568
PARTISAN REVIEW
viate from it in order to save the cause of justice and humanity itself.
iFrom the logical standpoint this is scarcely satisfactory; there is no
evidence that every "normal"--obviously meaning "established" or "cus–
tomary"--order
is
generally just (the regime of Hitler was also well–
established), nor are we told what justice permits such deviations.
Politically this one sentence as well as the book as a whole typifies
an attitude which seems to be prevailing more and more in this country.
It would be incorrect to call this trend conservative, since the real
conservative defends certain patterns of life which he values for other
reasons than their mere existence. The new trend I am speaking of is
inspired by a general feeling of fear, uneasiness and distrust of the
future rather than by positive aims.
If
we compare this conservatism
by embarrassment with the vigorous conservative thought of the past
century (consider Strauss in relation to men like Bonald, de Maistre
and Donoso Cortes) the pitiful weakness of the neo-obscurantism of
this period becomes all too clear. Neo-obscurantism has no real aims and
ideals, and it is incapable of lucid decisions and firm ideological com–
mitments. It lacks the intellectual courage and candor to face the disap–
pointing situation squarely. Moral emptiness is veiled by empty for–
mulae. The alleged campaign against nihilism soon unmasks itself as
creeping nihilism.
Ernst Topitsch
~Preuves~
Revue Mensuelle
AOUT
THIERRY MAULNIER
La
crise du nationalisme
fran~ajs
ROBERT MONTAGNE
Re£lexions sur la violence en
pays d'IsJam
ALBERTO MORAVIA
Le chien chinois-Remus et Romulus
(nouvelles)
JOYCE CARY
Notes critiques sur mon art
ALEXEI REMIZOV
Trois contes
prosentls par
Josef
Czapski
J. B. DUROSELLE
Le destin du trait'; de Versailles
DEPAYSEMENTS
GEORGES MIKES
Finlae~d'jeste:il~nc1~:.x
forts
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