Communism Is Not So Simple to Map

The article ``In China, Communist Ideology Is Dead, but Party Shell Lives On,'' Dec. 15, includes a map portraying ``Communism's Last Stand'' as four Asian countries and Cuba. A more accurate caption would be ``The Last Stand of Communist One-Party States.'' Elections in Eastern Europe and Russia have shown communism to be alive and well as a political force.

A misconception all too prevalent in our media equates totalitarianism with communism, and democracy with capitalism. In the world today there are many oppressive totalitarian capitalist regimes, and a number of democratic socialist, and even communist, countries. The distinctions should be better understood; I believe we have more to fear from the former than the latter. Eben Merriam Haber, Madison, Wis.

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