Dissent

For its competition of 1782 The Academy of Lyon posed the question: “Has the discovery of America proved useful or harmful to the human race?”

Some excuse is needed for still another attack on the question of whether ends can justify means.

To some, a union of democracy and social planning virtually defines the socialist aspiration, and surely it would be an ideal union if the two were constantly compatible. I shall argue, however, that this is not the case.

Joseph Buttinger’s book, “In the Twilight of Socialism,” is the history of the Austrian socialist underground from the victory of Austro-Fascism in February 1934 up to Hitler’s Anschluss in March 1938.

Do you know who the ancestors of Joe McCarthy are?

I have read most if not all of the press response to Dissent as of this writing, and I think the comments which most deserve study are those expressed in the February issue of Commentary.

Some 200 intellectuals gathered in New York last November to worry the problem: Why is Anti-Americanism so prevalent in Europe?

Exactly when a recession becomes a depression, whether we will have the one or, in time, both, what can be done to prevent a further slide into unemployment — these, certainly, are important questions.

The Djilas case is obviously of the first importance, another sign of that molecular disintegration at work in eastern Europe and a further proof, if any be needed, that the hope for political stability on the continent is sheer chimera.

To speak of a whole society as lacking in mental health implies a controversial assumption, contrary to the position of sociological relativism held by most social scientists today.