Whatever else it may be, Eurocommunism—or the range of political phenomena we conveniently bunch under that label—represents something new. To say, something new, is not necessarily to say something good; it is just to say, something new. There can be …
In this double biography of Prince Bismarck and his banker, Columbia professor Fritz Stern paints the portrait of an era and tells the story of a grandiose failure—that of the liberal middle class in the new German Reich 100 years …
Reform, once seen as the vehicle to free the House of Representatives from the constraints of conservative leadership, is now serving increasingly to weaken the power of a liberal leadership at a time when pressures on the younger members come …
It may seem like a bad joke, but radical feminists sound like nothing so much as the thinkers they denounce as misogynists. In her most recent book, Adrienne Rich speaks of women’s “‘maternal’ or ‘nurturant’ spirit” as opposed to “rapism …
The collapse of the Greek dictatorship in July 1974 generated an extraordinary sense of hope. After turbulent and discouraging decades everything now seemed possible. The traditional reactionary right, utterly discredited because of its collaboration with the dictatorship, was expected to …
The word fans out over the media from Washington and suddenly an impression, crystallized in a few phrases, is perceived as an established condition. It cannot be traced back to particular events or a single source, and sometimes it seems …
Three years ago, at its Sixth Special Session, the United Nations General Assembly adopted by consensus two resolutions entitled “Declaration on the Establishment of a New International Economic Order” and “Programme of Action on the Establishment of a New International …
To try to answer the question whether there are “varieties of communism”—Eurocommunism, Asian Communism—I make three assumptions: FIRST: Despotism is not a “degeneration” of Communism. So far, we haven’t seen any Communism in power except in Leninist-Stalinist, totalitarian versions. There …
Press censorship, the persecution of intellectuals, the search of my home, the assassination of my dearest friends, and the loss of a daughter who died fighting you—these are a few of the facts that oblige me to resort to this …
Our perceptions of Communist politics in Western Europe are critically linked to periods in the past. Is it our memories of the CPs in their pre-Stalinist forms—sectarian, aggressive, ultra-left parties; or of the CPs in the Popular Front period—Stalinized, endlessly …
“Labor now has become a commodity, wealth capital, and the natural order of things is entirely reversed . . . capital and labor stand opposed,” stated a labor newspaper, the Awl, written for the shoemakers of Lynn and surrounding towns …
A fundamental reform of the welfare system would: (A) Create conditions that allow as many persons as possible to earn their own living in the job market; (B) Seriously reduce the number of welfare programs; (C) Relieve the states of …
Just how enlightening can even an enlightened despot be? That is the underlying question of Richard Lowenthal’s study of Communist policy toward the Third World—and a most welcome study it is. Lowenthal brings insight and erudition to an area in …
What’s in a name? Frequently not very much, not even in the name of a political party. In the United States, for example, the Republican party does not reject the political system of democracy, at least not in theory even …
A little while ago Time magazine reported President Jimmy Carter to have said, “I listen to classical music eight to ten hours a day.” Eight to ten hours a day? Astounding. Obviously a misprint. But no, a later story, again in …
