THE STRATEGY OF DECEPTION

This is a collection of fifteen essays on the Communist movement outside the Soviet Union. The contributors are experts, either academic specialists in the field of politics or leaders of left-wing movements and trade unionism in the countries discussed. The general thesis of the book is that, contrary to Marx, economic class does not, in itself, determine a group's susceptibility to Communism. The Communist movement pragmatically directs its attention to the most alienated elements in a society. Thus, in China, the concentration has been on the students and intellectuals; in India and South East Asia, on those estranged from the traditional culture. In Africa, Communism has allied itself with the cause of nationalism; in Latin America with social revolution; in the U.S. and Great Britain middle class Communists have focused their attention on the unions; in Italy, France, Spain and Czechoslovakia- according to the situation. Two of the essays deal with Communist theory-""The Death of the Class Struggle"" and ""The Rise of the Professional Revolutionaries"". The rest are ""case studies"". The collection is of high quality, most appropriate for the serious reader of foreign affairs.