De Man showed that Derrida falselynattributed to Rousseau a simplistic viewnof progress that was clearly and explicitlynrejected in Rousseau’s text. It doesnnot matter, though, De Man tells us.nDerrida’s attitude is still the right one.nThe critic’s blindness, what we lessernbreeds without the Law call his blunders,nare essential to his genius. Thenpoint is not to enter into a sympatheticnrelationship with the author. That impliesna false metaphysic of presence.nThe truest criticism is to interrupt thenGreat Conversation with our own concernsnand to shout down, or denyntenure to, the reader, philologist, ornhistorian who would let the authorsnspeak for themselves. (The very idea isnthe sheerest logocentricity.)nThe dream of the literary theorist isnthe final solution to our country’snhistory (which is only “a written text,”naccording to De Man) and literaturenand culture and religion. It is the waynfor us to free the world from “totalizingnthinking,” from learning from literaturenhow to make sense of our ownnlives and our culture, from the delusionnConsequently, one sees that to considerncontemporary literature as an isolatednphenomenon, created by the peculiarnmentality of the 1920’s, is absurd.nSimilady, Jews cannot claim to havenbeen its creators, nor even to havenexercised a preponderant influence onnits development. If one examines mattersnwith any care, that influence appearsnas extraordinarily unimportant,nfor one would have expected that, givennthe specific characteristics of the Jewishnmind, it would have played a morenbrilliant role in that artistic production.nTheir cerebral character, their capacitynto assimilate doctrines while maintainingna certain coldness in regard to them,nseem very precious qualities for thenwork of lucid analysis that the novelndemands. Despite this, however, Jewishnwriters have always remained secondratenand, to speak only of France, AndrenMaurois, Francis de Croisset, HenrinDuvernois, Henri Bernstein, TristannBernard, Julien Benda, etc. are notnamong the most important figures, nornamong those who have especially directednin some way the literary genres.nthat wise men have distilled their wisdomnfor us in the honey of words.nThe irony of human life lies hiddennin the mystery that in order to reachnout to speak to or to understand someonenelse, we have to be firmly rooted innfamily, in nation, in religion, in culture.nWithout that there is no creativitynand no comprehension, no art and noncriticism. “You must not think thatnliving according to your country’s waynof life is slavery,” says Aristotle; “it isnthe way home.” By betraying homenand family Paul de Man cut himself offnfrom ever understanding great literature.nThe truest critique of Paul denMan and the deracinated mediocritiesnfor whom he was literary Gauleiter arenthe words John Steinbeck gave to thenChicano warrior Emiliano Zapata,nwhen he finally understands the desertnin which the modern ideologuenblooms. “You have no wife, no woman.nYou have no farm, no land. Younhave no love.”nnLearning this fact is comforting fornWestern intellectuals. That they havenbeen able to protect themselves fromnJewish influence in an area so representativenof culture as literature is a goodnsign of their vitality. It would not benright to express much hope for thenfuture of our civilization if it hadnallowed itself to be invaded withoutnresisting by a foreign force. By keepingnits originality and character intact, despitenthe Semitic meddling into allnaspects of Europe’s life, it has shownnthat its deep nature was healthy. More,none sees therefore that a solution to thenJewish problem that aims at the creationnof a Jewish colony isolated from Europenwould not involve, for the literary life ofnthe West, deplorable consequences.nThat literary life would lose, all in all,nsome personalities of mediocre valuenand would continue, as in the past, tondevelop according to its great evolutionarynlaws.n— Paul de Man. Translated bynE. Christian KopffnnnAMERICAnBY THE THROATnThe Stranglehold ofnFederal Bureaucracynby George Rochen§6A lucid, even entertaining, yetnalso brilliant and penetratingndiagnosis of the major socialndisease of our time. A splendidnbook that deserves very widenreadership.99nMILTON FRIEDMANnNobel Laureaten66Unless the gargantuan vi/aste-nfulness of federal bureacracy isnbrought under control, we arenheaded for political and economicndisaster George Roche makes…nthe problem frighteningly clearnHis book…displays a keen under­nstanding of this Issue, and car­nries an important message, ffnWILLIAM E. SIMONnFormer Secretary of the TreasurynFOR VISA ANDnMASTERCARD ORDERSnCALL 800-253-3200next. 801n4.95 hardboundn$5.00 softboundnMl residents addn4% sales tax)nFree Shipping!nHILLSDALEnCOLLEGEnPRESSnHillsdale, Mln49242nSEPTEMBER 1990/33n