MARCH,1946 89 andthelastreading,"Allanimalsareequal—charmed everyone,andwerequicklymemorizedbythecleverest. Afterwhichtheyallrushedtothefieldstogetinthehay, butnotbeforeihecowshadbeenrelievedoffivebuckets ofcreamymilkbytheadroittrotersofthepigs. "'Whatisgoingtohappentoallthatmilk,'saidsomeon"e'J. onesusedsometimestomixsomeof it inourmash,' saidoneofthehens. "'Nevermindthemilk,comrades!'criedNapoleon,placinghimselfinfrontofthebuckets.'Thatwillbeattended to.Theharvestismoreimportant.ComradeSnowbal wil leadoftheway. I shal folowinafewminutes. Forward,comrades!Thehayiswaiting.' "Sotheanimalstroopeddowntothehayfieldtobegin theharvest,andwhentheycamebackintheeveningitwas noticedthatthemilkhaddisappeared." Itwasoddaboutthemilk,buttheincidentwasgeneraly ignoredamidtheexcitementsofthegreatestharvestthe farmhadeverknown,duringwhich"everyanimaldown tothehumblestworkedatturningthehayandgathering it."Thatis,ofcourse,withoneexception:"Thepigsdid notactualywork,butdirectedandsupervisedtheothers." Yes,itwasoddaboutthemilk,butodderhappenings weretofolow.Therewasthetrainingofthedogs,for example,intoaferociouspolicecorpsreadytoprovethe erorofanyonewhoventuredtodisagreewithNapoleon. TherewerethecomplicatedrelationsbetweenNapoleon andSnowbal,endingwiththelatter'ssuddenbanishment andhiserasurefromAnimalhistory,eventhoughevery beasthadoncebelievedthatSnowbalwastheiroutstand- ingcmilitarystrategistandtheundoubtedherooftheBatle ofTheCowshed,atwhichtheforcesofcounter-revolution hadbeenhurledback.Therewasthemysteriousalteration oftheoriginalcommandments,oneaftertheother,culmina- tinginthefinalreductionofallcommandmentstoasingle sentence:AllAnimalsAreEqualButSomeAreMore EqualThanOthers.TherewasthestrangefateofBoxer, sturdiestandmostfaithfulofpartywheel-horses.There sasthebanningoftheoldhymn,"BeastsofEngland." Andtherewerecertainclimactic,butnotentirelyastonish- inghappenings,which,tobeappreciatedproperly,mustbe readofinGorgeOrwell'sownperfectlyselectedwords. That AnimalFarm isvastlyamusingisafactthatmay bealreadyapparenttoreadersofthisreview.That it is trulybrilliantisafactthatcanbedodgedbynoreader ofthebookitself.That itwillinfuriateallthosewhobe- lieveinStalinismisafactascertainasistheexistenceof theU.S.S.R. It willinfuriatebecause,asanaccountofa greatrevolution'sperversion,itadmitsofnoconfutation. Statisticsaresometimesdeadly,butthelethalrangeofsatire isdeeper,wider,morecomprehensivethanthatofstatistics caneverbe.AndGeorgeOrwelhasmanagedhismedium withsurejudgment,withsteadyprecision.Hissatirical paralelsandcorespondencesarejustnumerousenough andclearenoughtoservehispurpose;notsonumerous norsoobscureastodivertthereader'sinterestfromthe narative'scoursetothedemandsof apossiblepuzzle. Avoidingexaggerationofmanneraswellasdistortionof mater,theauthorhasscoredconsistentlybyhisevenness oftoneandhispowerofunderstatement. It almostseems thathehasusedhisskillmerelytoarrangefortruthto showitselfinsatire'smirror;amirrorthat,performinggan actoftranslation,simultaneouslyperformsactsofinterpretationandilumination. ItismorethanlikelythatGeorgeOrwel'sstoryofthe greatrevolutionthatwentwrongisdestinedtobecomea minorclassic.But,whateveritsfuturefate,thereisno BibliotecaGinoBianco doubtthatinourdayit isabooktoread,toreadaloud, totalkabout,andtogiveaway.So it isgoodtohear thatHarcourt,Braceistopublish AnimalFarm inthis country. NewRoads Discussion Sir In: yourissueofJanuary,1946,youprintedaletter,signedConstantReader,whichcomplainedoftheanti-Marxist rubbishyouprint,andasked:'Don'tyou. . . atleast alowMarxistcritics(Morrow,Farrell,Shachtman,etc.) spacetoanswer?"(Sic.)Youranswertothisletterincludedthefolowingstatement:Asforallowing°spaceto Marxiststoanswer,theyhavealwayshadit.Theyjust don'tspeakuponpaperatleast.Theinadequaciesof aMarxistpositionmayhavesomethingtodowiththis paralysis." Iwishtotakeadvantageofyourofferofspace, andtopresentsomecriticisms.However, I wishtoadd thatIamspeakingonlyformyself,andnotfortheothers mentionedbyConstantReader. Thesuspiciouslycliquenatureofthethinkingexpressed inPOLITICSisthreateningtodegenerateintoegomania. Thus,yourunguardedstatementthatMarxistssuferfrom literaryparalysis,andwiththis,yourclear-cutimplication thatIamoneoftheliteraryparalytics. In thetwoyears thathaveelapsedsinceyoufoundedPOLITICS,Ihavedone morewritingthan Ihaveinanyothertwoyearsofmy entireliterarycareer.Aconsiderableportionofthiswritingatemptstouseandtodefendwhat Iconsidertobe validMarxianhypotheses. I havespokenalotonpaper. WhenanarticleinPOLITICSmoreorlessdeclaresthatKarl Marxdidnotknowhowtothink, itdoesn'tnecessarily followthatthemostimportanttaskofanyoneinterestedin Marxismisthatofimmediatelyabandoningotherworkand answeringthisarticle.Briefly,POLITICS isnottheonly magazine. TwoyearshaveelapsedsincePOLITICSfirstappeared.In thistime,thecontentsmakeitclearthatthismagazineis apersonalorgan.Itspagesaredominatedbytheinterests andinclinationsofitseditor. In thediscussionsitcarries on,theeditorisacentralfigure.Frequently,theformal discussionsofanissueinPOLITICSendupinadiscussion ofDwightMacdonald,hismeritsordemerits,hishabitof putinghastygeneralizationsdownonpaper,hiscarelessnes intheoreticalformulation,theomissionsfromhis writings. Inconsequence,itisappropriateheretodiscuss DwightMacdonald.Furthermore,theconstantcriticismof DwightMacdonald,inthepagesofhisownmagazine,indicatesthatwhenhewantstomakehimselfunderstood,he experiencesdifficulties.Friendlyreadersofhisaren'talwayssurethattheyknowpreciselywhatheistalkingabout. Thisfactshedsacuriouslightonhisconfidentdemandthat Marxistsanswerhimwhenhecriticizesthem. ConstantreadersofDwightMacdonaldcannotbutbe awareoftheflightycharacterofhisthinking.He iscon- tinualychanginghismind.Withthis,heispersistently engagedinthepracticeofrefutingtheideashehasheld inth;past.AfterhelefttheHouseofLuce,DwightMacdonaldbecameaTrotskyist.Hebecamearefugeefrom TrotskyismintheearlystagesoftheWar.Hispatern ofchangehasrunmoreorlessasfolows.Heseemsto havediscoveredsomeimperfectionineconomics:thisim-
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