A Tory says No Sir: Mr Woodhouse (10 November) is
to be con- gratulated on his courage in expressing his views on Vietnam.
Of considerable interest is his treatment of the domino theory that if the whole of Vietnam went communist the rest of South-East Asia would fol- low. 1 think that the gist of what he says about that theory is that even if true it does not justify the American policy because in his own words:
'Nationalism . . . has proved a far more potent force in international relations than marxism.' I am not sure, however, that this indicates with sufficient clarity the irrelevance of that theory. Nationalism in this context is not an ideology in the sense that communism, with which he com- pares it, is an ideology. The truth on which his proposition about nationalism and communism is founded is that power is held by individuals rather than by ideologies. An ideology wields its influence only through individual minds, and there is no reason to expect an ideology to create an alliance among all who adhere to it.
Therefore, even if the domino theory is true, there is no reason to believe that the spread of communism in this way would lead to a military alliance among communist states. Indeed, the evi- dence suggests that the tendency to such alliance is weak. It is not difficult to see why. Anyone who gets power in a country does not do so in order that he may use it for the purpose of obeying orders from outside it, whether he follows the text- books of Leninism or any other ideas. He has his own problems and purposes and will help only those likely to help him. Conflicts of interest among communist states are notorious, much greater than among capitalist nations.
Finally, there is not even a good reason to belie* the truth of the domino theory. It has been dreamed up to justify American intervention.
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