Narrowing gap?
Sir: The political scene has changed so greatly since the 'thirties, when I was slightly involved in it, that I am impelled to write to you for information. In those days it was well understood that the difference between Socialists and Communists was one of method, not of aim. Both assumed the truth of Marxism and worked for the abolition of rent, interest and profits. The Communist believed that a new and just society could come about only through revolution. The Socialist believed in a change brought about by a peaceful Parliamentary majority.
Is this still so? Is for example Wedgwood Benn regarded as an honest and representative Socialist without a trace of Communism and his opponents no more than respectable reformist Liberals in disguise?
Hugh Ross Williamson 193 Sussex Gardens, London W2
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