NOTES "^l the one hand, it is a refined attempt to justify capitalism, since it makes capitalism the basis of its "integral" economic system; on the other, it is a forced admission of the strength and viability of the socialist system and a de facto rejection of the idea that capitalist system in its "pure formats immutable and eternal. Basis of East-West Detente ? It is no accident, therefore, that the convergence theory has caught on among various groups of intellectuals in the West. Some of them associate convergence with the principle of peaceful coexistence between the capitalist and socialist countries. Thus, Tinbergen assumes that the most likely cause of a future general war is contradictory views held by the Western and the Communist worlds regarding the best socio-economic system. He draws the conclusion that convergence of two systems points the way to their coexistence. A positive element of the convergence theory is that it recognizes the principle of coexistence between the two systems. We cannot agree, however, with the main line of argument of its proponents, namely, that peaceful coexistence is bound to imply convergence. The attempts to get convergence of the two systems accepted as the main condition and basis of peaceful coexistence should be flatly rejected. Quite apart from the fact that conflict and wars occur within the framework of the capitalist system itself, the advocates of convergence have adopted a fundamentally false approach to the problem of peaceful coexistence. Theory and practice have proved that such coexistence is possible and that it is essential if mankind is to survive. Yet the way this problem is treated by Tinbergen and Sorokin, whatever their personal attitude towards peaceful coexistence, gives every advocate of the cold war and anti-communism grounds to declare that since there is no convergence of the two systems, it is idle to count on their peaceful coexistence. The Marxist-Leninist approach to the problem of peaceful coexistence of the two systems is entirely different: it admits that socialism and capitalism are opposite, regards the coexistence of states with different social systems as a form of class struggle, and at the same time recognizes that peaceful relations between socialist and capitalist countries are possible and necessary. V A GAITONDE REFERENCES A G Gruchy, Comparative Economic Systems. W S Buckingham, Theoretical Economic Systems, A Comparative Analysis. Soviet Studies, Vol 4, No 4, April 1961. Raymond Aron, Dix-huit Lecons sur la Societe Indusb ielle. P A Sorokin, The Basic Trends of Our Times. J Tinbergen, Central Planning. V I Lenin, Collected Works, Vol. 38. J Strachey, On the Prevention of War.