The Choice Of “Comrades “

The editors of DISSENT have, for the most part, had little concern with the parochial quarrels, maneuvers and synthetic “activity” which characterize the life of the few remaining radical groups in America. Our interests have usually been elsewhere; our ideas have moved away from the orbit of ritualistic and hence devitalized versions of Marxism that still prevail in these sects. Certain recent events, however, call for a preliminary comment. We refer to the founding of the “American Forum—for Socialist Education.”

Recognizing as we do that democratic socialists everywhere—particularly since Stalin’s death and the struggles in the satellite world—face the complex and difficult problem of what p...