To the editors,
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At first blush it’s difficult not to feel a twinge of admiration for anyone with the intestinal fortitude to go his own way, defying the hobgoblins of his time. To be a communist like Nelson Peery, in a country where four-fifths of the scoundrels have prospected for gold in the mines of anticommunism, must predispose one in his favor. Who can doubt that the reputation of Karl Marx has profited through the years from the recommendation of his detractors. And yet . . .
It is also high time that we ask whether society is something purposefully “created” or planned (like a machine), or something that unconsciously grows–like a plant or an animal? If it is the latter, then proceeding as though it were the former must–regardless of good intentions–lead to violence and destruction. The holocausts of the 20th century make this no idle speculation.
Failing that–Circe awaits us.
