334 polities ersinAbsoluteTruthmighttrytoevadethedilemmathis problemposesforthemwould,inefect,meantoalowthe copstocontinuethesearchforthehuntedrevolutionistona successfulbasis.Theonlywaytothrowthecopoffthetrack is. . .tolie,todeflecthimandtherebygivethehuntedrevo- lutionisttimetoescape.WhatwouldourAbsoluteMoralist, Macdonald,doinsuchasituation;he,whobelievesthat"a lieisnotjustifiedevenif it isintheclassinterestsofthe proWlete ah r oiapt?e " thatneitherMacdonaldnorthereaderwillbe painedatourhavingreducedthequestionofAbsoluteTruth tosucha"vulgar"and"profane"level;butweareconvinced thatitisonpreciselysuchalevelthatthematermustbe discussedontheleveloftheclasssituationandclassconflictsinwhichwelive.Wewishonlytopointouthisdilem- ma;eitherheconfineshimself,inthenameofAbsoluteTruth, totheroleofstoolpigeon;orhemakesjustonelittleexcep- tiontoAbsoluteTruth. . . inwhichcaseit isnolonger Absolute;thedikehasbeenbreachedandthefloodrushes throWuhgehre . inismoralitynothistoricalyrelativeandclassdetermined,asMacdonaldmaintains?If itisnotsocialymolded, astheMarxistssay,whereinisitssource?Inthepermanent esenceofHumanNature?IntheCategoricalImperative?In theEssenceofGod? Macdonaldoffersusoneinterestingexampleofwhyhebe- lievesmoralandestheticvaluestobenon-relative.Heposes thequestion:whydoweinthetwentiethcenturystillfind greatpleasureandmeaningintheplaysandphilosophyofthe Greeks?Istherenotatimelessqualityintheirworkwhich appliestoallhumanity? THENEWINTERNATIONAL MakesaProposal toReadersof POLITICS: YouhavereadIrvingHowe'sarticle,aMarxist critiqueofPOLITICS.IrvingHoweisaregular contributortoTHENEWINTERNATIONAL,a leadingMarxistpoliticalpublication. WeproposetoreadersofPOLITICSawayof learningtheMarxistanalysisofpolitics—aSubscriptiontoTHENEWINTERNATIONAL. JamesT. Farrell,MaxShachtman,Albert Gates,ErnestErber,IrvingHowe—thesearea fewoftheregularNEWINTERNATIONALcon- tributors. ForreadersofPOLITICS,weofferthefolow- ingintroductorysubscription: 6months—6copies$1.00 THENEWINTERNATIONAL 4CourtSquare LongIslandCity1,N. Y. Enclosedfind$1.00tocoverSpecialIntroductoryOffer forsix-monthsubscriptiontoyourmagazine. NAME STREET CITY Z O N E S T A T E Thequestionisaneatone;andtheanswerdevastatingto Macdonald'scase.It istruethatwefindmuchofvaluein theGreeks,muchthatispleasingandwhichtouchesus;but thatisbecausethedevelopmentofhumanityisacontinuity. Differenceandsimilarityimplyandrequireeachother.Were therenodiferencesbetweenelementscompared,theywouldbe merelyidentical;weretherenosimilaritiestherewouldbeno basisforcomparisonofdiferences.Thereis,then,muchthat afectsandtouchesusinGreekdrama;butitdoesnotafect usin thesameway itaffectedtheGreeks.DoestheOedipus storymeantous,thepost-Freudgeneration,whatitmeantto Sophocles'contemporaries?Toposethequestionistoanswer it:therearenoabsolutemoralvalues,thoughthereiscon- tinuityinmoralvaluesasineverythingelse.Wehaveelements ofcommunitywiththeGreeks,wehaveelementsofdiffer- ence;thereiscontinuityandthereisdifference,butthereis noAbsolute.Thatexistsonlyinthemindsofidealistphiloso- phers. Macdonaldhasonefinalclincher.Iftherearenoabsolute moralvalues,heasksus,howthencouldMarxspeakof real morality,of rea/ justiceunderSocialism?Wasn'theinthat waysmugglingin"eternalandabsolutevalues?"For,ifmoral valuesarehistoricalyrelative,thenhowcouldheforetelthe moralityofSocialism?Theanswerissimplythatonecanmake estimatesof itonthebasisofthe moralpotential shownby greatindividualsandrevolutionaryclassesthusfar.Weextrapolatefromrevolutionarymoralitytowhatwebelieveand hopesocialistmoralitytobe.Inthatsense,itisanexpectation, aguessandanaimroledupintoone;butitisnotadenial ofthehistorical'determinationofmorality. DwightMacdonaldisawareofthedangerouswatersin whichheiswading.HeknowsthatfromtalkofAbsolute MoralitytotalkofGodtheonlybasisuponwhichAbsolute Moralitycanultimatelybemaintainedisbutashortstep. Hetelsus,however,thatheisnotflirtingwithreligion: eveninadolescence,religionhasneverinterestedoratracted me."Whichwhilereassuringforhisadolescence—andeven hisyoungmanhoodisnotveryreassuringforhispresent stateofdevelopedmaturity.Therearestrongpsychological, logical,emotionalandpoliticaldriveswhichtendtomove peoplewithMacdonald'spresentpositiontowardsacceptance oftheSupernatural.Sowhileheisnotyetintheclassofone ofthegenuine12disciplesofOurLord,heisatleastacandi- date;perhapswecancalhimthe13thdisciple. . . Macdonaldhascomealongway.Weshalnotindulgein moralisms:eachcandrawforhimselftheappropriateconclusion.ThecorrelationoftheflightfromMarxismofMac- donaldandhisfriendswiththepresentperiodofreactionis obviousenough.Butitwilldeceiveonlythosewhowishto bedeceived;onlythosewhowishtofindrationalizationsto withdrawfromthestrugglewhichcontinuestofacehuman- ity,theonlywayinlifewhichgivesanypromiseforthe futureanddignityforthepresent:thestruggleforSocialism. AndDwightMacdonald,forallhissubjectivesincerityand Socialistinclination,haswithdrawnfromthatstruggle. IRVINGHOWE t t ReplybyD.M.: Toreplyinanydetailtomycriticswouldmeanwriting anotherarticleaslongas"TheRootIsMan"Godforbid andindeedtoalargeextentsayingthesamethingsallover. ii n i I Ule%./
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