96 polities phoneconnectionisresponsiblefor theerror.Asanin- stanceofhuman (andmechanical) fallibilityandthe resultingspreadofnon-knowledge(better,anti-knowledge), theincidentmightbeworthafootnoteinthebook. AproposOrwell's AnimalFarm, reviewedin thisissue, GeorgeWoodcockwritesmethat it "hasdonegoodwork here.TheStalinistsaresorattledthattheyhaven'tat- temptedanyseriousatackonOrwel.Insteadtheirreviews allpretend it isabookaboutNaziGermany!"(This is somekind of ahigheveninCommieliterarycircles.) Orwelhimselfwrites: "Amonthortwoback,theQueensenttoWarburg'sfor acopy(thisdoesn'tmeananythingpolitically;herliterary adviserisOsbertSitwell,whowouldprobablyadviseher toreadabookof thattype),andastherewasn'tasingle oneleft,theRoyalMessengerhadtogodowntotheAnarchistbookshopfor acopy,whichstrikesmeasmildly comic.However,nowasecondeditionof10,000hascome out,alsoa lot oftranslationsarebeingdone. . . . I had alot of difficultyplacing it intheUSA. , whohad beenpesteringmefor abook,rejected it ontheground thattheAmericanpublicisnotinterestedinanimais. . . . Ialsohadanawful fight toget it intoprintoverhere; nooneexceptWarburgwouldlookat it. . . .Eventhe Ministryof Informationhornedinandtried tokeep it outof print.Thecomicthingisthatafterall thisfuss, thebookgotalmostnohostilereceptionwhenitcameout. Thefact isthatpeoplearefedupwiththisRussiannonsenseandit's justaquestionofwhoisthefirst topoint outthattheemperorhasnoclotheson." What struckmeabout AnimalFarm, inadditiontothe literarytactwithwhichit isdonesothat itneverbecomes eitherwhimsicalorboringlytendentious,wasthat I had rarelybeenmadesoawareof thepathosof thewhole Russianexperience.This fairytaleaboutanimals,whose moodisreflectiveratherthanindignant,conveysmoreof theterriblehumanmeaningofStalinismthananyof the manyseriousbooksonthesubject,withoneortwoexceptions. I t isasgoodin itswayasthechaptersonRussia inKoestler's TiteYogiandtheCommissar aregoodasa journalisticsummary,basedonsolidresearch,of thecase againsttheStalinregimeineverydepartmentofRussian life.Somepublishershouldbringoutthetwoinasingle smalcheapvolume. I t wouldhetheperfectthingtoput intothehandsofthosewhostillnourishhonestilusions abouttheSovietUnionoftoday. DIALECTICALCONFUSIONISM (I) TheLosAngelessection of theSocialistWorkersPartyhaveannouncedtheirendorsementofCharlotteA.Bass,independentNegro candidateforcouncilmanfromthe7thdistrict. . . . Herprogramis theprogramof thecorruptCommunistPoliticalAssociation(Stalinists) whichisoneofcravensubmissionto theBigBusinesscapitalistsand theirpoliticalrepresentatives,whoaretherealauthorsof all the in- justiceswhichNegroessuffer....HerelectiontotheCityCouncil wil beaprogressivesteptowardindependentNearopoliticalaction. -TheMilitant,April7,1945. (2) TheNewYorklocal of theSocialistWorkersPartyissupportingthe candidateof theAmericanLaborParty,JohannesSteel, inthespecial electionin the19thCongressionaldistrict. . . . At best,heisarank opportunistwithashadypoliticalrecord,acting for themomentasa handpickedtool for theStalinistswhodominate theALP. This gang. . . haveforyearsbeensabotagingthemovementfor labor's independentpoliticalactionbymakingfoul-smelingdealswith the corruptboss-riddenpoliticalparties of thecapitalistclass. . . . A victoryof theALPcandidatewouldstrengthenthemovementfor a genuineindependentlaborparty. CompleteyourfilesofpoiltleS49, No.I.February1944. WalterJ.Oakes:TowardaPermanentWarEconomy DwightMacdonald:ATheoryofPopular Culture No.2.Marchl944. PeterMeyer:TheSovietUnion,aNewClassSociety(Part1) DanielBeli:TheComingTragedyofAmericanLabor No.3.April1944. C.WrightMills:TheIntelectual inSociety PeterMeyer:TheSovietUnion,aNewClassSociety(PartTwo) No.4.May1944. Cm'.List:TheMusicofSovietRussia No.5.June1944. NicolaChiaromonte:CroceandItalianLiberalism No.6.July1944. DonCalhodn:ThePoliticalRelevanceofConscientious Objection 7.August1944. BrunoBetelheim:BehaviorinExtremeSituations YearinNaziConcentrationCamps) WilfredH.Kerr:s'Negroism",StrangeFruit of Segregation No.8.September1944. DwightMacdonald:WarasanInstitution ( I): Notes PsychologyofKiling No.9.October1944....Exhausted. No.10.November1944. GeorgeOrwel:TheEthicsoftheDetectiveStory No.11.December1944. LlewetlynQueener:WarasanInstitution(3): Inter-EnemyEthic No. No.12.January,1945. No.13.February,1945. SimoneWeil:Reflectionson War MeyerSchapiro:ANoteonMaxWeber'sPolitics No.14.March,1945. DwightMacdonald:TheResponsibilityofPeoples No.15.April,1945. "WhyAm1Fighting?" No.16.May,1945. DanielBeil:ThePolitical LagofCommonwealth TheGratsosMemorandum No.17June,1945. Conscription&ConscientiousObjection,aSymposium No.18.July,1945. PaulGoodman:ThePoliticalMeaningofsomeRecentRevisions ofFreud TheJapanesePeople-3 BasicBooks No.19.August,1945. LouisClair:ThePeaceCriminals TextofGeneralPaton'sD-Day-Minus-OneSpeech No.20.September,1945. NicolaChiaromonte:Koestler,orTragedyMadeFutile DwightMacdonald: LaborImperialism TheAtomicBomb-3 articles No.21.October,1945. P.J.Proudhon:Selections,withintroductoryarticle NancyMacdonald:AreHospitals MadeforPeople? No.22.November,1945. SimoneWeil:TheIliad,orthePoemofForce 23.December,1945. NewRoads(1)-articlesbyWillHerberg,PaulGoodman,and "European" No.24.January,1946. NewRoads(2)-articlesbyHelenConstas,AlbertVotaw,Don CalhounandJamesPeck No.25.February,1946. NicolaChiaromonte. On the Kind of Socialism Called "Scientific" No. (Notesona ontht. Theaboveissuescost25eeach,except for Nos. 22, whichare 500. $5.00forallissuesstillinprint(23). Biblioteca-brisidI'raffled" Socialist WorkersParty,Feb.13.
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