Authoritarians of the “Left”

Authoritarians of the “Left”

In an authoritarian age it is almost inevitable that manipulative and bureaucratic modes of thought should stain the writings of those who oppose society as much as they debase the writings of those who support it. Nor do we speak here of the Stalinists: they are a separate problem. We have in mind many people who begin with more-or-less socialist and democratic premises, yet, by a curious route, end with authoritarian conclusions.

I

The original impetus of 19th...