fromachaccordingo his capacities,to eachaccordingo hisneeds.On the otherhand,whenthe notionof economicxchange asbeencompletelyliminatedn every orm, hen withsomeallowancefor a lag in time the superstructuref law, the state,and moralitywilldissolvenddisappear.Manwillhavebecome group-creature,no longer hinking f hisown nterest s somethingistinctrom hatof his fellows.The concept f justice ndthe notion f demandingmeasureormeasure ill havebecome s inapplicableo thissituationas theynonv re,say, o a mother ndchildbetweenwhom here sa completedentity f interest.This s, then, n summary,he legalphilosophyf EugenePashu-kanis. t is ostensiblyecause e held hisphilosophyhatPashukaniswas irst orcedo make n ineffectiveecantationndwas ater rasedfrom he Soviet cene, o makeway orAndreiVyshinski, hobeganpublishinghematerialsf The Lawof the SovietState hortlyhere-after. Reasoningheirway hrough hiswork,Soviet tudents owlearn hatPashukanisas awrecker, aspy, a traitor, nd thepropounderf a rottenheory.With all this vituperationne asksnaturally,ust what s thedifferenceetweenhetheoriesf thediscreditednd iquidatedash-ukanis nd hose f thenowtriumphantyshinsky) hisquestionsmuchhardero answerhanmightbe supposed. ndeed,whenone



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1949 ] MARXIANEGALHEORY 1163firstputsVyshinsky'sookdown,one is apt to believe t cannotbeanswered.We seem o havebefore s, not a developmentromonesystem f thoughto another, ut a deteriorationf Marxist octrinethathasbroughtt to sucha levelof s7acuityhatcomparisonseaseto be possible.Yet,on reflection,ertain rucial oints f distinctiondo emerge etweenhe twowriters.Theirprincipalifferenceseemto be thefollowing:First.Bothwritersn formaccept he orthodoxommunistiewthat awand hestate tlill ltimatelywitherway. Even orVyshin-sky, although he presentSovietorder s perfect nd completesocialism,t is a step oward n eventualommunism.udged y thestandardsf that inalgoal,present ovietmethodsf wagepaymentare,Vyshinskyoncedes, unjust, ince heycompensateman orwhathe does nstead f givinghimwhathe needs. (It maybe re-markedhateven if Vyshinsky id not agreewith this conception,it wouldhavebeen mposed n him,not onlyby a long traditionfMarxisthought, ut by the StalinConstitutiontself, he glories fwhichhisbook elebrates.) houghPashukanisassomewhatagueas to justhownearat hand he withering rocess as,he was airlyclear s to theconditionsnderwhich t would ccur.In accordancewith the Marxianheoryof the primacy f economicactors, hewithering ould ccurwhen,andonlywhen, heelement f exchangeor reciprocityf performancesasrooted ut of the Soviet conomicsystem.ForVyshinsky,n the otherhand, he disappearancef stateand awcannot ccur ntilmenhavebeen o trained ndconditionedthat heywillfollow,withoutheneed orcoercion,herulesnecessaryto socialorder.He implies hatthis transformationf man'snatureis a longwayoff;the withering ill be a veryslowprocess.Someuneasinessbout he consistencyf thisviewwiththe inherited oc-trinemaybe betrayedn the emphasis yshinsky ivesto Stalin'sdictum hatRussiamustembrace creative arxism, ot dogmaticMarxism.Second.Pashukanisasclearandemphaticn assertinghataslongasyouhave xchangeouwillhave aw,andas longas youhavelaw t willbe bourgeoisaw. There s no usepretendinghat ocialistlaw is somethingf a higher ature, r differentrom apitalistaw;to thinkotherwises to engage n self-deception.his is, however,exactly he self-deceptionhich akesup a largepartof Vyshinsky'sbook.The lawof the SovietUnion s in evevywaybigger, etter ndpurer hanbourgeoisaw. Strangely,he effort s repeatedly ade odemonstratehatSovietaw s superiorn terms f thepremisesnder-lyingbourgeoisaw; t reallydoes he thingsbourgeoisaw pretends



