Marx divided die worid into proletariatnand bourgeoisie, Stanton and Anthonynuse the distinction between men andnwomen, which predates Marx, as theirnkey social dividing line. These feministsnare quite American in their approach tonhistorical and political analysis. Early on,nthey embraced a natural-rights basis forntheir insistence that, because the Creatornmade all of us equal, both men andnwomen should be...

who managed the patriarchate of hernday. Most Americans are uncomfortablenwith the clashing style that they usuallynassociate with such dialectical analysis.nThe Declaration of Independence assumesna natural equality at the beginningnof society, but it does not posit thatnequality as an end to be pursued at allncosts. Indeed, when our Foundersndeigned to speak of the goals of government,nthe...

book is ostensibly an effort to establishnthe person and the literary persona ofnGustave Flaubert, its real purpose is tonplead the case for the immanence of language.nSartre is not so much in search ofnFlaubert as for something in the life orncareer of Flaubert that would allow Sartrento resolve his own philosophical conundrums.nLike many modern literaryncritics, Sartre...

In earlier epochs,na critic tormented only the writers…nOf all the cants which are canted in this canting world—though the cant ofnhypocrites may be the worst— the cant of criticism is the most tormenting,nLaurence SternenIn ours, he torments everybody.nRecently a middle-aged father publishedna book about his sordid adventuresnin massage parlors, wife-swappingncommunes and the worlds of easy...

Sanity as a GivennMaurice Friedmann: Martin Buber’snLife and Work, Vol. 1, The Early Yearsn1878-1923; E.P. Button; New York.nEllis Sandoz: The Voegelinian Revolution:nA Biographical Introduction;nLouisiana State University Press; BatonnRouge.nby Will Morriseynliducation defines political life morenfolly than brute power does. Admit thatn”Of the gods we believe, and of men wenknow, that by a necessary law of theirnnature...

But that choice must be made by statesmennand businessmen every day. It requiresna homely subspecies of the rationalitynBuber rejects—what Plato’s translatorsncall prudence or practical wisdom.nPaths in Utopia ends with praise fornthe kibbutzim. Nevertheless, then”I-Thou” did save Buber from state socialism,nthe only practicing “communism,n” which yields community onlynby uniting workers against the “workers’nstate.” Among socialists, this...

cal experience we have refers primarily tonconsciousness of the other as a genuinenother, not as a mere “mental construct.”nWhat may seem a purely theoreticalnconcern actually has political implicationsnfor the contemporary world. Modernnpolitics—Voegelin calls it “Gnostic”npolitics—depends on precisely the sort ofnepistemology that splits “subject” andn”object” so that one can conquer thenother. In the modern West, all...

chon landing.nIn his attack on MacArthur’s conductnafter the Inchon landing, Goulden isnshooting at a sitting duck. Few people,nexcept for MacArthur and his staff officers,nhave tried to defend his blunderingncourse in the autumn of 1950. Andntheir dishonest and contradictory alibisndid MacArthur a disservice, drawing attentionnaway from MacArthur’s legitimatengrievances. Moreover, as Gouldennhimself admits, there was plenty ofnblame...

example, Smith has MacArthur “praying”nfor the Chinese to enter the war,nthough MacArthur’s real fault was hisnwishful thinking that they would not.nMacArthur did say that he hoped thenChinese would attack Formosa—whichnhe correctly believed would lead to ancrushing defeat for the communists.nSmith’s picture of developments innKorea between 1943 and 1950 is decidedlynmisleading, and it exaggeratesnMacArthur’s influence on...

depredations in recent years. In thisngenre the omissions are as interesting asnthe subjects: some notable monstersnhave remained undisturbed becausentheir followers are still powerful.nI do not subscribe to this approach tonbiography, nor do I support panegyricsnlike the one written about Robert E. Leenby Charles Flood. Lee was a great soldiernand a good man in nearly every...

themselves but were handicapped by thenmalignant campaign of the Radical Republicansnto paint all white Southernersnas monsters of evil. Under these circumstances,nthe noble bearing and virtuousnlife of Robert E. Lee became critically importantnas a Southern figure. Lee’snmodest postwar position in education—nitself a cornerstone of civic virtue—fit thenneed of the South with remarkable aptness.nThe campaigns of Virginia,...

