Personal influences

Excerpts from a 1987 interview

Noam Chomsky interviewed by James Peck
Sorce! "he Chomsky #eader $Pantheon% 1987&
'(ES")*N! +o,ve rare-y written mch on the kinds of experiences that -ed to yor
po-itics% even tho.h% it seems to me% they may have been deep-y formed and inf-enced
by yor back.rond/
C0*1S2+! No/ ),ve not tho.ht abot it a .reat dea-///
'(ES")*N! 3or examp-e% ) am strck by how se-dom yo mention -iteratre% c-tre%
c-tre in the sense of a str..-e to find a-ternative forms of -ife thro.h artistic means4
rare-y a nove- that has inf-enced yo/ 5hy is this so6 5ere there some works that did
inf-ence yo6
C0*1S2+! *f corse% there have been% bt it is tre that ) rare-y write abot these
matters/ ) am not writin. abot myse-f% and these matters don,t seem partic-ar-y pertinent
to the topics ) am addressin./ "here are thin.s that ) resonate to when ) read% bt ) have a
fee-in. that my fee-in.s and attitdes were -ar.e-y formed prior to readin. -iteratre/ )n
fact% ),ve been a-ways resistant conscios-y to a--owin. -iteratre to inf-ence my be-iefs
and attitdes with re.ard to society and history/
'(ES")*N! +o once said% 7)t is not n-ike-y that -iteratre wi-- forever .ive far deeper
insi.ht into what is sometimes ca--ed ,the f-- hman person, than any modes of scientific
in8iry may hope to do/7
C0*1S2+! "hat,s perfect-y tre and ) be-ieve that/ ) wo-d .o on to say it,s not on-y
n-ike-y% bt it,s a-most certain/ 9t sti--% if ) want to nderstand% -et,s say% the natre of
China and its revo-tion% ) o.ht to be catios abot -iterary renditions/ :ook% there,s no
8estion that as a chi-d% when ) read abot China% this inf-enced my attitdes ;;
Rickshaw Boy% for examp-e/ "hat had a powerf- effect when ) read it/ )t was so -on. a.o
) don,t remember a thin. abot it except the impact/ <nd ) don,t dobt that% for me%
persona--y% -ike anybody% -ots of my perceptions were hei.htened and attitdes chan.ed
by -iteratre over a broad ran.e ;; 0ebrew -iteratre% #ssian -iteratre% and so on/ 9t
-timate-y% yo have to face the wor-d as it is on the basis of other sorces of evidence
that yo can eva-ate/ :iteratre can hei.hten yor ima.ination and insi.ht and
nderstandin.% bt it sre-y doesn,t provide the evidence that yo need to draw
conc-sions and sbstantiate conc-sions/
'(ES")*N! 9t it mi.ht be very inf-entia- in makin. one sensitive to areas of hman
experience otherwise not even asked abot/
C0*1S2+! Peop-e certain-y differ% as they sho-d% in what kinds of thin.s make their
minds work/
'(ES")*N! +o seem a -itt-e reticent abot it/
C0*1S2+! 5e--% ),m reticent becase ) don,t rea--y fee- ) can draw any ti.ht
connections/ ) can think of thin.s that ) read that had a powerf- effect on me% bt
whether they chan.ed my attitdes and nderstandin. in any strikin. or crcia- way% )
can,t rea--y say/
'(ES")*N! 5hat kind of schoo-s did yo .o to as a chi-d6
C0*1S2+! ) was sent to an experimenta- pro.ressive schoo- from infancy% before ) was
two% nti- abot twe-ve years o-d% nti- hi.h schoo-% at which point ) went into the
academic% co--e.e;oriented schoo- in the city/
'(ES")*N! )n New +ork6
C0*1S2+! )n Phi-ade-phia/ "hat experience% both the ear-y experience in the
pro.ressive schoo- and the -ater experience in the academica--y oriented hi.h schoo-% e-ite
hi.h schoo-% was very instrctive/ 3or examp-e% it wasn,t nti- ) was in hi.h schoo- that )
knew ) was a .ood stdent/ "he 8estion had never arisen/ ) was very srprised when )
.ot into hi.h schoo- and discovered that ) was .ettin. a-- <,s and that was spposed to be
a bi. dea-/ "hat 8estion had never arisen in my entire edcation/ )n fact% every stdent in
the schoo- ) had previos-y attended was re.arded as somehow bein. a very sccessf-
stdent/ "here was no sense of competition% no rankin. of stdents/ )t was never anythin.
