A Passion for Ideas

I cannot see how the stigma of color will be erased unless color does in fact disappear: and that means not integration, it means assimilation, it means--let the brutal word come out --miscegenation.

--Norman Podhoretz

The ultimate resistance to Negro demands, I am convinced--certainly among Jews, but not Jews alone--is that they pose a serious threat to the ability of other groups to maintain their communities.

--Nathan Glazer

I believe that the Negro's struggle for equality in America is essentially revolutionary. While most Negroes unquestionably seek only to enjoy the fruits of American society as it now exists, their quest cannot objectively be satisfied within the framework of existing political and economic relations.

--Bayard Rustin

Such varied and provocative approaches to burning social issues are commonplace in Commentary, one of the leading intellectual publications in the U.S. Since its founding in 1945, the monthly magazine has consistently displayed a rigorous self-analysis, a passion for ideas, a stubborn sense of responsibility. All this is amply evident in the new Commentary Reader, edited by Norman Podhoretz (Atheneum; $12.50), a selection of some of the magazine's best articles written by some of the era's shrewdest minds: Sidney Hook, Lionel Trilling, Edmund Wilson, George Lichtheim, Daniel Bell. The book also contains a sampling of Commentary short stories (Saul Bellow, Bernard Malamud, Wallace Markfield), which invariably carry a social message.

Awareness of Evil. Despite its sweeping concerns, Commentary is essentially a Jewish magazine. It was started and subsidized by the American Jewish Committee, which was anxious to reaffirm Jewish life and traditions after Hitler. But from the very first issue, Commentary avoided the insularity and defensiveness typical of many Jewish publications. In a revulsion against radical ideology, Editor Eliot Cohen sought out strong individual opinion and refused to tout any political line. In the 1950s, Commentary became a leading exponent of so-called "liberal revisionism," an attempt to make liberal thought less dogmatic, more aware of life's evils, including Communism. In a searching revisionist essay, Critic Leslie Fiedler chided fellow liberals for flocking so thoughtlessly to the defense of Alger Hiss. "Certainly a generation was on trial with Hiss," he wrote, "on trial not, it must be noticed, for having struggled toward a better world, but for having substituted sentimentality for intelligence in that struggle."

When Cohen died in 1959, he was replaced by Norman Podhoretz, who, at 30, was already a well-known literary critic. Podhoretz eliminated anti-Communist articles from Commentary and added some astringent social criticism of the U.S. He was also among the first to publish the writings of the New Left. But he soon grew disenchanted; today he believes that the New Left of the '60s is as misled about Communist totalitarianism as was the Old Left of the '30s. In turn, New Leftists pay him the compliment of calling him a "fink."

As much as ever, Commentary warns of the dangers abroad. "I venture the opinion that the idea 'Hate America' is now more deeply anchored in Chinese minds than 'Hate the Jew' was in German minds at any time," wrote Economist Oscar Gass in a perceptive appraisal of recent U.S.-Chinese relations. Even though he feels U.S. diplomatic recognition of Red China is the realistic thing to do, Gass cautions that the Chinese will not "jump with joy." For 13 years, he writes, the "government of China has devoted its talents to building a wall of misinformation and hatred between the Chinese people and the U.S." Until an effective balance of power is created in Asia, argues Gass, the U.S. must maintain its strength there. "It is perhaps a noble illusion that an honorable peace will come if only we rectify our errors," he concludes. "But it is nevertheless an illusion, and one that can bring death."

Style & Substance. Still operating modestly out of a small Manhattan office with only two assistant editors, Podhoretz commissions most articles himself, although some 5,000 unsolicited manuscripts arrive every year. Over its two decades, Commentary's price per issue has grown from 400 to 750, and its circulation has gradually risen from 14,000 to 57,000. Its annual deficit has been cut from $100,000 in 1963 to $30,000 this year. By the end of 1967, Podhoretz expects to break even. Aimed originally at New York's intellectual community, Commentary now reaches across the country and is widely read in Washington. To his surprise, Podhoretz is courted by politicians; after a four-hour session with President Johnson, he emerged with an impression typical of his magazine's contrariness. "I don't like the substance of all of L.B.J.'s policies," said Podhoretz. "But I certainly like his style."

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