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An attempt to throw light on the data of world communism & the East-West conflict through the use of 3 interrelated concepts: G. Sorel's `myth,' R. K. Merton's `self-fulfilling prophecy,' & M. Edelman's `symbolic reassurance.' These concepts are summarized & examined re: (1) Western ideologies as myths in underdeveloped countries; (2) Marxism in Russia: the myth of the proletarian revolution; (3) the self-fulfilling prophecy of the East-West conflict; (4) the decline of the myth of proletarian world revolution; & (5) world communism as a symbol of reassurance. It is stressed that a large sector of PO in the Western countries is mobile in its attachment to certain symbols. In evaluating the role of myths in pol, they should not be thought of as invariably & directly representing certain interests, each myth being used by a group more or less consciously to advance its interests. The possibility of the death of the myth of world communism is discussed. E. Weiman.

The conflict between East and West had its origins in diverging views of how society should be organised which emerged in the course of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century industrialisation: the contrast between the pluralism of 'Western' civilisation, which in principle permitted a multiplicity of ways of life and patterns of power, and the centralised all-powerful state with its 'Asiatic' imprint; the contrast between capitalist means of production and socialist planning; the contrast between a parliamentary state under the rule of law and a totalitarian state. Such contrasting attitudes appeared to be irreconcilable, but they were indissolubly linked, at the latest, from the time of the Bolshevik victory in the October Revolution of 1917. Furthermore, the Bolshevik's seizure of power in Russia turned these conflicting views into an international political problem. By claiming to be the vanguard of an historically necessary world revolutionary movement the leadership of the Soviet Union tied a particular combination of socialist and anti-Western attitudes to the advancement of Soviet national interests, thus introducing into the international system a specific conflict between 'Western' industrialised nations and the Soviet state.

Aus amerikanischer Sicht

ECONOMIC, SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL RELATIONS FORM A BASIS FOR THE CONSTRUCTION OF A COMMON EUROPEAN HOME. AT THE PRESENT THERE IS A FRESH IMPULSE WHICH HAVE BEEN GIVEN TO THE PROCESS OF WEST EUROPEAN INTEGRATION WHICH WILL GREATLY INFLUENCE THE SITUATION IN EUROPE AND IN THE WHOLE WORLD. THIS ARTICLE EXPLORES TWO FUNDAMENTAL QUESTIONS; WILL THE FORMATION OF AN INTERNAL EC MARKET LEAD TO A FURTHER SPLIT AND DIFFERENTIATION OF FORCES IN EUROPE; AND IF SO, TO WHAT EXTENT, OR WILL IT PROMOTE EUROPEAN CO-OPERATION? IN THE AUTHOR'S VIEW, THE MOST PROMISING OPTION FOR BUILDING A COMMON EUROPEAN HOME IS A TRULY COMMON EUROPEAN MARKET.