SUGGESTION FOR IMPROVING FACILITIES FOR IDEOLOGICAL WARFARE.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP80-01065A000200080057-6
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: C
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: November 17, 2016
• Document Release Date: February 1, 2000
• Sequence Number: 57
• Publication Date: March 6, 1952
• Content Type: REPORT

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March 6, 1952
To: Director, PSB
SUGGESTION FOR IMPROVING FACILITIES FOR IDEOLOGICAL WARFARE.
A. THE PROBLEM
1. In some sectors of the cold war we are making substantial pro-
gress. In the most important and fundamental sector, however, we
are still dangerously outgunned. In fact, we are practically un-
armed.
2. This is the area of ideological or philosophic conflict, with
particular reference to book distribution. Here the performance
of the communists is shrewd, effective and often inspired.
3. They have been conducting for 30 years a well-planned campaign,
aimed at inspiring the will to win among their own supporters,
obtaining new converts, and sapping the strength of opposition,
in which the permanent literature of communism plays a fundamental
part.
4. Their basic strategy is simple; they are throwing the book at
us. Long ago they adopted the sound principle that ephemeral
types of propaganda, such as the radio, pamphlets, newspapers, are
ineffective unless they are related to a philosophic frame of
reference embodied in a permanent literature. They have recog-
nized that this literature must be in book form, scholarly, in tone,
that it should refer constantly to philosophy and history.' They
have recognized that a give-away book or pamphlet always carries
the suspicion of propaganda. Therefore, they have subsidized
standard books to bring them down to a price level which the native
population could pay. Then they have promoted them with great
vigor.-)By its very quantity, this permanent literature creates
the impression of validity and growing strength. By vigorous
promotion, it gains the glamour of inspiration and enthusiasm. A
Soviet broadcast may be pegged to the news, but it is intimately
related to the basic philosophy developed in the permanent liter-
ature of communism. The fact that our radio broadcasts are forced
to reply to this without reference to any universally available
literature of our own, only adds to the significance of theirs.
It is proof to the world that we are on the ropes.v
5. They have taken advantage of the weakness of book distribution
systems in many parts of the world by building up their own, then
enjoying an insulated readership. There are reported to be some
200 communist book stores on the Continent. It is claimed that
the Soviet book trust has spent $4 million in France alone. They
are making substantial progress in the libraries of India and the
recent growth of the Communist Party there is in substantial part
the result.
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6. The communist philosophy is full of internal contradictions
and assumptions that can stand only when they are unchallenged.
Communist criticisms of our society are largely false and cannot
stand refutation. They can, however, stand up against a piecemeal
defense, which is the essential weakness of the radio and other
types of ephemeral propaganda, such as pamphlets,'magazine articles,
newspapers, etc. A political and economic philosophy can only be
upset by the same type of media upon which it based its original
strength. It is upon the quantity of their permanent literature
and the vigor of its promotion that the communists have based their
concept of the inevitableness of their revolution. Thought leaders
in critical areas throughout the world are every day being pro-
foundly influenced by the communist concept of "historic fatalism."
The communists have adapted our political bandwagon technique to
their ideological conquest of the world, and it is working. And
their ideological conquest is the first step toward military and
political domination.
7. The success of their tactic is illustrated by "The History of
the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Short Course." This
364-page book, beautifully printed on excellent paper, sells for
$1 in this country and much less abroad. The world circulation
to date is said to run in the neighborhood of 25 million. It is
probably out-selling any other book in the world, including the
Bible. Under the guise of a scholarly history it is violently
biased, and full of internal contradictions and specious reasoning
based on dubious unilateral assumptions of fact. Yet, it is a
powerful agency in making converts to the communist cause, because
of its unchallenged assumption of the invincibility and historic
destiny of the Party. There is no anti-communist book to challenge
it, although it is an obvious target. Moreover, as we are now
organized, any reply to this book -- even if it were the perfect
rebuttal -- would get a circulation in this country of no more than
6,000 copies and practically no foreign distribution.
8. Our lack of preparedness in this area of ideological warfare
is indefensible, especially in view of our huge expenditures in
the military and economic fields. The communists emphasize their
Agitprop as much as they do the Red Army or the Five Year Plan,
and we must be prepared to meet them on even terms here as else-
where. It is an open question if we dare enter any plan for world
disarmament as long as we are so completely outclassed in this
field,
9. One of the results of our neglect of world book distribution
has been to discourage scholars, scientists and philosophers from
serious work in this field. There are little or no financial
rewards and even more important, few rewards in terms of world
reputation. As a result, writers competent to produce excellent
propaganda material in the ideological sector are devoting their
energies elsewhere,
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differences are merely matters of semantics, but we are allowing
the communists to drive a wedge between us.
