◆ SpookStack

{_ f ? 4 THE TECHNIQUES OF SOVIET PROPAGANDA ete., while carefully concealing from the captured elements any awareness of their service to communism. (fone It is this last characteristic which distinguishes Communist politicel warfare from normal political activity. While normal political activity tends to win agreements around objectives as clearly defined as possible, Communist political warfare tends to manipulate alle- glances to favor objectives which are as thoroughly as possible. ; The term “political warfare” is often used as a synonym for the “war of minds,” which frequently leads to a confusion of concepts. The use of the word “mind” often evokes the idea that what is in- . volved is a confrontation of ideals, doctrines, and motivations; a . contest played on the field of intellectual activity. However, com- munism today aims only at the emotionally conditioned part of the minds. It seeks alinement, not enlightenment. It employs lies, sophistries, demagogy, and chicanery to cheat, rather than convince minds. The term “war of minds” could be accepted, if it were clearly understood aa a war to subjugate minds; a poisonous attack on the intellect with the poisons of the intellect, ; DIRECT CONVERSION VERSUS INDIRECT PROPAGANDA In general, propaganda serves two purposes: to exalt already — mustered proselytes and to manipulate the opinions of those not yet enlisted. One of the outstanding fatuities of the West is the delusion that the extent of the Communist threat can be gaged by the numerical strength of the indigenous Communist Party. As in all political systems whose appeal is not grounded in reason, Communist totali- tarianism feeds much more on the confusion of its opponents than on the conviction of ita members. Communist Parties serve simply as firebrands, and the Kremlin thrusts them into a social structure with —- the primary purpose of perverting or weakening ite fabric. This is ~ the modus operandi of “active minorities,” a concept effectivel utilized by Bolshevism from its inception, even in the U.S.S.R. an China, tt undermined, weakened, and deluded societies. For several years now, the promotion of communism as an ideology has been subordinated to the growth of the international Soviet empire; therefore, it is a dangerous illusion to equate national security with numerical weakness of the Communist Party, especially if there is wide acceptance of views favorable to the international enterprises of Moscow and Peiping. The discussion of direct propaganda, designed to win members or voters, will therefore be very brief, the more so as its methods are fairly well known. Of far more importance, and widely misunder- stood, is indirect propaganda, designed to contaminate minds and to atrophy defensive reactions in non-Communist circles, which wil] be the principal topic. has consistently used minority parties to seize power in |;