298
IRVING HOWE
the hermetic life of a sect, about which that is not true? And for Mr.
Caute to write that my political ends are "cautious" and then offer
as
evidence my desire to abolish private property "in the basic industries"
-this is really low comedy, a resurrection of infantile leftism.
Dr. Johnson once said about Richardson's Clarissa that there
was
always something that mattered to her more than her virtue. A similar
observation might be made about the attitude many "new leftists" take
toward liberty. To be sure, they dislike Stalin's dictatorship and deplore
authoritarian regimes;
but .
..
and then out it spills. The line of division
is clear, it has nothing to do with personal qualities, and it is a piece
of home-brewed sociology to reduce the matter to a split between
generations. The line of division concerns one's attitude toward liberty.
The society in which we live urgently needs the most scathing,
fundamental and serious social criticism. But only that criticism merits
our support which emerges unambiguously from a devotion to political
liberty.
A profound appraisal
of modern man's relentless
search for a life
with meaning
How the leading thinkers of
our time have confronted ex–
istence and how their points
of view are invaluable to every·
one who seeks meaning and pur–
pose in his own life. Includes
the ideas of Malraux, Koestler,
Steinbeck, Kazantzakis, T. S.
Eliot, Fromm, Sartre, Camus,
Beckett and many others. "Pro–
fessor Friedman is one of the
serious and relevant thinkers
of our age."
-ElISEO
VIVAS.
TO DENY OUR
NOTHINGNESS
Contemporary Images of Man
by MAURICE FRIEDMAN
Professor of Philosophy. author of
Martin Buber: lbe Life af Olalalue
$7.50, now at your bookstore
DELACORTE~._P_R_E_SS
___
...I
JAMES
RESTON
Associate Editor,
The New York Times
"A book that is one of the im–
portant documents of our
time–
a candid and penetrating analysis
of current press-government prob–
lems, their genesis and some pos–
sible avenues of remedy."
-ELIOT FREMONT-SMITH,
N. Y.
Times
The Artillery
of the Press
Its Influence on
American Foreign Policy
~
Published for the Council
on Foreign Relations
1_
At all bookstores, $3.95
"Un"flv_.aARY
~,...~
N.Y. 10016