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1164 MICHIGANAWREVIEW [ Vol.47todo.Thissanewnote,ompletelyut f tunewithhe mplicationsofPashukanis'heory.Third.TheresnosuggestionnVyshinsky'sookhatmorality,inthesense fsometandardegulatingherelationfman oman,willultimatelyisappearlongwithlawandthestate.On thecontrary,nlywhenmoralityasbecomeostronghatmenwillobeyitsruleswithoutonstraintanawwitherway.Fogrth.Vyshinsky,orallhisexcoriationf Pashukanis,akesa very arefuletourroundhecentralhesis f Pashukanis'ook:therelationf lawand heeconomiconceptf exchangerrecip-rocity.noneall-toeobviousase,hats,inthematterfwage ay-ments,ehas oconcedehathepresentystemasnotachievedheultimateoal fMarxism.emakesittlemention,owever,f theexchangelementsnvolvednthe radinghat oes namongovern-ment orporations,nd aysdownnoprogramasdidPashukanis)fore eliminationfthis ocialisticmarket. tonepoint eevenpraisescontractiscipline sa neededupplementocentralco-

* -nomlc p annlng.Fifth. Theorthodoxommunistonceptionegardsawas theexpressionf thewillof therulinglass.twaswithrespectothisconceptionhatPashukanisasmostboldn hisdeviationrom c-ceptedoctrine.Heinsistedhat hisviewof lawwasonlyakindoftruism,hichailedorevealhereal ssenceflegal henomena,sincetwasncapablefexplainingow omethingalled law ouldreinforcersanctifyhebrute actof domination.he orthodoxconceptions,atleastnform,einstatednVyshinsky'sook,where

thedifficultiesaisedyPashukanisre implyassedvernsilence.Pure,ineandnoble sit is,theSovietawof todays theotalityoftherules fconductxpressinghewillofthedominantlass ndit is designedopromotehose elationshipshatare advantageousandagreeableothedominantlass. etVyshinskyoes othimselfseem erymuch teasewith hisdefinition,ndhemakesentativesin thedirectionf identifyingthedominantlass ith hecom-munitysa whole, ven hought is admittedhatSovietocietyhasnotasyetbecomelassless.tanyrate,heextravagantlaimshemakesorSovietawreallyofurtherhananythingashukaniswroteowardelegatingotheattic fdiscardedoctrinehenotionthat aw,even n a socialistconomys simply n instrumentfpower.f it is this, t is somuchn additionccordingoVyshin-sky'srofessionshatheoldconceptionas eallyosttS meaning.Thecauseshathaveproducedheshiftsn doctrineutlined




1949 ] MARXIANEGALHEORY 1165above renot, think, bscure.n theprocessf attemptingo oper-atea great overnmentalachine,heSovieteadersave ediscoveredsome ncientruths. heyhave earnedhat hestatewithoutusticeis impossible,rat east hat t is impossiblenless eople elievehatthestates attemptingn some egreeorenderoeachhisdue.Theyhave lso een hat ome espect ust e paid, oonerr ater,o theprincipalf legality; enmust now, r hinkheyknow,whereheystand nder he lawandbeforehe courts. he despisedourgeoisvirtuesurnout, n theend,notto be mere opybookaxims,utindispensableays f gettinghings one, ootedn theverynatureof thehuman nimal.Thiswasa discoveryorwhichheSovieteaders ere oorly re-pared y Marxistoctrine.hatdoctrineivesno explicit uidancein conductinghetransitionrom evolutionaryerroro stabilityndlegality, ndsuch mplicit uidances canbe deducedrom t isfantasticallyrong. hemoldersf theSoviettate oundhemselvescaughtwithan untenablendunworkableheory.nsteadf beingable opurgeheir ystemraduallyf allbourgeoisonceptions,heyfound hemselvesnder compulsiono employ rogressivelyhesameproceduresnd nstitutionshathadbeen ound ssentialosocial tabilityn bourgeoisociety.t wasnecessaryo cover majorintellectualetreat;he timehadcomewhensomebecloudingfdoctrineasnecessarysa face-savingperation.hiswasno assign-ment or a studiousheoreticianikePashukanis.t demandedhethunderingbfuscationsfanold ourt-roomerformerikeVyshinsky.On thisbasiswe may xplain ot only he erasuref a wholechapterf Sovietegalphilosophy,utalsowhy t wasnecessaryofinda newman o expoundhepartyine n mattersurisprudential.Asmycolleague arold ermanas uggested,4e may n thesamewayalsoexplainome f themost ffensiveeaturesf Vyshinsky'sstyle.When ouare aughtn a position here oudare otargue,billingsgateas ts uses. n a countrystensiblyuled y a dogma,silences notonly mbarrassing;t canbepositivelyangerous.Onthisreading,Theaw f theSoviet tGlte,hich t first isitson its readernlyan acutentellectualausea,urns utto containan importantessagef hope.Thehardineof Marxismanbendbeforehecompulsionsf ife. f it canbendotheextent fpermittingtheSovietystemtself o live, t mayperhapsend nougho savehumanityrom nArmageddon.f the heoryhat ll aw s capitalist

