‘of Our Time,

‘Imperialism Today —
Hall book aid

Imperialism Today: An Evalu-
ation of Major Issues and Events
3 by Gus Hall.
Available from Progress Books;
hard cover edition — $15.75,
Paperback — $4.95.

By G. SHISHKIN

According to U.S. census
figures, in 1970, 27 million Ame-
ricans—8.6% of all white and
29.8% of all Black families —
had incomes below the official
poverty line.

“Why, despite wars on pov-
erty, progressive income taxa-
tion and relatively high employ-
ment, does the American econ-
Omy so stubbornly perpetuate
inequality>?” asks the weekly
New Republic with studied nai-
vete,

The true answer to this and
aed associated questions can
< found in “Imperialism To-
ree An Evaluation of Major
ssues and Events of Our Time,”
- new book by Gus Hall, gen-

ral secretary of the Communist
Party of the USA.

; The U.S. Hall writes, posses-
€s everything needed to banish
poverty for all time. If this has
a been done, if, according to

e latest statistics, 540 million
people in the world live in the
ee of death by starvation,

reason is imperialism.

Costs In Lives
Employing the Marxist dialec-

- tical method, Hall lays bare the

x ulcers and crimes of Ame-
ee capitalism. The aggres-
ie + Vietnam alone has taken
"A ives of more than 50,000
pstatis and maimed 300,000.

at to this the millions who

a a an early death because
tions adequate safety precau-
fons in. industry and occupa-
Gent diseases. In the past 50
a 100 million serious indus-
teregnccidents have been regis-
ing a the United States. Dur-
ae orld War II, 11 million

re een workers were killed
ne goes in such accidents, 11
sited, than the casualties
hela: y the U.S. on the bat-
fe adduces a wealth
none. ua material showing that
aan sa the scientific and tech-
dts ee revolution has funda-
tion ee improved the protec-
abs ete worker’s life and
ss aa n 1958-59 alone the ac-
ae Tate in manufacturing in-

sha Sas by 30%, in iron
Sr by 70%, and in the
Bean as industry by 157%.
the ae “finance capital uses
sath Rec technological revo-
aah © intensify its murderous
an of the working
tion “ea the whole, exploita-
atte been intensified in the
period by more than 70%.

Breeds Militarism

a Sak discusses in detail
Betinlie Ninist' thesis that im-
hacen engenders war and
aon breeds militarism. The
Aha reminds us that in the
CHiwee en the American
militar ar and World War I, U.S.
zs ae, Spending as a rule did
tbr! €ed 1% of the gross na-
the ae Even in 1939, on
aAnnea: World War II, it
GNP. B to only 1.3% of the
the : ut since World War II

ate has run at a steady

GUS HALL

From his analysis of the ag-
gressive essence of imperialism,
Hall draws the conclusion that
U.S. imperialism “is far from
relinquishing war aS a means of
settling international problems.”
At the same time he warns
against overestimation of the
strength of imperialism.

“The warlike posture of im-
perialism is an inherent charac-
teristic that impels it to go on
the prowl, seeking the weak
spots. But this characteristic is
forced to operate within the re-
alities of the new world balance
of forces. It must take into ac-
count the forces of anti-imperi-
alism—the growing economic,
military and political might of
the socialist third of the world,
the thrust of national liberation
forces, and the political aware-
ness of the working class and
other people of the capitalist
world.”

Falling Behind

The: positions of U.S. imper-
ialism are being eroded also by
the sharp inter-imperialist con-
tradictions between the U.S. and
its principal rivals, and the
growth of centrifugal tendencies
in the imperialist camp. As a
a result of the operation of the
law of uneven development of
capitalism, the United States
has latterly lost. a number of
important positions.

It has fallen far behind some
other capitalist countries, espe-
cially Japan and West Germany,
for rates of economic growth.
For the first time since 1933 the
U.S. has had to devalue the
dollar. ‘U.S. imperialism is los-
ing its place on the pinnacle of
the pyramid.” It is clearly over-
straining itself. “It must now
either retreat or keep spending
billions of dollars to maintain
the operation of its more than
3,000 overseas military bases,
while its chief imperialist rivals
spend relatively small amounts
for their military establish-
ments.” All this, Hall says, once
again underscores the need for
full clarity on the operation of
the centrifugal forces in capi-
talism in order to utilize them
in the interests of the revolu-
tionary movement.

Are You For or Against?

The USS. Communist leader
devotes much attention to ide-
ological questions. This is not
fortuitous, for, as he points out
himself, *“U.S. imperialism is
not only the arsenal of world

in struggle

imperialism, it has also become
its ideological headquarters.”
Hundreds of institutions, gov-
ernment and private, with thou-
sands of millions of dollars to
spend are engaged in the U.S.
in ideological indoctrination in
the interests of imperialism. This
is done through the medium of
books and periodicals published
in millions of copies and radio
and television broadcasts beam-
ed to all parts of the world.

