RONALD RADOSH
347
critics back." True, perhaps, for a few. But careful readers of
Dissent
could
notice many examples of the kind of left-think articles and specious ar–
guments which had been absent in the journal's formative and influential
years.
Whatever our differences with Howe's last period, his contributions
and his erudition, his thoughtfulness and his commitment to democracy
will
be sorely missed. Even when he disagreed, as was often, he opened
the pages of his journal to that very disagreement. Howe could not allow
himself to give up the socialist project. Indeed, he inexplicably reaffirmed
it after having himself abandoned it years ago. But in his belief that it was
the duty of the intellectual to articulate democratic values, and to reject
authoritarianism, he has left us a lasting legacy. Howe knew that the wave
of the future was simply democracy, and that to speak on behalf of its
ideal could unite conservatives, liberals, and radicals. In a time of new
beginnings, when the Cold War has ended and those on opposite sides of
the fence are beginning to work together in a new framework and period,
that is a legacy still worth cherishing.