even to think abot/ )t =st never came p that there was a 8estion of how yo were
ranked re-ative to other stdents/ 5e--% anyway% at this partic-ar schoo-% which was
essentia--y a >eweyite schoo- and ) think a very .ood one% =d.in. from my experience%
there was a tremendos premim on persona- creativity% not in the sense of s-appin.
paints on paper% bt doin. the kind of work and thinkin. that yo were interested in/
)nterests were encora.ed and chi-dren were encora.ed to prse their interests/ "hey
worked =oint-y with others or by themse-ves/ )t was a -ive-y atmosphere% and the sense
was that everyone was doin. somethin. important/
)t wasn,t that they were a hi.h-y se-ect .rop of stdents/ )n fact% it was the sa- mixtre
in sch a schoo-% with some .ifted stdents and some prob-em chi-dren who had dropped
ot of the pb-ic schoo-s/ 9t neverthe-ess% at -east as a chi-d% that was the sense that one
had ;; that% if competin. at a--% yo were competin. with yorse-f/ 5hat can ) do6 9t no
sense of strain abot it and certain-y no sense of re-ative rankin./ ?ery different from
what ) notice with my own chi-dren% who as far back as the second .rade knew who was
7smart7 and who was 7dmb%7 who was hi.h;tracked and who was -ow;tracked/ "his was
a bi. isse/
5e--% then ) .ot to hi.h schoo-% the academic hi.h schoo- in the pb-ic schoo- system%
which was spposed to be a very .ood hi.h schoo-% and it was a rea- shocker/ 3or one
thin.% as ) said% there was the shock of discoverin. that ) was a .ood stdent% which had
never occrred to me before/ <nd then there was the who-e system of presti.e and va-e
that went a-on. with that/ <nd the intense competitiveness and re.imentation/ )n fact% )
can remember a -ot abot e-ementary schoo-% the work ) did% what ) stdied and so on/ )
remember virta--y nothin. abot hi.h schoo-/ )t,s a-most an abso-te b-ank in my
memory apart from the emotiona- tone% which was 8ite ne.ative/
)f ) think back abot my experience% there,s a dark spot there/ "hat,s what schoo-in.
.enera--y is% ) sppose/ )t,s a period of re.imentation and contro-% part of which invo-ves
direct indoctrination% providin. a system of fa-se be-iefs/ 9t more important-y% ) think% is
the manner and sty-e of preventin. and b-ockin. independent and creative thinkin. and
imposin. hierarchies and competitiveness and the need to exce-% not in the sense of doin.
as we-- as yo can% bt doin. better than the next person/ Schoo-s vary% of corse% bt )
think that those featres are commonp-ace/ ) know that they,re not necessary% becase% for
examp-e% the schoo- ) went to as a chi-d wasn,t -ike that at a--/
) think schoo-s co-d be rn 8ite different-y/ "hat wo-d be very important% bt ) rea--y
don,t think that any society based on athoritarian hierarchic instittions wo-d to-erate
sch a schoo- system for -on./ <s Sam 9ow-es and 0erb @intis have pointed ot% it mi.ht
be to-erated for the e-ite% becase they wo-d have to -earn how to think and create and so
on% bt not for the mass of the pop-ation/ "here are ro-es that the pb-ic schoo-s p-ay in
society that can be very destrctive/
'(ES")*N! 5hat was yor co--e.e experience -ike6
C0*1S2+! ) was probab-y -cky in that respect/ ) never rea--y went to co--e.e/ ) did
fina--y .et a Ph/>% and ) did .o thro.h the first two years of co--e.e% bt after that ) did
not rea--y attend co--e.e% bt after that% ) did not rea--y attend co--e.e in the norma-
manner/
) attended the (niversity of Pennsy-vania% -ivin. at home% of corse% which meant severa-
hors commtin.% and workin.% main-y teachin. 0ebrew schoo- afternoons and Snday%
sometimes evenin.s as we--/ "here was no tho.ht in those days of attendin. co--e.e in
any other way in or circ-es% and no financia- means to do so/ "he first two years of
co--e.e were pretty mch an extension of hi.h schoo-% except in one respect/ ) entered
with a .ood dea- of enthsiasm and expectations that a-- sorts of fascinatin. prospects
wo-d open p% bt these did not srvive -on.% except in a few cases ;; an excitin.