In the circumstances, Hall
stresses, effective steps to coun-
teract the imperialist ideological
and political subversion acquire
particular importance. “In to-
day’s world it is impossible not
to react to the central question
of our times. Are you for or
against imperialism? Are you
enough against imperialism that
you will get off the slippery
rock of non-alignment and join
those who are fighting imperial-
ism?”

As a Marxist, Hall approach-
es the question of non-align-
ment dialectically, from clear-
cut class positions. “When forc-
es who are in the ranks of the
opposition to imperialism move
to a position of non-alignment,
it is a victory for imperialism.
But when forces who support
imperialism move tO a position
of ‘neutrality’, that is a defeat
for imperialism.” This is a law
of the class struggle.

Fakery and Opportunism

Hall dwells in detail on the
class-collaborationist role played
by opportunists of all hues. “To
proclaim one’s neutrality in the
class struggle on a world scale
is fakery and opportunism, It is
a way of siding with the class
enemy.” In this connection he
condemns the opportunist posi-
tion of the Maoists. “The Maoist
leadership of the Communist
Party of China has bitterly de-
nounced U.S. imperialism in
words, but during the last years
its position on specific world
developments has been in the
same orbit with U.S. imperial-
ism.”

The book analyzes the Maoist
stance on such cardinal issues
of the day as the national libe-
ration struggle of the people of
Bangladesh or the problem of
the final abolition of the colonial
system. The picture that emerg-
es is perfectly clear, Hall writes.

“At the U.N. the Chinese dele-
gation is following the Maoist
line to the letter. It is using the
UN platform for slandering the
Soviet Union and opportunistic-
ally either voting with the U.S.
or, when. the issue is too hot,
opportunistically staying away.
This is opportunism. This is
playing footsy with imperialism.
This is the. stuff unprincipled
alliances with imperialism are
made of. The few weeks follow-
ing the admittance of People’s
China into the UN has done
much to expose the raw nature
of opportunism, the depth of the
unscrupulousness of the Maoist
policies.”

Defeats for Imperialism

In conclusion Hall voices his
firm confidence that capitalism
as a socio-economic system is
inevitably doomed, and not only
because it has outlived its time,

“In today’s world it is impossible not to react to the central ques-
tion of our times. Are you for or against imperialism..." asks Gus

Hall in his new book.

but because the new forces that

have emerged hasten its end.
“The drive of U.S. imperial-

ism to dominate, exploit and

enslave the world, launched
after the second world war, has
ignominiously bogged down.
Some call it “overextension”’,
others a “miscalculation” but no
matter what one calls it, it is
imperialist aggression, and it is
those policies of aggression
that have now suffered defeats.”
These are defeats for imperial-
ism in general and U.S. imperial-
ism in particular.

Aggression has indeed bogged
down in the rice paddies of In-
dochina, the deserts of North
Africa, the mountains of Chile,
and the sugar plantations of
Cuba. U.S. imperialism is com-
pelled to manoeuvre and retreat.
It is no longer able to cling to
its old positions and is losing
battles of utmost importance.

At the same time Gus Hall
issues this reminder: “That

world capitalism has been
marked for extinction and that
world imperialism is in serious
new difficulties are assessments
of processes: this does not
_mean the processes have reach-
ed their end. U.S. imperialism
will continue its policies of ag-
gression. It will continue to
seek for a new capitalist world
structure. It will continue to be~
the arsenal for world reaction.
What is important is that the
struggle against its policies will
take place in the context of the
new balance of relationships, in
the new stage of the crisis.”
For the struggle against imper-
ialism to be successful, it is im-
perative that all the revolution-
ary. forces..of,.our_ time unite.
se

U.S. progressives have wel-
comed the publication of this
Marxist study of present-day
imperialism. It is a valuable con-
tribution to the anti-imperialist
struggle of the revolutionary:
forces.

Pentagon lists
25 top killers

The Defense Department recently revealed a list of its top 25 defense
contractors for 1970. Following are the names and amount in government

contracts.

1. Lockheed ,.3....-- eee reece eens
. General Dynamics .....--+-++++>>

. General Electric

. United Aircraft

. North American Rockwell Be ae Se

. Gruman

Q. Litton Industries ......-----+-+--

. Hughes Aircraft
11. Ling Temco Vought
. Boeing
13. Textron
14. Westinghouse Electric
15. Sperry Rand

16. Honeywell ...... 5-0 ee eee reece
17. General Motors .......-.+-+++++-

19. Ford

. RCA

. IBM
25. Raymond Morrison Knudsen

2

3

4. American Telephone & Telegraph .. .
5. McDonnell Douglas ......--+-+-++
6
7
8

Aer ees See

OY Se ee ee $1,847,738,000
Calateaps Joe 2 3s eietign = $1,183,260,000
Ose Meee 5a ama se $1,000,452,000

So SG $707,130,000

Ais Seta oe eee eee $397 ,928,000

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, JANUARY 12, 1973—PAGE 7