CONGRATULATIONS on your coverage and analysis both of Gary Erlisker's letter is both unfair and stupid. is unfair because Socialist Challenge's of the countries he mentions nas in fact been CALCUSEVC and helpful. It is stupid because he ignores the unfortunate fact that a successful revolution backward, impoverished country, largely dependent Soviet Union tol economic survival, does not automatically produce socialist thinking on the highest level.
Many Cubans already regard the ideas of the nematona 'sectarian'. Would they change minds, would the socialism be served, Socialist Challenge were suddenly to Castro uncritical support?
A central problem for revolutionaries since the late 1920's has been that they cannot point to a model, a country where a successtul revolution has to society which looks good' Lone dinary worker. But critical support is a hard idea to get across, it is at least more practical than uncritical support, which has disastrous In a model which oralllary workers can identify themselves with has begun to take shape. Even here, course, we have a duty to criticise wrong within Solidarity (and we such is the imperfect state LUC that mant Polish workers undoubtedly would . regard our ideas as 'sectarian').
But Phil Hearse is right to emphasise the importance of the Polish revolution the success which, among other things, certainly help to popularise seclallall aUvul Stalinism, , in countries like Cuba and Nicaragua ARNE GUNNARSEN Bergen: Norway, factory tour