XjklL ^Xd^^ V • -a.>n— Civil War Press Corpsn^^ ^^ SlSSffifenSoudiem Rartisannhas arrived.nThe Conservative bice of the Unreconstructed**^nPresented With Wit and Style*nRead Andrew Lyde, Russell Kirk, M.E. Bradford,nF. Reid Buckley, unpublished work by Richard Weaver,nand more…in the magazine you’ve been waiting for.n”For those concernednabout preservingnSouthern culture.”n-Human Eventsn•’A group of writersn(convinced) that the timenhas come to...

something to do with the peculiar visionsninduced by imbibing large quantities ofnbourbon whiskey, or maybe it sprangnfrom a steady diet of grits, greens, redeyengravy, country ham and cornbread.nThese suggestions certainly make asnmuch sense as the tortuous theories offerednby some scholars.nSheer genius defies explanation, butnone can at least venture a few observationsnon the web of circumstances...

the University of Mississippi innFaulkner’s own town of Oxford. Morrisnhas returned to a transformed Mississippi,none that has more black elected officialsnthan any other state in the Union.nHe applauds this progress, but he continuesnhis obsession with the old Mississippi.nHow fortunate Morris must considernFaulkner to have been: all that guiltnand violence and racism over which tonanguish. Poor...

rural life in the contemporary Carolinasn(with side excursions to other parts of thenSouth). Smith focuses her sharp eye onnthe manners, mores and morals of peoplenone has known all one’s life. Nontowering tragic figures like Thomas Sutpennfor Smith, but rather housewives,nadolescents, salesderks and an occasionalndotty—but lovable—character. A sensitivitynto the dramas of seemingly banalnlives infuses these stories;...

ing the equation, and nowhere do wenfind starker evidence of this crisis than innthe present sorry state of literacy in ournnation—a state, ironically, which givesnstriking vitality to every cultural opposition.nIn part, literacy is feeling hard timesnbecause it has been successfully usurpednby the utilitarian crowd—those who seenfilling out a job application or reading andriving manual as...

ing—how writers work, how they definenthe purposes of their genre, what sourcesnof inspiration have been of particular importance—asnwell as a tidal wave of literaryngossip. The interview format, althoughnconducive to spontaneity and informalityn(an unveiling of the personalitynbehind the myths), risks elevating thenwitty and charming remark above thenmore prosaic extended argument. And,nfinally, the quality of the insight...

himself apart, and so, in turn, he becomesnpurveyor of bad taste. We shouldnnot, then, be surprised that the teachingnof literature in our schools, for the mostnpart, ends up being an integral part ofnthis system of dependency. Ironically, itnis Gore Vidal who most aptly characterizesnthe dynamics of this bondage.nAfter taking a course in The Novel, itnis...

with film is not simply its easy effects,nand its conceptual poverty.nThat may in time be overcome. Filmnmay be able to carry universals in anuseful way. But you can’t show filmsnto yourself. There is no way of communicatingninside your head butnspeech. And if you can’t talk well tonyourself, who can you talk to? Younsimply aren’t anybody....

