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GOLDWATER
597
middle; and its peculiar combinations of primitivism and sophistication,
achieved through adjustment, balance, checks, compromise, muddling
through, fear of extremes, and seeming resistance to explicit ideologies–
all these forms for canceling out or concealing conflicts represent a
triumph of middle-class civilization. This centrist Utopia, dedicated to
the philosophy 'of the middle, has been like a great blotter, soaking up
radical as easily as conservative ideas, and giving everything, including
the most outrageous acts and ideas a uniform look.
So far, the Goldwater strategists have shown they have learned their
history lesson. Since the rumpus created by Senator Goldwater's earlier
expressions of fondness for extremists, he has been trying hard
to
act
like a man whose bark is bigger than his bite, which is the standard
form of politicking in this country. Sure, Senator Goldwater has been
sounding off about American manhood standing up to the menace of
Communism, but in such a vague and contradictory way that one wonders
whether the war or the peace talk is the vote-getter. It is now expected
that a presidential nominee, particularly a Republican, must accuse the
President of being soft on Communism; but Goldwater has been balanc–
ing his brinksmanship lately with the argument that a "soft" policy leads
to war. Actually, Goldwater has been more extreme on domestic issues,
where he probably felt he could get away with it.
I do not mean to minimize the ugliness of the forces and ideas that
have moved in on the Republican party. I have always been uneasy
about the neanderthalism lurking in the so-called average man; and the
experience of fascism shell-shocked my generation into a fear of every–
thing on the Right, which probably leads us to exaggerate the political
meaning of things that are just stupid, or philistine, or mercenary. No
doubt it is more decent-and safer-to overestimate rather than to under–
estimate the "menace of fascism" at any moment. But it is also not very
interesting or useful to trot out the old cliches whenever the Right
begins to stir.
It
could be that the political witticism that fascism will
come in the guise of anti-fascism here will turn out to be true. But in
PARTISAN REVIEW
is the one magazine that must be
rea1d wide awake.
See page
611
for some of the reasons.