freshman corse with C/ 5est Chrchman in phi-osophy% for examp-e% and corses in
<rabic that ) took and became 8ite immersed in% in part ot of po-itica- interests% in part
ot of an interest in Semitic -in.istics that derives from my father,s work in that area%
and in part thro.h the inf-ence of @ior.io :evi >e--a ?ida% an antifascist exi-e from
)ta-y who was a marve-os person as we-- as an otstandin. scho-ar/ <t the end of two
years% ) was p-annin. to drop ot to prse my own interests% which were then -ar.e-y
po-itica-/ "his was 19A7% and ) had =st trned ei.hteen/ ) was deep-y interested% as ) had
been for some years% in radica- po-itics with an anarchist or -eft;win. $anti;:eninist&
1arxist f-avor% and even more deep-y invo-ved in Bionist affairs and activities ;; or what
was then ca--ed 7Bionist%7 tho.h the same ideas and concerns are now ca--ed 7anti;
Bionist/7 ) was interested in socia-ist% binationa-ist options for Pa-estine% and in the
kibbtCim and the who-e cooperative -abor system that had deve-oped in the Jewish
sett-ement there $the +ishv&% bt had never been ab-e to become c-ose to Bionist yoth
.rops that shared these interests becase they were either Sta-inist or "rotskyite and )
a-ways been stron.-y anti;9o-shevik/ 5e sho-d bear in mind that in the -atter sta.es of
the >epression% when ) was .rowin. p% these were very -ive-y isses/
) intended to drop ot of co--e.e and to prse these interests/ "he va.e ideas ) had at
the time were to .o to Pa-estine% perhaps to to a kibbtC% to try to become invo-ved in
efforts at <rab;Jewish cooperation within a socia-ist framework% opposed to the deep-y
antidemocratic concept of a Jewish state $a position that was considered we-- within the
mainstream of Bionism&/ "hro.h these interests% ) happened to meet Be--i. 0arris% a
rea--y extraordinary person who had a .reat inf-ence on many yon. peop-e in those
days/ 0e had a coherent nderstandin. of this who-e ran.e of isses % which ) -acked% and
) was immense-y attracted by it% and by him persona--y as we--% a-so by others who ) met
thro.h him/ 0e happened to be one of the -eadin. fi.res in modern -in.istics% teachin.