THE MONOMENTAL LITERATGRE OF DWARFSn. .. CONTINUES.nTHE ROCKFORD PAPERS’ newnseries, “The Monumental Literature ofnDwarfs,” continues its critical look at contemporarynAmerican literature with essaysnon the following celebrated authors:nE. L. DOCTOROW. Is his writing annattempt to create literature or does hensimply put together attractive ideologicalntracts? Stephen Tanner takes a look at thenauthor of Ragtime.nGORE VIDAL. Is the...

even de Tocqueville seems to have heldnhim in high disregard. Fortunately fornFrance, she possessed other men, othernleaders, other ideas. The third Republic,nfor example, survived its inauspicious beginnings—defeatnin war and revolutionnat home—because it had a strong republicanntradition. The majority of nationsntoday do not possess such a tradition.nThus, the anticommunist alternative isnoften unattractive—caudillos, generals,nwarlords and worse.nOne sees...

to conduct such a campaign.nOf the three army group commandersn(General Sir Bernard Montgomery, GeneralnOmar Bradley and General JacobnDevers) directly subordinate to Eisenhower,nMontgomery emerges as the mostnable Allied field commander. Montgomerynwas a consummate maneuverntheorist. General Eisenhower’s assessmentnof Omar Bradley as the best Alliednfield commander in Europe is not sharednby Weigley, who sees Bradley’s leadershipnas seriously flawed....

cans had never learned to take orders unquestioningly.nBut it was clear to all—nwhile the American soldier may lack aggressivenessnin a pitched battle, he didnnot lack courage.nIn war there is little time for reflection;none must make do with what one has.nConsequently, Allied leaders onlynglanced at the problem and sought tonturn the positive talents of the Americannsoldier...

THEnGOVERNMENTnAGAINSTnTHEnECONOMYnGeorge ReismannForeword bynWilliam E. SimonnThe defense of capitalism is serious business.nIf you are an advocate of the free market, butnthink it needs to be better explained than it has been,nthen you need George Reisman’s book The GovernmentnAgainsl the Economy.nIn just 207 pages Professor Reisman presents anbrilliantly clear, irresistably persuasive exposition ofnfree-market price theory, along with...

PerceptiblesnLarry R. Williams: How to Prospernin the Coming GOODnYears; Rcgnery Gateway; Chicago.nBooks of investment advicenfor the general public are writtennas much to entertain as to inform.nMr. Williams’s book and othersnof its genre cater to a sort ofnfinancial voyeurism by instructingnreaders in the intricacies ofnlucrative investment schemes—nbut few readers are likely to haventhe capital and the...

.S( KIIN JnMen to Man: a DuologuenDiner: Written and directed by BarrynLevinson; MGM.nby Eric ShapearonOne big cheer for a movie in whichnhumanness—with all its weaknesses,nfoibles and modest strengths—does notnrun against humans (as is de rigeur innmodish literature and its byproduct,npopular moviemaking). It’s a refreshingnchange to see a movie in which decency,nloyalty, friendship do not ruin...

the spouses begin to lose touch; a familynlost because of differing values; an impendingnmarriage in a life whose dominantnconcern was once which team wouldnwin the football championship. The beatnof these lives is kept by rhythrn and bluesnand rock ‘n’ roil—James Brown, JerrynLee Lewis. It’s not important music withnimportant lyrics (“Everyone SHOUT!—na little bit louder now....

AKnEl Greco on Constitution AvenuenAnyone who saw El Greco in Toledonmust have been overwhelmed by thenrefined, even coquettish, gauntness ofnhis figurative renditions, by his magicalnstyle that transmutes posed asceticism intonsome sort of spiritual chic. In the NationalnGallery of Art in Washington,nD.C., where a lot of El Greco’s paintingsncould, in July and August, be seenntogether in...

Records and die Vienna Philharmonic,nconducted by Christoph Van Dohnanyi,nhave provided an interesting recordingn(LDR71015) of two seldom-heard worksnthat plot two points in Schoenberg’sncareer. The earlier of the two, SixLieder,nOp. 8 (1904), is in the same late-nRomantic vein as Gurre-Lieder, annopulent, extravagant rendition of poeticntexts which should be enjoyed by fans ofnsimilar excesses by Strauss and Mahler.nErwartung,...

