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PARTISAN REVIEW
requires different weapons than were available in the past. A change
for the better will come about solely in answer to our ever-expanding
insight (gained from observation), and the broadening of our self–
awareness in a world which tries, beyond ideologies, to inhibit this
process of maturation of groups .
In our enlightenment, we are constantly amazed by outbreaks of
violence , of the most abhorrent persecutions and tortures all over the
world . Perhaps our surprise stems from the fact that, until now , we
have not had at our disposal a psychological explanation of the indi–
vidual as a being willing to give up his independence when asked to kill
and humiliate others of his own kind . In
The Ego and the Id,
Freud
makes this laconic statement regarding the two kinds of instincts :
.. . .. one of [them
1,
the sexual instinct or Eros , is by far the more
conspicuous and accessible to study . "
Taking into account the numerous dark chapters in human his–
tory, we can only hope for better control over aggression through the
continued evolution of the human ego . The tendency toward increased
autonomous thinking in individuals is strongly opposed in mass
societies by efforts-both conscious and unconscious-to condition
behavior. Uncritical conformity is sought for a lifelong, easy manipu–
lation of the individual in the crowd . We have accomplished little so
far in this aim of strengthening man's ego, that is , his power of reflec–
tive thinking . This is in part demonstrated by the continuing high
incidence of cruelty . In the milieu of our huge cities, cruelty has
developed into an endemic pathology of interaction. We must take
cognizance of the fact that in many political organizations , not just
mastery , but cruel mastery , is planned and achieved. Nor should it
feed our optimism when we ponder that no society in history has been
able to arrest its decline by acts of cruelty; peaceful or bristling with
arms , they all succumbed . None of them succeeded in finally over–
coming the basic frustration of living in society , the .. discontents of
civilization. " Whatever the primary energy source of cruel behavior
may be , whether fed by instinctual energy or whether aroused by outer
provocation , we cannot hope to solve our problems of aggression and
cruelty by means of some " grand design " (like that offered by Konrad
Lorenz) - let alone rely on it.
After this sketch of the interrelation between cruelty and aggres–
sion , we must now attempt to differentiate between two kinds of
