‘Containment’ again emerges as a dominant theme | TheHill – The Hill
The coronavirus is spreading around the world, and a world-wide effort is underway to contain it. In the second half of the Twentieth Century containment was also a major theme. Its useful to compare the two.
The dominanttheme in international relations in the second half of the Twentieth Century was the struggle between Western capitalism and Soviet-style communism, and the leading Western approach to defeating communism was the "containment" strategy, articulated by the American diplomat George F. Kennan. The theory, in short, was the liberal capitalist West needed to contain the Soviet-style communism from spreading around the world, notably in places like Korea and Vietnam. If the West could defeat the Soviets in these small battlegrounds, then the politico-economic disease of communism could be contained.
A dominant theme of domestic policy in the United States and many Western democracies during this same period concerned the struggle between the people and organizations that had the power and wealth and those who sought liberation and equality. Those in control, to grossly oversimplify, were white males who controlled industry and politics, while those who sought liberation and equality were led by women and African-Americans in the Women's Movement and the Civil Rights Movement, but as the Twentieth Century evolved they came to include the LGBTQ community and citizens, generally, who fought to save the planet.
The economically well-off and politically powerful white males were accused of containing women and blacks in the United States, even as they were credited by many with containing the Soviet Union many, but certainly not all, since there were dissenters in the United States, especially the most liberal, even radical, segments of America's youth. Indeed, the youth who marched and protested against the war in Vietnam were against the "System," which was seen as suppressing women and blacks even as it promoted a morally depraved form of capitalism abroad via a brutal and useless war in Vietnam.
There is an obvious parallel today with the capitalist Kennan-style effort to contain the spread of communism, which was regarded as a political-economic disease, one which was harmful to human beings and needed to be eradicated from the earth. COVID-19 has to date infected more than 600,000 Americans, although that figure is confirmed cases, and experts say the number infected could be five or ten times higher. It has killed over 25,000. COVID-19 is an actual physical illness, is definitely harmful and in some cases, anywhere from 1 to 15 percent depending on your age and health can kill you.
An animating theme of the liberal West's effort to terminate communism, an effort that took 45 years, was international cooperation and coordination. No one country could contain communism on its own, although the United States led the way. Still, we needed the support and cooperation of England, France, then West Germany, the rest of free Europe, Canada and Japan to achieve victory. A go-it-alone mentality would not have worked, and the Cold War ultimately ended when the teamwork put together by the United States and our allies won the war against the Soviets, who were imploding on their own and were being guided toward dissolving their empire by Premier Gorbachev.
As the Berlin Wall fell, women and blacks in the United States, and environmentalists and the advocates for the LGBTQ movement were breaking down the walls of containment at home. Tens of millions of women had walked beyond the walls of their kitchens and laundry rooms into American industry and politics and American economic life in general; and American blacks, with less success but still notable achievements, had thrown off the economic chains that constrained them and entered mainstream American political and social life.
The power held by economically and politically powerful white males, according to those they subjugated, was similar to a disease that, from their point of view, needed to be contained and ultimately eliminated. Thus those being contained fought back and tried to contain their oppressors.
The great liberation movements remind us that the struggle for human freedom is a struggle often between those who see their adversaries as sources of evil. This evil is what philosophers have called moral evil, by which they mean evil based on free will. Philosophers use the term natural evil to refer to pain, hardship and death brought about by natural forces, like tornadoes, hurricanes, and pandemic viruses.Some argue that natural disasters like hurricanes and pandemic viruses can be made more serious if human beings leaders and citizens alike do not act in a morally responsible way. Thus the distinction between natural and moral evil is not clear cut.
The extent of the coronavirus pandemic, though it has its roots in natural as opposed to human causes, does rest in many ways in the hands of political leaders, industry and technology, the medical profession, and citizens ourselves. It will probably be with us for at least several years, certainly until a vaccine is obtained and widely distributed. Brutal as it is, we do well to try to understand the challenges in the context of American and world history.
