Andre Malraux and James Burnham
THE DOUBLE CRISIS: A DIALOGUE
Burnham:
As you know, Malraux, I believe that the
world is
in
the midst of a profound double crisis. There is a long–
term crisis which began, roughly, with the First World War, and
which will last at least a generation or two more-if humanity itself
lasts that long. The historical content of this long-term crisis is the
transition from one dominant form of society to a new form: from
traditional capitalism to what I have called
in
my books "managerial
society," though the name itself is not important.
Superimposed on the long-term crisis, like a wind-driven wave
added to the deeper ground swell, is a shorter but still more acute
crisis. This has been brought, into being no doubt by a variety of
causes, but above
all
by two: the discovery of atomic and bac–
teriological weapons; and the struggle for leadership in the organ–
ization of a world political order between Communism, directed from
its Soviet inner fortress, and Western Civilization, basing itself nec–
essarily, in terms of material power, first of all on the United States.
I have come to France this winter because of my conviction
that the world crisis, the double crisis, is centered at this phase of
the complex cycle in France. What happens in France during the
next six months, or the next year, may well be decisive, not for the
final outcome perhaps, but for this present period in Europe and
even in the world as a whole.
Do you agree with me, Malraux, about the profundity of the
present crisis, and its present concentration in France?
On the surface, even after a brief stay, many problems are
clear enough, and can for that matter be understood by studying
reports from a distance. There is a grinding inflation, ·and, more
Copyright 1948 by Andre Malraux and James Burnham.
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