at the (niversity of Pennsy-vania/ 0is interests were very broad% -in.istics bein. on-y a
sma-- corner of them% and he was a person of nsa- bri--iance and ori.ina-ity/ ) be.an to
take his .radate corses4 in fact the first readin. ) did in -in.istics was the proofs of his
book Methods in Structural Linguistics% which appeared severa- years -ater/ <t his
s..estion% ) a-so be.an to take .radate corses in phi-osophy ;; with Ne-son @oodman%
1orton 5hite% and others ;; and mathematics ;; with Nathan 3ine ;; fie-ds in which ) had
no back.rond at a--% bt which ) fond fascinatin.% in part% no dobt% thanks to nsa--y
stim-atin. teachers/ ) sppose 0arris had it in my mind to inf-ence me to retrn to
co--e.e% tho.h ) don,t reca-- ta-kin. abot it% partic-ar-y% and it a-- seemed to happen
withot mch p-annin./
<nyway% it worked% bt ) had a hi.h-y nconventiona- co--e.e experience/ "he -in.istics
department consisted of a sma-- nmber of .radate stdents% and in 0arris, c-ose circ-e% a
very sma-- .rop that shared po-itica- and other interests apart from -in.istics% and was
8ite a-ienated from the .enera- co--e.e atmosphere/ )n fact% or 7c-asses7 were .enera--y
he-d in the 0orn D 0ardart restarant across the street or in 0arris, apartment in
Princeton or New +ork% a--;day sessions that ran.ed wide-y over 8ite a variety of topics
and were inte--ecta--y excitin. as we-- as persona--y very meanin.f- experiences/ ) had
a-most no contact with the niversity% apart from these connections/ ) was by then very
deep-y immersed in -in.istics% phi-osophy% and -o.ic% and received $hi.h-y
nconventiona-& 9/</ and 1/</ de.rees/
Ne-son @oodman recommended me for the Society of 3e--ows at 0arvard% and ) was
admitted in 19E1/ "hat carried a stipend% and was the first time ) co-d devote myse-f to
stdy and research withot workin. on the side/ 5ith the resorces of 0arvard avai-ab-e
and no forma- re8irements% it was a wonderf- opportnity/ ) did technica--y receive a
Ph/>/ from Penn in 19EE% sbmittin. a chapter of a book ) was then workin. on ;; it was
8ite nconventiona-% so mch so that a-tho.h pretty mch comp-eted in 19EE;EF% it
wasn,t pb-ished nti- 197E as the Logical Structure of Linguistic Theory% and then on-y
in part/ 9t ) hadn,t acta--y been there since 19E1 and had no contact with the niversity
apart from 0arris and @oodman/ So my co--e.e experience was nsa- to say the -east/
'(ES")*N! 5as it after co--e.e that yo went to -ive on a kibbtC in )srae-6
C0*1S2+! ) went for a few months when ) was at the Society of 3e--ows% in 19EG/ "he
kibbtC where we -ived% which was abot twenty years o-d% was then very poor/ "here
was very -itt-e food% and work was hard/ 9t ) -iked it very mch in many ways/
<bstractin. it from context% this was a fnctionin. and very sccessf- -ibertarian
commnity% so ) fe-t/ <nd ) fe-t it wo-d be possib-e to find some mixtre of inte--ecta-
and physica- work/
) came c-ose to retrnin. there to -ive% as my wife very mch wanted to do at the time/ )
had nothin. partic-ar-y attractive here/ ) didn,t expect to be ab-e to have an academic
career% and was not partic-ar-y interested in one/ "here was no ma=or drive to stay/ *n
the other hand% ) did have a -ot of interest in the kibbtC and ) -iked it very mch when )
was there/ 9t there were thin.s ) didn,t -ike% too/ )n partic-ar% the ideo-o.ica- conformity
was appa--in./ ) don,t know if ) co-d have srvived -on. in that environment becase )
was very stron.-y opposed to the :eninist ideo-o.y% as we-- as the .enera- conformism%
and neasy ;; -ess so than ) sho-d have been ;; abot the the exc-siveness and the racist
instittiona- settin./
5hat ) did not then face honest-y was the fair-y obvios fact that these are Jewish
instittions and are so becase of -e.a- and administrative strctres and practice/ So% for
examp-e% ) dobt if there,s an <rab in any kibbtC% and there hard-y co-d be% becase of
the -and -aws and the ro-e the instittion p-ays in the )srae-i system/ )n fact% even the
*rienta- Jews% some of whom were mar.ina--y at the kibbtC or in the immi.rant town
nearby% were treated rather shabbi-y% with a .ood dea- of contempt and fear/ ) a-so visited
some <rab vi--a.es% and -earned some np-easant thin.s% which ),ve never seen in print%
abot the mi-itary administration to which <rab citiCens were sb=ected/
Now ) had some fair-y stron. fee-in.s abot a-- of that at the time/ )n fact% as ) mentioned%
) was very stron.-y opposed to the idea of a Jewish state back in 19A7;A8/ ) fe-t sre that
the socia-ist instittions of the +ishv ;; the pre;state Jewish sett-ement in Pa-estine ;;
wo-d not srvive the state system% as they wo-d become inte.rated into a sort of state
mana.ement and that wo-d destroy the aspects of the +ishv that ) fond most
attractive/
9t% if we abstract away from those factors% the externa- environment% it was a kind of
anarchist commnity/
'(ES")*N! 5hat did yo do on the kibbtC6 >id yo find the inte--ecta- -ife
stim-atin.6 <nd why did yo -eave6
C0*1S2+! #emember that ) was on-y there for abot six weeks/ ) was comp-ete-y
nski--ed% so ) was doin. on-y nski--ed a.ric-tra- work% nder the .idance of kibbtC
members/ ) acta--y en=oyed the work very mch% tho.h for how -on. ) wo-d have% )
don,t know/ <s for inte--ecta- -ife% this kibbtC was 9berite in ori.in% main-y @erman
Jews who were 8ite we--;edcated tho.h one of the peop-e ) came to know best was a
Christian immi.rant who had -eft a -ar.e farm he owned in #hodesia ot of hatred for the
racist society there% and who was rea--y a first;c-ass a.ronomist with many interestin.