It is not necessary or desirable to separate this crisis from all previous crises and massive problems and declare it unique. Now is a time to integrate this phenomenon and the challenges it gives us into our national self-consciousness with previous crises and the challenges they gave us, even those which are not rooted in natural causes.
In the end, we will be stronger to the extent that we understand the crises and problems we have faced, the mistakes we have made, the successes weve had and the opportunities we have before usto change the world for the better.
Dave Anderson is the editor of Leveraging: A Political, Economic, and Societal Framework (Springer, 2014). He is also the author of "Youth04: Young Voters, the Internet, and Political Power"(W.W. Norton & Company, 2004) and co-editor of "The Civic Web: Online Politics and Democratic Values" (Rowman and Littlefield, 2003). He has taught at George Washington University, the University of Cincinnati, and Johns Hopkins University. He was a candidate in the 2016 Democratic Primary in Marylands 8thCongressional District. Contact him atdmamaryland@gmail.com.
See the original post:
'Containment' again emerges as a dominant theme | TheHill - The Hill
- Zohran Mamdani Has a Disgusting Personality Flaw That's Even Worse Than Loving Communism and Hamas - freebeacon.com - July 10th, 2025 [July 10th, 2025]
- Communism Meets Reincarnation? How China Is Trying To Pick The Next Dalai Lama - Worldcrunch - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- The Secret Committee That Persecuted Black and Gay People In the Name of Fighting Communism - CrimeReads - July 4th, 2025 [July 4th, 2025]
- Communism For New York Grocery Stores - AM 870 The ANSWER - July 2nd, 2025 [July 2nd, 2025]
- Christianity, Islam and communism and the global conquest - The Hans India - June 29th, 2025 [June 29th, 2025]
- New York turns to full-blown Communism - Schiff Sovereign - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- Trkiye's answer to Disco Elysium just broke cover, featuring more lawyers, fewer cops, an indeterminate amount of communism and twin fistfuls of guilt... - June 28th, 2025 [June 28th, 2025]
- A Cuban woman surprises the President of Madrid in Miami: I am here because of communism. - CiberCuba - June 24th, 2025 [June 24th, 2025]
- The essence of revolutionary communism: new introduction to the 'Classics of Marxism' - In Defence of Marxism - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- Elicer vila and Destino exchange fire on social media: "Those of us who fled communism value the freedom of the U.S." - CiberCuba - June 22nd, 2025 [June 22nd, 2025]
- The progressive "West" and the ghost of monarchy - In Defense of Communism - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- 39th Congress of the Communist Party of Sweden (SKP): Statements on Palestine and the Ukraine War - In Defense of Communism - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- First Nations are mired in 'soft communism.' This leader has the fix - National Post - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- Reactions by Communist Parties on Israel-Iran War - In Defense of Communism - June 20th, 2025 [June 20th, 2025]
- Czech Blog: Wine and War A Glimpse Into the Legacies of Communism - Global Atlanta - June 14th, 2025 [June 14th, 2025]
- Communist Party of Israel and Hadash stand against Netanyahu government's attack on Iran - In Defense of Communism - June 14th, 2025 [June 14th, 2025]
- Anticommunism in Kyrgyzstan: The world's largest monument dedicated to Lenin to be dismantled - In Defense of Communism - June 10th, 2025 [June 10th, 2025]
- Communism Survivor on Revoking Chinese Student Visas: Beware the Enemy Within - NTD News - June 1st, 2025 [June 1st, 2025]
- The specter of communism still looms over the Balkans - The Spectator Australia - June 1st, 2025 [June 1st, 2025]
- Campus Communism: How the CCP Compromised Harvard and US Higher Education - Hudson Institute - May 30th, 2025 [May 30th, 2025]
- How the Portuguese Communist Party assesses the negative electoral result of 18 May - In Defense of Communism - May 30th, 2025 [May 30th, 2025]
- The shadow of communism still looms over the Balkans - The Spectator - May 30th, 2025 [May 30th, 2025]