Poi.KMK s & i:( ii\(;i:s JnJustice for Mr. Middletonnby EdwardJ. WalshnI object to the unsigned but nasty attacknon Drew Middleton in the May/nJune 1982 issue of Chronicles. Though Indid not read the specific magazine piecenby Middleton, I was struck not only bynthe unworthy tone but by the author’snobvious ignorance of many notablenachievements of Drew Middleton:...

prognosis was debated during the aforementionednconference. We await thenconsequences of those important deliberations.nHenry Fonda, R.I.P.nThe death of Henry Fonda marks thenend of an era, the closing of a cinematicnperiod of ideological imagery which left anmomentous cultural legacy. Among itsnother symbolizations, the studio systemn—so derided by liberals as a product ofnthe greedy lowbrow Hollywood mogulsn—endowed the...

nn^ ^n£2;n0 0ncL i-t-nS^n3’e.n2.»non C/3nCNftn^ nnl:^ ^n0 r+nUJnHnsrnrDn>dn0nnnHKn0nI-tnD-n1—1nPnVin(-hnrt)n Add to Favorites

chronicles of Culture originated as a protest against thenperversion of the American culture by something we call thenLiberal Culture. The marvelous cultural pluralism of thenAmerican civilization, grounded in the time-honored persuasionnthat the other’s point of view is our common asset, hasnbeen corrupted by liberal zealotry in pursuit of a monopoly onntruth. About four years ago...

vious that they long ago abandoned a pluraUsm based onnauthentic differences of views. By exerting a totalitarianlikengrip on the opinion-forming industry, their apologists andncritics are able to bar any truly opposing point of view from thenpages of influential liberal journals that loudly proclaim urbi etnorbi their pure and benign ideological nonpartisanship. Longngone is that kind...

QPIMONS & VlKVVS TnThe Enemy Up ClosenMilton Rugoff: The Beechers: an AmericannFamily in the Nineteenth Century;nHarper & Row; New York.nby Clyde WilsonnAmerican Protestantism divides intontwo distinct cultural traditions datingnback to colonial times. One tradition derivesnfrom New England and is Calvinistnin origin; the other is Southern and Anglican.nAnglican must be understoodnhere as referring to a spirit...

ent. First there was Lyman Beecher, thenleading Calvinist theologian of his day,nwho was instrumental in spreading thengospel to the West. (The “West” in NewnEngland parlance referred to areas northnof the Ohio River settled by New Englanders.nNothing else counted.) AmongnLyman’s numerous children were CatherinenBeecher, a pioneer feminist; HarrietnBeecher Stowe, “the little womannwho made the big war,”...

justice.nHenry Ward Beecher, the most popularnpreacher in America, famous for hisnspellbinding crusades against slavery,nliquor, the secret vice and every othernevil, committed adultery with at leastnone woman of his congregation, a womannwho happened also to be a SundaynSchool teacher and the wife of an admiringnprotege of Beecher’s. The offense itselfnis not so revealing as the spirit...

Corde’s view that “a simple belief innprogress goes with a deformed conceptionnof human nature.” Such echoes arenclearly germane to Bellow’s purposes;nprogress is one of the great issues of modernism:n”the modem consciousness, thatnequivocal queer condition, working withna net of foolish assumptions, and sonmuch absurd unwanted stuff lying onnyour heart.” Richard Weaver calledn”progress” a contemporary “god term.”nThe...

that we know, that we know, we know,nwe know.”nCorde’s serious limitations are presentednwithout varnish. He finds it almostnimpossible to come to terms withndeath. Sometimes he is petulantlyncranky and sometimes painfully selfrighteous.nBellow slips when trying tonmake an activist of him. The goodnmotive is short-sighted. Corde is a seer;nhe is what he is for reasons that far...

