FREEDOM AND HISTORY
275
sential" value-the
idea--{)f
the Communist world. Usually this value
is found in nationalized property, which is seen as an ultimate guarantor
of progress. Where Marx spoke of
«the categorical imperative that all
conditions must be revolutionized in which man
is
a debased, an aban–
doned, contemptible being"
(how archaic this sounds!), the left authori–
tarians prefer to speak of the tempo
of
Russian industrialization or the
necessary unfolding of the iron laws of History. Where socialists have
traditionally declared that the possibility of a humane society rests upon
the capacity of men to act autonomously and freely, ceasing to
be
objects
and becoming subjects of history, the left authoritarians put their faith
in economic processes or historical abstractions acting beyond-indeed,
usually against-the desires of living men.
Those who accept, wholly or in part, the left authoritarian outlook
expect an orderly development, a moderate "democratization," from
within the Communist world and
within the limits of its ethos and
power.
It follows that, while sincerely deploring the Russian interven–
tion, they deprecate the Hungarian revolution; that they regard the
passion of a Zhivago for individual freedom as a sign of archaism. I
think, however, that a commitment to democracy and/or socialism in–
volves a belief in the need for a fundamental change of social relations
in the Communist world, which means first and foremost, the collapse
or destruction of the monopoly of power of the ruling party, such as
occurred two years ago in Hungary and Poland. These contrasting per–
spectives involve far more than differences in theory or estimate: they
involve the very heart of political and moral values.
What Pasternak's views about the future of the Communist world
may be, I do not know. But I believe that if and when freedom is re–
established in Russia, the people will regard him as one who, quite
apart from political opinions, was faithful to the truth of their agony.
And for that they will honor
him.