- Texas House Advances Bill Requiring Schools to Teach History and 'Atrocities' of Communism - The Texan - May 24th, 2025 [May 24th, 2025]
- Bill teaching children dangers of communism passed in the Texas House - Washington Examiner - May 24th, 2025 [May 24th, 2025]
- Communists in Greece block trucks with ammunition heading to Ukraine - In Defense of Communism - May 24th, 2025 [May 24th, 2025]
- Communist Party of India (Marxist) condemns the killing of 27 Maoists by state forces in Chhattisgarh - In Defense of Communism - May 24th, 2025 [May 24th, 2025]
- Dr Oz Ridiculed for Urging Parents to Feed Their Kids 'Real Food': 'When Michelle Obama Said This It Was Communism' - Latin Times - May 24th, 2025 [May 24th, 2025]
- Bill to teach Texas kids the dangers of communism but not fascism OK'd by House - WOAI - May 22nd, 2025 [May 22nd, 2025]
- Bill to teach Texas kids the dangers of communism but not fascism OK'd by House - The Texas Tribune - May 22nd, 2025 [May 22nd, 2025]
- Poland: Don Streich, another victim of communism, will be beatified - Exaudi - May 22nd, 2025 [May 22nd, 2025]
- Can degrowth communism save the world? - resilience.org - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- "You blocked the system": A Cuban asks a robot with artificial intelligence when communism will fall in Cuba, and this is what it said -... - May 19th, 2025 [May 19th, 2025]
- Joint statement by the KKE, AKEL, PCP and KSM in the European Parliament against anti-communist initiative - In Defense of Communism - May 17th, 2025 [May 17th, 2025]
- The Pope Who Foresaw the Horrors of Communism - RealClearMarkets - May 17th, 2025 [May 17th, 2025]
- Communist Party of Turkey: NATO Foreign Ministers are unwelcome in Antalya! - In Defense of Communism - May 17th, 2025 [May 17th, 2025]
- East vs west? Romanias biggest vote since the fall of communism - Channel 4 - May 17th, 2025 [May 17th, 2025]
- Nazi collaborator's name initially engraved on the Victims of Communism memorial - Yahoo News Canada - May 17th, 2025 [May 17th, 2025]
- Communist Party of Turkey on the dissolution of the Kurdish PKK group - In Defense of Communism - May 17th, 2025 [May 17th, 2025]
- 80th anniversary of the Anti-Fascist Victory: When the Communists saved humanity from the Nazi monster - In Defense of Communism - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Communist Party of Pakistan: Down with chauvinism and war hysteria, long live proletarian internationalism - In Defense of Communism - May 11th, 2025 [May 11th, 2025]
- Shen Yun brings 'China Before Communism' to Proctors Theater for two-night performance - WRGB - April 23rd, 2025 [April 23rd, 2025]
- BBC accused of giving children 'dishonest' view of communism after failing to mention mass killings - GB News - April 23rd, 2025 [April 23rd, 2025]
- FSU Shooting Suspect Was Forced to Leave Political Club After Insisting Communism Was 'Ruining America', Student Says - Latin Times - April 23rd, 2025 [April 23rd, 2025]
- Blushing Bolsheviks! Not even fathers of Soviet communism did what Colorado may do to parents by sanctifying transgenderism - Read Lion - April 23rd, 2025 [April 23rd, 2025]
- Blushing Bolsheviks! Not even fathers of Soviet communism did what Colorado may do to parents by sanctifying transgenderism - The Heartlander - April 23rd, 2025 [April 23rd, 2025]
- Partisans for Peace: On the 80th anniversary of Italy's liberation - Against rearmament and imperialist war - In Defense of Communism - April 16th, 2025 [April 16th, 2025]
- 'Red Scare' revisits the fear of Communism that gripped post-WWII America - KNAU Arizona Public Radio - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Republican U.S. Senators Introduce Bill to Teach Students the Dangers of Communism - Sierra Sun Times - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- A bill in the U.S. seeks to teach the dangers of communism in schools - CiberCuba - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Letter to the editor: What happened to being anti-Communism? - Pierce County Journal - March 18th, 2025 [March 18th, 2025]
- Beyond The Iron Curtain: How Polish Posters Subverted Hollywood Under Communism - Deadline - March 13th, 2025 [March 13th, 2025]
- Linda Rama: This is what the world can learn from the fall of communism - MSNBC - March 13th, 2025 [March 13th, 2025]
