JFK's thesis on the Appeasement at Munich

[Chris Bennett]

Here is something else to add to the debate about JFK as a "peace president", and whether that may have led to his demise.

The JFK Presidential Lbrary and Museum has posted all 172 pages of a thesis that JFK wrote in 1940 regarding England's appeasement of Hitler in Munich.

http://www.jfklibrary.org/Asset-Viewer/Archives/JFKPP-002-011.aspx

"My feeling has been that the agreement of Munich was the price England had to pay for her enjoyment of democracy during the preceding six years. It served in a two-fold capacity - first, it gave her an extra year and second, it brought about the necessary unification."

He also talks quite a bit about the realities of democracy and the battles against totalitarianism.

Bear in mind this was written early in the war, before even The Battle of Britain. But I think it gives an interesting insight into JFK's mind early in his adult life. And before his harrowing experiences in the Pacific.

Does anyone have thoughts on how this might relate to his actions regarding Castro and/or Khrushchev?

Best,

Chris

[John Dolva]

off hand.drawing on the Conclusion part of the Thesis - he recognised some inherent flaws in Capitalist Democracy and sought ways to Unify a Nation but avoid Totalitarianism. this can be seen as expressed in his later attempts to create a Moral force in the United States that all Citizens can, while in separate groupings, accept a Unity. ( personally I think this is a necessarily flawed position that is much like the thinking of the Second International which was the basis for the various Labour governments in the Western world. The flaw is that Capitalism itself inevitably transforms into Totalitarianism, albeit with lots of bling, ) this attempt to reconcile diametrically opposed interests inevitably brings contradictions to the fore. Nevertheless, having an understandably naive faith in the system he had been brought up in he choose a course of action that became an inevitable expression of that contradiction and the natural progression of the development of Capital reacted.

So this is the beginning of the 'Killing of America' in order for Capital to rule. It also highlighted the contradiction between Cuba and the Soviet Union which in relation to the angolan conflict for example, and in latin america where Cuba found itself at odds with Soviet supported groupings which was characterised by Cubans as a betrayal of the fundamental principles that the CCCP was founded on. It also by now sought an ultimately irreconcilable appeasement with Capital. The result was the fall of the Soviet Union and the unbridled Imperialism of US Ruling Interests expressing itself today throughout the world as an unprincipled or Immoral grab for more and an unstoppable eradication of anything in the way: iow the very Totalitarianism Kennedy was concerned about..