An entertaining persuasive map from the early years of the Ronald Reagan Presidency, published by the Helsinki-based World Peace Council and offering a liberal caricature of the Great Communicator’s world view.

The map depicts the United States and Soviet Union wildly out of scale with the rest of the world. The United States is divided into four regions: the Northeast (“Democrats and Welfare Bums”), the Midwest and Southeast (“Republicans and Other Real Americans”), and the West (simply “California”), and the Pacific Northwest (“Ecotopia”). Washington, D.C. is labeled “Big Government”; Las Vegas is nudged about 1000 miles east into Republican country; and the only four locations in California are “Sacramento” (from which Reagan previously governed), Bechtel Corporation, Hollywood and Disneyland.

The rest of the map offers an amusing, albeit ungenerous take on the world as seen through the eyes of Ronald Reagan. There’s black-and-white thinking, with the USSR labeled “godless communists, liars and spies;” American-centrism, with Saudi Arabia labeled “our oil” and the Panama Canal as “our canal;” and cheap stereotypes such as “Japan Corporation,” “Mariachi Land” (Mexico), and “Banana Land” (South America). Even America’s allies come off poorly: Canada is “Acidrainia” and “Unexplored Wasteland,” Western Europe is home to “Socialists and Pacifists,” and Australia is labeled simply “Kangaroos.”

This map is undated, but closely resembles a 1982 map by David Horsey (1951-), at the time a Pulitzer-winning cartoonist for the Seattle Post Intelligencer. This version was issued by the Helsinki-based Information Centre of the World Peace Council, established in 1949-1950. Which version as priority, I cannot say for certain, though I’m inclined to give the nod to the U.S.-based Horsey. The World Peace Council is still active today, and self-described as:

“….an anti-imperialist, democratic, independent and non-aligned international movement of mass action. It is an integral part of the world peace movement and acts in cooperation with other international and national movements. The WPC is the largest International Peace structure, based in more than 100 countries.

 

“Since its creation in 1949-50, the WPC stood for peace, disarmament and global security; for national independence, economic and social justice and development, for protection of the environment, human rights and cultural heritage; solidarity with and support of those peoples and liberation movements fighting for the independence, sovereignty and integrity of their countries, and against imperialism.” (web site of the World Peace Council, accessed April 2020)

At least one CIA report describes the World Peace Council as a Soviet front organization.

References
OCLC lists a couple of similar titles published by the World Peace Council dated 1981, 1984 and 1986, but with different dimensions. This variant not in Rumsey, but see for example Rumsey #11494. Not in Persuasive Cartography: The PJ Mode Collection.