The Anatomy of Neutralism

The neutralists of the Free World, encouraged by Mr. Eisenhower’s defense of their position, are moving complacently toward annihilation

The word “neutralism” entered the lexicon of the cold war about a decade ago. Originally, it connoted complacency in the face of unmitigated evil, political escapism, desertion of mankind’s common cause. Some countries—Finland, for instance—were regarded as “neutralist” by necessity, because of their exceptional vulnerability to Soviet pressures. But no one claimed that their neutralist stand was somehow noble, or proof of a special love for “peace.”

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Eugene Lyons

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The neutralists of the Free World, encouraged by Mr. Eisenhower’s defense of their position, are moving complacently toward annihilation

The word “neutralism” entered the lexicon of the cold war about a decade ago. Originally, it connoted complacency in the face of unmitigated evil, political escapism, desertion of mankind’s common cause. Some countries—Finland, for instance—were regarded as “neutralist” by necessity, because of their exceptional vulnerability to Soviet pressures. But no one claimed that their neutralist stand was somehow noble, or proof of a special love for “peace.”