10. The lack of a world readership has tended toward ideological.
isolationism. The existence of an international audience would
stimulate efforts to reconcile our beliefs with the prevailing
social philosophies of liberal thinkers in Europe. Many of our
B. SUGGESTED SOLUTION
1. In recent interviews with representative book publishers it
developed that the book trade has long been conscious of the
situation, but that a lack of overall planning and policy direc-
tion from the Government has handicapped cooperation from pub-
lishers and others connected with book production, distribution
and use.
2. It was stated that the cost of printing books in America is
so high that there is practically no market for American board-
bound books except in the technical classification. It is entirely
up to the American publisher whether or not he makes any effort
to arrange for publication in a foreign country and he would
rarely gamble on a book in the philosophic field. Our successful
experience in manufacturing and distributing inexpensive reprints
has not been applied to the foreign field. The Information Centers
Service Division, International Information Administration (former-
ly The Division of Libraries and Institutes of the State Department)
operates on a very small appropriation; as one publisher expressed
it: "They operate on the scale of worrying about getting one
book into one foreign library." A few books have been distributed
in CARE packages, but apparently there is not much drive back of
this effort. The Media Guaranty program of MSA has been of some
assistance in limited areas, but is handicapped by policy with
respect to counterpart funds. The Committee for Free Europe has /
paid little attention to book distribution. The book trade's
own overseas distribution organization, USIBA, had to be liquidated
in 1947 because it could not operate profitably on a strictly
commercial basis.
3. The most promising attack to date on the problem is a recent
proposal by a group of publishers representing the three book
trade associations (ABPC, ATPI and AAUP) originated in cooperation
with interested members of the State Department. Proposed is a
non-profit organization, eligible to receive Government, foundation
or private funds for its general support and special projects.
Inasmuch as book publishing is not a sufficiently profitable
trade to yield the funds necessary to finance what needs to be
done, an appropriation of approximately $5 million has been re-
quested of Cones and the matter is now under consideration by
tie _Mooney sub-com?nittee. The purpose of the corporation is to
procure, produce and distribute existing works in English and in
translation, to create suitable works where none exist, to meet
Soviet competition and
IRMPMATI
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URI`TX INF O
t
o ensure a climate in Asia, Latin America and elsewhere sympath-
etic if possible, and at least tolerant, to our economics, culture,
education and technology. The book trade has through its asso-
ciation offered a slate of possible publisher members for a board
of directors for this corporation, it being understood that the
directorate would include also representatives of government,
foundations and the public. The book trade has further indicated
that the right people could be secured from within the industry
to staff and operate such a corporation here and abroad.
(a) Previous experience has indicated the practicality of
such industry-government cooperation. Two notable examples
have been Editions for the Armed Services, Inc., which
during the war produced millions of cheap books on a closed
market basis; and the Bibliography Committee, which through
the American Council of Learned Societies and with joint
industry and government contributions, has produced two
large volumes of a selective bibliography of U.S. scien-
tific, medical and technical books.
(b) Open to the corporation are many types of operation,
some commercial, some eleemosynary, some purely propagandistic9
For example, in the first category might be a provision for
supplying convertibility of currency in a country like Argentina,
receptive to U.S. books, but without present means of acquiring
them; in the second the gift, through foundation, Point IV
or other funds, to school and college libraries; in the third
the introduction of carefully chosen titles (sometimes written
for the purpose) for sale at less than cost and at a level
appropriate to the native economy in countries like India
and China. To know what should and can be done, on-the-spot
surveys by experienced persons must be made as quickly as
possible. These surveys should include a study of book needs,
practices and opportunities in designated countries; book
production facilities abroad; and a survey of all official
and unofficial groups here (such as TCA, MSA, USIS and CARE)
concerned with getting books abroad. These surveys shouldbe
made quickly and thoroughly, under authoritative direction.
They would cost, on a broad estimate, between $250,000 and
$500,000, and while the first recommendations should be made
within six months, the work would be carried on as a contin-
uing study for a now unpredictable length of time. In this
study cultural and commercial attaches of the State Department
would be of the greatest collateral use.
(c) Coincidentally, and independently of the projected cor-
poration, the work of The Information Centers Service Division,
International Information Administration should be broadened
and intensified.
(d) A special group, chosen with particular care, should be
assembled from American education to study the textbook problem,
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particularly the supply to Asiatic areas of illustrated low-
level texts in the native tongues, written in collaboration
with native scholars and printed in the country of use. This
is a delicate matter, but one of grave future importance.
Inasmuch as a promising solution to a problem underlying all our
psychological warfare activities is now in a critical state, it
is suggested that PSB take whatever action is possible to help
push the project through. This might include obtaining the
official blessing of NSC, making representations to Congressional
committees to hasten affirmative action, and searching for other
25X1A sources of more immediatel available funds. In particular,
between should be sought at once, possibly
from. such agencies as CIA, for the preliminary surveys which
might otherwise delay the major project.
25X1A
SECURITY INFORMATION
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