- Christian training center in northern China amid communism, Islam, and poverty - Mission Network News - February 27th, 2025 [February 27th, 2025]
- Gulys: Remembering victims of communism is both a task and a duty - Budapest Times - February 27th, 2025 [February 27th, 2025]
- Love and Torture The Stories of Russian Women Who Married Albanians During Communism - Euronews Albania - February 27th, 2025 [February 27th, 2025]
- Communist Knesset member Cassif: "They are trying to silence us, theres a fascist atmosphere in Israel" - In Defense of Communism - February 27th, 2025 [February 27th, 2025]
- It allowed us to survive, to not go mad: the CIA book smuggling operation that helped bring down communism - The Guardian - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- Nazism, Fascism, And Communism: Warring Sons To A Common Father OpEd - Eurasia Review - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- State Capitol news in brief: Communism lesson bill goes to Sanders | Senate to convene despite icy weather - Arkansas Online - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- USAID was created to counter communism, but came to a nearly opposite agenda - The Times and Democrat - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- My Dear Mother, The Last Divorce of Communism, Von Fock Tease New Chapter for Baltic TV Shows: Culturally Specific and Universally Relevant - AOL - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- Canada: Marxist School 2025 studying the pillars of communism to prepare for turbulent times - In Defence of Marxism - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- Cottons new book on China aims to ring the alarm bell on Taiwan and communism - coloradopolitics.com - February 23rd, 2025 [February 23rd, 2025]
- Sean McMeekin: Don't Whitewash the History of Communism - Reason - February 14th, 2025 [February 14th, 2025]
- Don't Whitewash the History of Communism - RealClearPolicy - February 14th, 2025 [February 14th, 2025]
- The Socialist State in Latvia: From the revolutionary triumph to the drama of dissolution - In Defense of Communism - February 14th, 2025 [February 14th, 2025]
- Nothing says 'communism' like this $165 poverty-chic plastic bag based on Disco Elysium, aka 'the level of greed that they talk about in the Bible' -... - February 7th, 2025 [February 7th, 2025]
- Texas Audience Delighted to See Universal Beliefs in China Before Communism Through Shen Yun - NTD - February 7th, 2025 [February 7th, 2025]
- Communist Workers Platform USA: The Class Struggle in America and the Communist Strategy - In Defense of Communism - February 7th, 2025 [February 7th, 2025]
- Communist Party of Turkey: Ahmed Al-Shara is an ISIS remnant and a war criminal - In Defense of Communism - February 7th, 2025 [February 7th, 2025]
- Vietnam's Communist Party marks 95th anniversary - In Defense of Communism - February 7th, 2025 [February 7th, 2025]
- The Beauty of China Before Communism Was Eye-Opening, Says Houston Theatergoer - NTD - February 3rd, 2025 [February 3rd, 2025]
- Pastor Delighted to See Shen Yun Express Love for Traditional Ways Before Communism - NTD - January 27th, 2025 [January 27th, 2025]
- KKE's leader Koutsoumbas on the 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz by the Red Army - In Defense of Communism - January 27th, 2025 [January 27th, 2025]
- Elon Musk and the Dictatorship of the Capital - In Defense of Communism - January 27th, 2025 [January 27th, 2025]
- Another shameful anticommunist resolution of the European Parliament, full of unhistorical references - In Defense of Communism - January 27th, 2025 [January 27th, 2025]
- Education panel backs expansion of tuition waivers for guardsmen, voices concern over bill to teach perils of communism - Northwest Arkansas... - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Gaza: By whatever name you call It Is Genocide! - In Defense of Communism - January 26th, 2025 [January 26th, 2025]
- Eduard Kuznetsov, Soviet dissident whose death sentence exposed the plight of Jews under communism - Yahoo! Voices - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]
- The International Communist Movement at a critical crossroads: The necessity of revolutionary regroupment - In Defense of Communism - January 1st, 2025 [January 1st, 2025]