IVtlasti:nm^mmmm^^^^^^Kmmmm^ii^i^m^m^t^nTviv.SvxmwA^NnPARTISANn-Civil War Press CorpsnTT^p”^^^ SICSSSSBI^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^nSouthern Partisannhas arrivednThe Conservative bice of the Unieconstructed^^^nPresented With Wit and Style*nRead Andrew Lytle, Russell Kirk, M.E. Bradford,nR Reid Buckley, unpublished work by Richard Weaver,nand more…in the magazine you’ve been waiting for.n’For those concernednabout preservingnSouthern culture.”n—Human Eventsn”A group of writersn(convinced) that the timenhas come to reverse thenretreat… a hell-for-leathernassault…”n—Chronicles of Culturen’A...

contemporary is your only point of departure.n” No matter what we are like, itnis “a delicious world.” Beilow-Cordendoes not give up because “His motive…ncame out of what is eternal in man.” Thennovel contains, like Dickens’s Talenthough not so prominently, the resurrectionntheme. Toby Winthrop at OperationnContact dies and is reborn in order tonsave those who are...

changes that have occurred in the UnitednStates in the last twenty years or so. Thus,nbesides an introduction and a conclusion,nhe devotes a chapter to each ofnseven areas of change: crime, homosexuality,nthe economy, cults, the women’snmovement, shoddiness of manufacturedngoods and the unwillingness of servicenpersonnel to provide service. Harris is annanthropologist who claims in this book tonhave...

jor university, he finds them onerous: “Inbelieve in regulation but not in levelingnall distinctions and issues. The City ofnGod is desirable but it does not occurnwhen a landscape consists of evenly distributednrubble.”nThere is an air of paradox in all thisnconstant shifting of ground, fluttering ofnveils, that almost constitutes evasion.nGiamatti is ready for the accusation:n”There is,...

page, can’t everyone in the world be likenme? “I’m apparently alone …” shenbegins, as she expresses her disapprovalnof allowing high school classes to view thenpreliminary hearings. Trilling lets it benknown that “a week’s suspension andnfirm warning” would have been the propernpunishment for the drug violatorsnthat Mrs. Harris expelled. Turning to thentrial, she scolds the defense...

Clare’s religious conversion, and hasnnever recovered. His hostess was witty,nrich, beautiful and as nice to him as shencould be. To be sure, Sheed is impressednwith her numerous careers, but thosenroles are not of interest to him. Had shennever been anything but a Ridgefield,nConnecticut housewife, he would havenwanted to write the book anyway, simplynbecause he is...

pieces on film written since 1970, Simonnwrites, “Criticism at best, of course, isnonly a set of subjective opinions. But it isnopinions expounded at some length: explained,nillustrated with examples andnquotations, supported with comparisonsnand contrasts to other works, related toncertain standards of aesthetics and evennethics, and viewed in a larger context ofnhuman life.” This observation is no...

movies when he reviewed films for &quirenfrom I960 to 1966. He wrote inn1963: “One of the advantages of this jobnis that I don’t have to see many movies.”nThis, I suppose, helped reduce his levelnof choler; he isn’t as wont to savage someonenbecause of his or her looks or moniker.nMore importantly, Macdonald’s criticismnis grounded on something....

In earlier epochs,na critic tormented only the writers…nOf all the cants which are canted in this canting world—though the cant ofnhypocrites may be the worst—the cant of criticism is the most tormenting.nLaurence SternenIn ours, he torments everybody.nRecently a middle-aged father publishedna book about his sordid adventuresnin massage parlors, wife-swappingncommunes and the worlds of easy sexnand...

rivative, they often mask it with infightingndesigned to show how littlenother critics know. Simon is a master atnthis. A sampling of some of his sallies:nThe writing, directing and acting arenas amateurish as they are tendentious.n.. . Yet a number of critics, includingnPauline Kael, have given this sorrynmess their more or less guarded approval.nNor will the...

Women, Work and WimseynJames Brabazon: Dorothy L. Sayers;nCharles Scribner’s Sons; New York.nby Keith Bowern«1 1 like the Gargoyle best,” Dorothy L.nSayers wrote in a poem from her midteens.nShe continues, “… while thenparson, foil of pride/Spouts at his wearynflock inside /The Gargoyle, from his loftynseat/Spouts at the people in the street.”nThe figure was prophetic, for, thoughnshe...