ideas/ "here were very interestin. peop-e there% bt it was srrea- in some ways/ "his was
19EG% at the time of the S-ansky tria-s in CCechos-ovakia and the -ast sta.es of Sta-inist
-nacy/ "hese -ate Sta-in pr.es had a stron. anti;Semitic e-ement% bt peop-e there
acta--y defended them/ "hey even defended the tria- of a fe--ow kibbtC member who
was an emissary of the kibbtC movement there and was char.ed with bein. a spy% which
they knew to be fa-se/ Not a-- did% of corse/ "hose who tho.ht abot these thin.s ;;
many did not ;; were orthodox 1arxist;:eninists% and ) co-d discern no visib-e departre
from a fair-y ri.id party -ine% tho.h there may we-- have been mch that ) never saw/
)t was a short visit% and ) retrned to 0arvard% p-annin. to come back% maybe to stay% in a
few years/ 1y term at the Society of 3e--ows was spposed to end in 19EA% bt ) had no
=ob prospects and asked for a year,s extension% which ) received/ 1y wife% meanwhi-e%
went back to the kibbtC for a -on.er visit/ 5e p-anned then to retrn to stay% bt by then )
had obtained a research position at 1)" and was very mch invo-ved in my own
-in.istic work/ 3or one reason or another% withot any partic-ar conscios decision at
any point% we never did retrn/
'(ES")*N! 5ere yo active in po-itica- or.aniCations in ear-ier years in the (nited
States6
C0*1S2+! ) didn,t have any affi-iation to any .rop% the Bionist -eft or e-sewhere/
Part-y it was that ),m not mch of a 7=oiner%7 ) .ess/ 3rthermore% every or.aniCation that
) knew of% on the -eft at -east% was :eninist% either Sta-inist or "rotskyite/ ) was a-ways
very anti;:eninist% and ) simp-y didn,t know of any .rop at a-- that shared my views/
"his was tre of the Bionist -eft% and of mch of the <merican -eft at the time% as far as )
knew/ "his is the ear-y forties that we,re ta-kin. abot/ 'ite frank-y% ) didn,t see any
si.nificant difference between the "rotskyites and the Sta-inists% except that the
"rotskyites had -ost/ "hey of corse saw a bi. difference/ "here are some differences% bt
basica--y ) tho.ht they were exa..erated/ "hat,s what ) fe-t at the time% and ) sti-- do fee-
that essentia--y/ So there was no .rop that ) knew of that ) co-d have had any affi-iation
with/ 9t ) was persona--y very invo-ved in -ots of thin.s that were happenin./
'(ES")*N! >id yo come ot of a po-itica- fami-y6 5as po-itics somethin. that was
discssed within the fami-y6
C0*1S2+! 5e--% my immediate fami-y% my parents% were norma- #ooseve-t >emocrats%
and very mch invo-ved with Jewish affairs% deep-y Bionist and interested in Jewish
c-tre% the reviva- of 0ebrew% and .enera--y the c-tra- Bionism that had its ori.ins in
the ideas of peop-e -ike <had 0a,am% bt increasin.-y% in mainstream Bionism/ "he next
ran.e of fami-y% nc-es and cosins and so on% was in part Jewish workin. c-ass% or
arond that kind of socia- .rop/ < nmber of them were Commnists% or c-ose to sch
circ-es% very mch invo-ved in the po-itics of the >epression period/ )n partic-ar% one
nc-e who had a -ot of inf-ence on me in the -ate thirties and -ater% had a newsstand in
