the Russians.”nThis seals off the case and perfectlyndenotes the moral and political smellnthat fills the Progressive’s quarters andnpages. And then some Americans wondernwhy, after such an abuse of freedomsnand privileges, overzealousnavengers of national decency launchntheir fateful raids. Like Senator McÂÂnCarthy. From Wisconsin. DnApocalypse NownA frightened writer for the VillagenVoice, that seismograph of the radicalnleft in America, issues a call to arms inna long feature on the Pope’s visit:n”The political implications of thenRebellion as UsualnRevolutions are still en vogue, thoughnties have gotten narrower and womennare accentuating the waistline. In September,na modish antinuke upheavalntook place in Manhattan. It was a giantndisco, a fashionable event. People camento sing and dance, the neutron becamenthe most in word of the happening: besidesnits mobilizing force, it can servento describe so many hip things.nThere’s something of the medieval,nor Salemlike, witch-hunt spirit in thenphenomenon of the antinuclear protest.nThere’s no rational or empirical reasonnfor the fierceness of this opposition—nas compared to the Vietnam protests,nwhere a reason, albeit a faulty one, couldnbe perceived. There are no current casualtiesnin the nuclear field, there nevernhave been, and perhaps there never willnbe. But there’s a fear of unmaterializednfacts—exactly like the fear of witchcraft.nNo Puritan could ever prove thenwitches’ abuse of godliness, because theirnkind of supernatural power did not exist.n4SinChronicles of CulturenLiberal CulturenPope’s tour frightened me. The energynin Yankee Stadium made thenenergy that drove the rock concertsnand the demonstrations of then’60s seem puny. And in the vividnsilence that filled the stadium whilenthe Pope spoke, the rumble of a subwaynpassing made me think of thensound that precedes an avalanche.nThe church is an institution whichnpredated the secularization of government,nand John Paul II has madenno comforting statements about thenseparation of church and state. Atnbest his American visit will set backnthe ERA and unleash a zealous armynof abortion foes. At worst … I don’tnlike to think about it.”nWhy not place a long distance call tonthe Red Brigades.’ Would that help? DnBut the fear of those abuses was real—nand triggered by irrational fears, a worsenabuse of reason, justice, correctness followed.nThe only things that separate then17th-century Salem hysteria from thenManhattan rally are the participants’ngarb and the musical chants that bringnthem to a frenzy. Their mental equipmentnseems to be identical. When do wenget to see some plays about this modernnorgy of irrationalism and ignorance?nChicago Tribune’s Darlingn”What is irresistible about this fat,nbearded, cheeky man is his unblemishednfrankness.”nSo begins a certain Helen Dudar’s profilenof the Chicago Tribune’s apparentlynmost beloved and promotion-worthynpublisher. His name is Lyle Stuart, and,nhe is best known in America as the publishernof The Sensuous Woman, He isnalso a multimillionaire, “has a flat innParis, a house on Jamaica . . .,” and,nas the Tribune emphasizes with piousnnnveneration, he gave America HistorynWill Absolve Me, by Fidel Castro, andnis “a veteran Castro-booster [who] recentlynacquired eight Cuban books ‘justnin defiance of the damn Treasury Departmentnwhich says you can’t do businessnwith Cuba.’ The package includesntwo novels plus Memories of Che, ancollection he commissioned written bynfamily and friends of the legendarynGuevara.”n” ‘I really don’t give a damn aboutnanybody,’ he says, flashing a toothynsmile,” the starry-eyed Tribune writernreports. That seems to be correct. Mr.nStuart also published The AnarchistnCookbook—“a manual for basementnbomb makers that still sells 14,000ncopies a year,” the Tribune informs usnwith giddy enthusiasm. We can safelynassume that some of the killing andnmaiming from the random bombingsnwhich have occurred since the publicationndate were magnanimously assistednby Mr. Stuart’s expertly printed advice;nhis millions reek just slightly of blood.nBut this seems to be of little importancento the Trib and its vaunted sensenof values.nWelcome Aboard!n”Basically, I’m an optimist. The nicenthing about capitalism is that it lendsnitself to an infinity of patching up. Ifnit were subject to the rigors of principlenassumed by either the right or thenleft, it would have ended long ago. Sonwe may have more convulsions, andnmore pragmatic patching up, and thenpatching up will enable it to survive.nNow you have my final bit of wisdom:nCapitalism will survive.”nWho’s that? Adam Smith, Esq.? JohnnRockefeller at a seance? A quote fromna just-unearthed letter of Henry Fordnto his progeny? Perhaps Joseph Schumpeter,nwho has suddenly changed opinions?nMilton Friedman, in an unexpectedlynsuave bit of prose? Or Hayek, ornRopke, or the chairman of the MobilnOil Corporation in one of those adsnpenned by sophisticated literati?n
January 1975April 21, 2022By The Archive
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