SEVEN QUESTIONS
51
one receives his due reward even when he does riot give the public what it
likes. There is a direct- and an indirect road to fame and fortune, as with
everything. Of course there is a place in our economic system for the
profession of literature. The only question is:
wlw.t
kind of literature?
Our economic system, rotten as it is, provides for every form of human
activity.
5. I believe that my writing is an expression of my own individuality,
and I believe further that this is true for every writer, good or bad, regard·
less of what his allegiance may be. What a man believes and what he is
are two different things, easily distinguishable to the discerning eye.
6.
Having been away from the country since 1930, as I said before, I
am
hardly qualified to describe the political tendency of American writing;
but had I been in America all this time I believe I would have been
immune to it. I am thoroughly disinterested in politics, whether American,
Chinese, or European. Politics is a pursuit which
i~uitable
to those wh·o
have nothing better to do. Nor am I interested in the specifically "Ameri·
can" elements in our culture. ("Our" culture--! don't know what that
means, to be frank. I didn't know we had a culture.) What interests me
in
human beings are those things which are
ab<;~ve
and beyond the ques–
tion of nationalism. The
11UJJl,
is the important thing, not what country or
culture he represents.
7. As to my attitude towards the possible entry of America into a world
war-my decision on that subject was made ever since I became of age.
I refuse to go to war, whether for a just or an unjust cause.
If
that means
being killed by the government advocating war, then I am willing to be
killed. It is possible that I might murder a man in anger; that would be
an individual act for which I would assume full responsibility. Govern·
ments may go to war; individuals are not obliged to, unless they so choose.
I cannot say what the responsibilities of writers in general should be on
this
question of making war, any more than I can say what should be the
responsibilities of plumbers or bricklayers. To kill or not to kill, to defend
oneself or not to defend oneself, are questions which each individual has
to
answer for himself, and which he will, according to his character and
temperament. I see no problems confronting the world which might not
be
solved peaceably. There will be war as long as people believe in the
mperiority of force, which is a delusion. I believe that the most sane and
practicable solution to the present impasse would be to scrap all forms of
defense and expose ourselves absolutely to every risk.
