AGAINST HUNTINGTON

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

As graduate students studying modern Chinese history and as observers of the war in Vietnam since the late 1950's, we were surprised by the optimism Professor Samuel Huntington expressed in his interview with the Crimson, October 17th. There is no room to argue here with his assertions that the military side of the war is running decisively against North Vietnam, and that the Chinese won't enter the war since "they have nothing to gain" (what did we have to gain by our involvement there?)

But we believe it is important to clarify two contentions which Professor Huntington makes about the prospects for a political victory in Vietnam, particularly since he is a specialist in political development. First, he sees hope for political victory in the growing urbanization of the South Vietnamese population--no peasants, no Vietcong, for the Communist program is as yet only geared to the countryside. But Professor Huntington does not say that this urbanization has taken place only because three million peasants have been driven off their land by intolerable bombing and shelling, or that this rapid urbanization has been sustained only because of the fantastic U.S. investment and demand for new services. It is possible, we suppose, that by eradicating the peasantry we can destroy the Vietcong; what will we do then with 17 million urbanized Vietnamese?

Second, it appears to us that there is a contradiction between Huntington the political theorist and Huntington the Vietnam expert. As Vietnam expert he is impressed by the recent elections and by Nguyen Cao Ky's political antics. As theorist he has warned against confusing superficial signs of democracy with real political development. Americans, he has written, in their search for political stability in emerging nations tend to resort to military strong men or the formal device of elections instead of building a political party, the only truly solid political institution. Will the Saigon junta ever allow the creation of a strong political party which can compete with the one organized party in South Vietnam, the NLF? Fox Butterfield, 5G   Eric Widner