Communist Influence Wanes, Says Schlesinger's Pamphlet

Communist influence has "dwindled into negligibility" in the United States since 1945, Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. '38, associate professor of History, said in a pamphlet released yesterday, titled "What About Communism?"

The non-Communist left and "militant anti-Communist leadership in unions contributed most to the decline, Schlesinger wrote.

In the pamphlet, he traced the history of the Communist movement with the hope of substituting fact for hysteria. "The non-Communist world," he said "must remember that it can increase or reduce the potency of this mighty Soviet weapon. It must renounce panic because frightened people are not capable of making intelligent decisions."

American Communists, Schlesinger suggested, missed their big opportunity during the depression. "Since the war," he continued, "the Communists, as a result of their sponsorship of the Progressive party, their opposition to the Marshall plan, and their unquestioning endorsement of Soviet policy have backed themselves into an exposed and vulnerable position."

One time membership in the Communist party should not become a lifetime blot on an individual, Schlesinger wrote.