horror and suffering, vows to eradicatenthe very notion of progress from thenhuman soul. This forefather has children,ngrandchildren and great-grandchildren,nand when he is about to expire,nhis most beloved offspring—annexceptionally bright lad—sketches fornhim, with a stick in the sand, an ideanof a wheel. The patriarch tries to singlehandedlynstrangle his bewildered descendant,nbut is too old and weak fornany effective action and dies cursing thenfutility of his efforts to safeguard mankindnfrom again doing what it did beforenand will always do—and calling itnprogress.nBarjavel’s pessimism is a bit flimsy,nbut it does put the exertions of thenClamshell Alliance into a somewhatncaricatural light. Nuclear energy developmentnis not going to fade away becausenof the odor of idealistic self-righteousness.nArdent young men will perenniallynprobe into all the antinuclearnbigots’ lies about what’s feasible andnwhat’s not. The argument about thendimension of a danger that dwarfs anythingnknown before is ridiculous whennfaced with what we have known aboutnthe conjunction of metaphysics andntechnology since time immemorial. Humanitynhas always had to cope with thenproblems of technological fate: whennman invented the lever and his communitynnumbered but five, the firstnrock lifted in a novel way could wellnhave killed one, that is, one-fifth of hisnmankind, but it did not stop the advancenof tools. A death in a plane crash hasnas much to do with the technology ofnaeronautics as with individual destiny.nTechnological progress, by definition,nviolates anything in its way: by its verynnature it encroaches upon any existingnreality and transforms it regardless ofncasualties. No one seems to notice thatnjust repairing the damages of technologicalnprogress will always require anlot of technological progress—whichnmakes the current card-carrying progressivesnlook like torpid reactionaries.nThe anti- and pronuclear confrontationnhas, however, still other, and morenMlnrhronicles of Cullurendespicable, aspects. Once again—politics,nhubris, anti-Americanism and socallednsocial conscience promiscuouslynmerge in our streets. The old radicalnpuppet show is in business again. Thenugly beautiful people have found a newnissue that transmogrifies their cocktailnparties into a crusade. Those who seenthe lowering of the age of sexual consentnand ubiquitous pornography as thenholiness of progress do not care aboutnjobs or sufficient electricity to cook inexpensivenmeals —it’s not their problem.nTheir problem is how to find a causenthat will give them those thrills of lustnfor the “people’s” felicity which they’renunable to offer their husbands and wives.nJoseph Heller, the hypersuccessfulnauthor of Good as Gold, the newest andnbest-selling exercise in the “Jew againstnhimself” theme, in an interview aboutnhis books:n”My three novels are all so differentnin spirit, texture and design that theynalmost defy comparison. Gold is thenLiterature in AmericanBooks in the MailnThe “let them eat caviar if they can’tnafford hamburgers grilled on solar energy”nneo-Marie Antoinette attitudenmakes Professor Commoner and JanenFonda their latter-day saints. No onenhas yet been able to figure out how tonrun a trillion-dollar economy on sun,nwind, ocean waves or mantra recitation,nbut it is precisely this that is a headynchallenge to people who don’t have tonworry about their children’s food andnshelter and who have access to the pressnand airwaves so they may demagogicallynholler that they are caring for our children.nThe bottom line of their tendernemotionalities is that the problem ofnfeeding and clothing 250 million Ameri-nfunniest. Something Happened thendeepest and Catch-22 the most significantnand energetic.”nFriedrich W. Nietzsche, a disgruntlednGerman philosopher, rather downnon his luck, about authors:n”The author must keep his mouthnshut if he wants his work to speak.” DnThe Roots of Capitalism by John Chamberlain; Liberty Fund, Inc.; Indianapolis.nAn examination of capitalism’s merits and its role in a free society.nThe Ford Foundation at Work: Philanthropic Choices, Methods, and Styles by RichardnMagat; Plenum Press; New York. An in-depth look at the procedures and philosophyn(and rnisjudgments) of the Ford Foundation.nMy Road to Opera: The Recollections of Boris Goldovsky as told to Curtis Cate;nHoughton Mifflin Company; Boston. The memories of “Mr. Opera.”nHilaire Belloc: Edwardian Radical by John P. McCarthy; Liberty Fund, Inc.; Indianapolis.nA carefully researched account of the life and thought of the author of The ServilenState.nUnto the Generations: The Roots of True Americanism by Daniel L. Marsh; ARCnIncorporated; Buena Park, California. A study of some of America’s most importantndocuments, from the Mayflower Compact to MacArthur’s Address on the Surrender of Japan.nIn Defence of Freedom in an Age of Subversion edited by Ralph Harris; Systems PublicationsnLtd.; London, England. A series of prize-winning essays on the theme “How canna democratic country protect its citizens against subversion without sacrificing individualnfreedom?”nBefore You Lose It All by David A. Norris; Heartland Press; Ames, Iowa. A look atnAmerican liberty as defined by the Founding Fathers and the contemporary threats to it.nForty Centuries of Wage and Price Controls: How Not to Fight Inflation by Robert L.nSchuettinger and Eamonn F. Butler; The Heritage Foundation; Washington, D.C.nOn the effects of wage and price controls throughout history.nnn