COMMENT
R
OBERT CONQUEST HAS FINALLY received his due by political
observers for being one of the very few anti-communists who
before
1989
said the Soviet Union was politically and economi–
cally in trouble. His latest book,
Reflections on a Ravaged Century,
is a
very impressive and painstaking account of the twentieth century with
particular reference to the two totalitarian regimes: the Nazis and the
Communists.
Conquest has a detailed historical account of the development of
modern societies; he has a lengthy and profound analysis especially of
the formation of nation-states and of the rise of nationalism. Conquest
emphasizes both the benefits of some nationalisms and the dangers of
excessive nationalism. He is quite an original in his detailed observa–
tions of how the forces of nationalism played a part in the rise of both
fascism and communism. Conquest's year-by-year account of the terror,
and the political and economic failures, covered up by ideology, propa–
ganda, and false statistics is, as far as
I
know, the most illuminating ever
written. His analysis of the forces of the entire century, with special ref–
erences to the totalitarian societies, is most interesting, fresh in its
details and its depth.
In
fact, his refutation of the claims of Marx's the–
ories and political ideas is the most thorough
I
have seen.
Conquest makes a fascinating comparison of fascism and commu–
nism indicating the commonalities and developments as well as the dif–
ferences. And he is especially sharp and humorous about the blind
supporters of communism, whom Lenin referred to as "useful idiots."
Though this book dwells only on the major movements of totalitarian–
ism, it does offer a novel political history of the twentieth century.
WP
