On the Dangers of Being a Radical

One of Harold Laski’s best essays concerned the dangers of being a gentleman. His own career, by contrast, is in great part a demonstration of the dangers of being a radical. For Laski was always a radical, even in the early days when his most significant theoretical and constitutional studies were made. And he always remained a constitutionalist, even in the later days when he grew uncomfortably tolerant of Stalinism. Laski’s radicalism was not only developed in his writings, it was also acted out in his career. This close relation between his theories and the problems of the day turned much of his writing into highly perishable polemics. However, this defect carries with it associated virtues, for when we are in doubt about the real meaning of one of Harold Laski’s theories, we can often turn to the problems he was dealing with at the time and find decisive explication in his actions.

To read the Laski correspondence with great men of affairs: FDR, Church...