Gorbachev Era Comes to an End

That Cockburn once again has vented his disappointment over the dissolution of the Soviet Union should come as no surprise to regular readers of The Times. He has visited this terrain before. One can’t help but be amused by the nostalgic longings of a writer who seems to be entirely out of touch with history.

But what isn’t amusing is The Times’ continued presentation of Cockburn as a spokesman for the American “left.” Liberal thought is ill-served by such writers, who, rather than providing editorial balance, are actually distorting the tradition of American liberalism by playing into the hands of those conservatives who see a “communist” behind every progressive voice. Let us see more of the likes of John Kenneth Galbraith in your Column Left; more writers who, true to the tradition of American liberalism, are concerned about what is happening to American democracy as the wealth of the nation continues to trickle up in the name of “right” thinking.

JACK SOLOMON, Calabasas