Communism and the Miller Thesis

by Sephiroth

In 1953, as the lights temporarily dimmed in Sing Sing, the cast of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible observed a moment of silence. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were dead, having been the first American civilians convicted and executed for treason against their own country. Thousands of American communists mourned the loss of the two Soviet spies. They raged at the injustice of it all, claiming the Rosenberg’s innocence and saying that they had only been persecuted because they were Communist. Arthur Miller had attempted to capture the “familiar spirits” of this period in his play’s thesis. Miller wanted his audience to see a correlation between events in fifteenth century Salem and in the House Committee on Un-American Activities and equated the sorcery in Salem with communism in America. But is that correlation really there?

Miller acknowledged the argument that, while witchcraft wasn’t really existent in Salem, communism was real and active in the world of 1953, but he denied its validity, saying: “I have no doubt that people were communing with, and even worshiping, the Devil in Salem...”(Miller, 33) However, he misses the point, which is that, while the practice of witchcraft was relatively harmless, the practice of communism, when the world was on the verge of war, was not so innocuous. There was an active movement to topple the United States, and to bring them under communist control and many of those brought before McCarthy’s panel were guilty of conspiring with our enemies to destroy America. The Federal Bureau of Investigation worked to uncover the plots and directives of the Soviet Agents in the United States. Forty-five goals were discovered, all of them “weighted with authority” from the KGB and other communist operatives in this country. Among these goals stood plans for such acts as the infiltration of the major American political parties, giving the UN and world court more power over America by repeal of the Conally reservation, restructuring of the American education system, encouraging promiscuity and easy divorce in American marriage, and even something as simple as the substitution of good sculpture in public places with shapeless, awkward, or meaningless forms. All of this was planned to weaken American morality, culture, government, and standing, and to emphasize American decadence. The whole list was entered into the congressional record on January 10, 1963, and can be found through any internet search engine by typing “45 goals of communism.”

Though the federal ruling on the Rosenbergs was later conclusively affirmed, by intercepted Soviet transmissions, and although they were proven to be guilty of smuggling US nuclear secrets to Russia, thus speeding the escalation of the Cold War, many still adamantly deny their involvement, and the anniversary of their death is a day of mourning for communists everywhere. As for the 45 goals, I encourage everyone to read them and then take a look around. How many of them can you see fulfilled? Think about that the next time you walk by a shapeless piece of modern sculpture. Think about that the next time you see a highschool student reading the introduction of Arthur Miller’s The Crucible, and coming away with fiery contempt for the U.S. position during the Cold War. Think about that the next time you read the escalating divorce rates, note America’s declining morality and increasing promiscuity. Now, ask yourself if the Red scare was justified, and if the practices of American communists were as harmless and benign as men like Miller would have you believe. The intent of Communism to undermine America was, and is, as obvious as Doctor Strangelove’s Nazism.