THE
HIGHBROW IN POLITICS
165
heed
from the "egghead" episode. He is on the run today in Amer–
ican society; and he cannot hope to escape by silence or by retiring
to cultivate
his
garden or-certainly- by sidling up to
his
pursuer
and offering
his
services. In a sense, the Rev. Dr. Fitch was right;
civil
liberties are the class issue of the intelligentsia; and nothing has
been
more pathetic than the scurrying to cover of certain intellectuals
when called upon to stand up for the freedom of expression. And
this
freedom too, in the long run, affords the only basis on which
the problems of rna&<> culture can be answered. Tocqueville com–
mented a century ago that many people considered equality of con–
ditions as one evil and political freedom as a second. "When they
are obliged to yield to the former, they strive at least to escape from
the latter. But I contend, that in order to combat the evils which
equality may produce, there is only one effectual remedy-namely,
political freedom."
Not all intellectuals may be willing or able to understand the
complexities of the dollar gap or the price-support program. But
they should at least, like the trade unionist or the cattleman or the
oil magnate, be willing to understand their own class interests. Most
of them rightly recognized that one candidate in the 1952 campaign
spoke with wisdom and courage and understanding on the issue of
the free mind, while the other showed only a blank indifference.
Defeat does not foreclose the issue: the blankness of Republican vic–
tory
may yet be inscribed by Senator McCarthy--or, perhaps, by
James B. Conant. The fight continues and must command our best
efforts.
Much as the highbrow in his present mood may dislike politics,
he
cannot escape or reject it. We hear that the new intellectual is
entering into a phase of contemplation and withdrawal. But, if he
decides to flee it all and become a Yogi, he will have no one else
to blame if Senator McCarthy becomes the Commi&<>ar.
(Another appraisal of the present political situation and the role
01 the intellectuals will appear in a subsequent issue.-THE
EDITORS)
