Economist Opposes Registration, Warns of Increased Militarism

Recent events in Iran and Afghanistan have fueled support for a "new right-wing militarism," which will lead us to the brink of nuclear war, Frank Ackerman, editor of "Dollars and Sense," said last night in the Adams House Common Room.

Speaking before an audience of 25, the editor of the radical economics magazine said the seizure of the American embassy in Iran and the Soviet invasion of Afhganistan have created a new patriotism in the United States which the government is using the enforce a get-tough policy toward the Soviet Union.

"Soviet intervention in Afghanistan is a violation of people's sovereignty," Ackerman said, but added he believes the "main issue" is the right wing's manipulation of this concern for the Afghan people to increase defense spending.

American policy is aggressive and expansionist, while Soviet policy is basically defensive, Ackerman said, adding that the primary objective of socialists is to oppose higher defense spending and the draft, which has "no place in a just society."

Ackerman said the recent election of Abol Hassan Bani-Sadr as President of Iran was "one of the most hopeful events in Iran" because he was the only person with leftist views in Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's inner circle and is working to diffuse the hostage situation.

The talk was sponsored by the Harvard-Radcliffe Democratic Socialists.