4 97 UNIV.PA. L. REV. 593 (1949).




MICHIGANAWREVIEW166lawcanfind ts wayto the ashheap, he same hingcanhappento thetheory f an inevitableonRictetween apitalismndcom-munismno matterhow manytimesthistheorymayhavebeenaffirmedn thewritings f theprophets.I believe hatone of the greatest angers owconfrontingsis thatsvewillbecomemoreMarxisthanthe Marxistshemselvesin interpretinghemotivesnd uture onductf Russia.Oneof thesadnecessitiesmposedymodernovernments thatmanydiflTerentorganizationsustbe controlledy a single policy ictatedromabove.OuroccupyingorcesandourStateDepartment ustactaccordingo somecoherant,eneral lan.Such a plancannotbechangedromdayto day if theworkof many ndividualss to becoordinatedndtheirmorale reserved.ettheformulationf suchaplandependsnlargemeasuren apredictionf thefuture ehaviorof thosewithwhomwe mustdeal.We have o make hispredictionknowinghat t reallyiesbeyond urpowers.f ourbestexpertsreincapablef predictingheactions f ourownelectorate,t is follytosupposehatwecananticipatehefuture imsof thePolitburo.The perplexitiesf thissituationresuch thatthe easiestwayout s likely oseem heonlywayout.Thetemptations overwhelm-ing to take heclues orourownconductrom hetaughtdoctrineof communism.urexpertsn the StateDepartmentrecommis-sioned,n effect, o laya slide-rulen themIritingsf Marx,LeninandStalin, nd ocomeupwith heAnswer. his s avervhazardousprocedure,hich,f takenooseriously,anbecomeisastrous.Inourpresentredicament,Te eedabove llelse to keep omesenseof contingency,ome eeling or thepressureshat ie behindtheprinted age, omeawarenessf thecomplexityndthepossibleinternalontradictionsn the motives f ourpotentialnemy.Wemusthave heintellectualorbearanceo let timeandnatureworkonourside;we mustnot be likethefarmern theChinese roverbwhopulledhiscrops utbytherootsrying, sheexplained,tohelpthemgrow. 5Meanwhile,fcourse,weshould eepourpowderryandplenti-ful,andwe shouldnotbe distractedromourgoalof peaceby theabusivepithets f a Vyshinsky,ho s, afterall,playing gameathomentowhichwe areatbest mperfectlynitiated.

5 The eloquent ppeal orthispointof viewmadeby the former irector f the lab-oratoryhatdevelopedhe atomicbomb houldbe requiredeadingor all of our policy-makers. eeOppenheimer,TheOpenMind, ATLANIIC8 (Feb. 1949). Perhapsworeadings f this article ught o be recommended,or its thoughts much ooprofoundndsubtle o be absorbedn a singlereading.

[ Vol.47


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