IN answer to S Johnson's letter of Tuesday, April 10, I think we have to agree to disagree on the pros - and - cons of socialism.

As a socialist, I neither claim nor feel intellectually superior but I can assure him that I am not about to turn my back on an ideological system that treats people more fairly.

I presume the one thing that he and I can agree on, is that Stalinist Russia was a corrupt system of government.

However, there are capitalist systems in operation whose Machiavellian's tactics would make Adam Smith cringe in his grave.

During the last 500 years, imperialist European countries exploited their former colonies to build their economic wealth.

Presently, we in the prosperous West buy cheap Third World goods and we sell them our expensive technology.

S Johnson may call that unfortunate, I call it grossly unfair.

L SPITERI,

Rainbow Hill, Worcester.