trate the unitarian mentality of NewnAgers: (1) All is one. Differences arenapparent only, without ontologicalnstanding; (2) All is God. The divinenessence is everywhere and in everything;n(3) Humanity is God. (Goodnnews for the would-be divinities, whontake their cue from The Next WholenEarth Catalogue: “We are as Gods andnmight as well get good at it.”); (4) Anchange in consciousness. If we fail tonsee the unity of everything and understandnour own status as gods, the faultnlies in bad thinking. We can raise ournconsciousness on classic Asian religions,nor for lazy Americans there arenquick fixes like est; (5) All religions arenone — all roads going to the samenplace and all that. Similarly no systemsnof thought are unique, and nonreligions either. So watch out whennRepublican VicesnThe New Republic: A Voice ofnModem Liberalism by DavidnSeideman, New York: PraegernPublishers; $32.95.nFor some 73 years, since Novembern1914, The New Republic has beennthe self-constructed soapbox for thenbest ideas and insights proffered by thenliberal intellectual community (whichnmay explain why the magazine is alwaysnso thin). Some of the most importantnnames in American liberalismnhave graced the magazine’s pages as itnhas laid out its plan for a new America.nWhat exactly has been that plan? Innhis new book examining the first 25nyears of TNR, David Seideman, whonworked at TNR from 1979 to 1986 andnedited the magazine’s special 70th anniversarynissue in 1984, explains in thenPreface:nIn the first half of the 20thncentury, the forwardnmomentum of U.S. historynseemed stalled. The previousncentury’s scattered and diffusedneconomic and politicalninstitutions proved ill-equippednBuddy Matthews is a journalist basednin Dallas.nthey talk of the “Ghrist event”; theynmean something else; (6) Cosmic evolutionarynoptimism. The unfolding ofnthe world divinity in history meansneverything keeps getting better all thentime. Much of Groothius’ book is anfleshing out of the premises of the sixnmarks. He’s particularly good at showingnthe inroads of New Age thinking innthe ordinary affairs of American life.nUnholy Spirits is a very differentnbook. This fat tome, originally publishedn10 years ago under another titie,nhas now been brought up to date withna good deal of fresh material. The firstnchapter alone, entitled “The Crisis ofnWestern Rationalism,” is worth halfnthe price of admission. The bulk ofnUnholy Spirits is taken up with extendedntreatments of some of the weirdernaspects of the movement. North hasnby Buddy Matthewsnto master the complexities ofnthe modern industrial age. Thentraditional liberal principles ofnindividual rights and naturalnfreedom impeded nationalnprogress. During both activenand dormant areas, TNRnguided the United States awaynfrom self-reliance andnlaissez-faire and towardncollective identity through thenactive intervention of the state.nSo far from expressing any remorsenfor the abridgment of liberties, Seidemanncontinues, “No cause was ever asntirelessly and faithfully championed asnsocial justice, a keystone for reformnand civilized societies in the modernnage. TNR’s editors believed a strongerncentral government was the means bynwhich social justice could exist.” Seidemannmakes it clear that for the earlyneditors of TNR, the Soviet Unionnunder Lenin and the younger Stalinnwould be the paradigm for those “civilizednsocieties in the modern age.”nAs much as anything. The NewnRepublic is an examination of thenpersonalities and ideas that helped createnthe magazine. The magazine’s financialnbackers were Dorothy andnWillard Straight. The daughter of thenvery wealthy William C. Whitney,nwho made a bundle in streetcar linesnread his Edgar Cayce, Carlos Castaneda,nthe androgyny propaganda, thenmeticulously documented and filmedninstances of occult healing, Kirliannphotography, and so on. He has refusednto get caught in the Kantian trap.nHaving rejected the old rationalism,nnow breaking up on the rocks, he alsonsees the disaster wrought by the mysticalnvoid. He’s done that by findingncommon ground for the worlds of fleshnand spirit, a unifying conception fornthe One and the Many. And he finds itnthe same place Groothius does—innthe orthodox Christian faith.nAs the century wears on, that faithnmay once again resemble an embattiednsect struggling against the forces of anbizarre and sometimes brutal panthe­nism.nnnand investments in Standard Oil, heiressnDorothy had more humanitariannconcerns. Willard had a personal apprenticeshipnwith Teddy Roosevelt beforenjoining the J.P. Morgan firm.nWith their vast accumulation ofnwealth, the Straights decided to back anmagazine which would promote thendistribution of wealth (everybody else’snwealth) to the less fortunate or lessnproductive members of society. (It’s anpattern that would appear again andnagain in 20th-century America.) HerbertnCroly was to be the editor of thenweekly magazine while Walter Weyl,nWalter Lippmann, and others wouldnbe added later. Eventually, it wouldnsport Edmund Wilson, MalcolmnCowley, Bruce Bliven, and economistnGeorge Soule.nIn its first issue, the editors proclaimednthat “TNR is frankly an experiment,nit is an attempt to find a nationalnaudience for a journal of opinion.”nWhile not entirely new, issues andnideas journalism was to have a majornimpact on the publishing industry.nIn an attempt to stress independence,nthe various editors were permittednto express their opinions freely, annaction which sometimes led to clashes.nIn an effort to draw national attention,nthey called on the biggest names theyncould find. A partial but revealing listnof the contributors includes JohnnDewey, Charles Beard (the historiannAPRIL 1987/29n