New +ork which was sort of a radica- center/ 5e,d han. ot a-- ni.ht and have
discssions and ar.ments% there or in his sma-- apartment nearby/ "he .reat moments of
my -ife in those years were when ) co-d work at the newsstand at ni.ht and -isten to a--
this/
'(ES")*N! 5hat part of the city was that in6
C0*1S2+! "hat was at the kiosk at Seventy;second Street and 9roadway% if it,s sti--
there/ "here sed to be for newsstands there/ "here were two on the way that most
peop-e -eft the sbway station% which was to Seventy;second Street/ <nd there were two
on the other side% where few peop-e ever -eft/ 0e had one of those/ )t was very excitin.
inte--ecta--y% bt ) .ess they didn,t make mch money se--in. newspapers/ )n the -ate
thirties% it became a center for some Eropean emi.res and others% and it was 8ite -ive-y/
0e had been thro.h a -ot of the 1arxist sectarian po-itics ;; Sta-inist% "rotskyite% non;
:eninist sects of one sort or another/ ) was =st be.innin. to -earn abot a-- of that/ )t was
a very -ive-y inte--ecta- commnity/
"he Jewish workin.;c-ass c-tre in New +ork was very nsa-/ )t was hi.h-y
inte--ecta-% very poor4 a -ot of peop-e had no =obs at a-- and others -ived in s-ms and so
on/ 9t it was a rich and -ive-y inte--ecta- c-tre! 3red% 1arx% the 9dapest Strin.
'artet% -iteratre% and so forth/ "hat was% ) think% the most inf-entia- inte--ecta- c-tre
drin. my ear-y teens/
'(ES")*N! 5ere yo a-so bro.ht p in certain aspects of the Jewish c-tra-
traditions6
C0*1S2+! ) was deep-y immersed in that/ )n fact% ) probab-y did more readin. in that
area than any other nti- ) was maybe fifteen or sixteen/
'(ES")*N! +o rare-y draw on it in yor pb-ic writin.s/ <re there reasons for that6
C0*1S2+! No% it didn,t seem to be partic-ar-y re-evant/ )t,s there% ) mean% it certain-y
had a .ood amont of inf-ence on me/ 3or examp-e% the bri--iant nineteenth;centry
+iddish;0ebrew writer 1ende-e 1ocher Sfarim% who wrote abot Jewish -ife in Eastern
Erope% had tremendos instinct and nderstandin. )t cheapens it to ca-- it pro-etarian
-iteratre% bt it .ave a kind of nderstandin. of the -ives of the poor with a mixtre of
hmor and sympathy and cynicism that is 8ite remarkab-e/ ) a-so read fair-y wide-y in
the works of the nineteenth;centry 0ebrew renaissance ;; nove-s% stories% poetry% essays/
) can,t say what -on.;term effect this readin. had on me/ )t certain-y had an emotiona-
impact/
'(ES")*N! "here seem to be in yor thinkin. certain insi.hts abot society and
inte--ecta-s that span the corse of yor ad-t -ife/ So mch so that yo are not srprised
by what often seems to shock others/ +o are not shocked when inte--ecta-s perform
certain ideo-o.ica- fnctions ;; yo expect this of them/ +o are not srprised when
<merican power operates by c-oakin. itse-f in an idea-istic .arb to concea- its prsit of
varios interests ;; yo expect it of sch power/ <nd so on/ +or insi.hts seem -ess
derived initia--y from pro-on.ed historica- observation than a sense of how thin.s are
expected to operate/
C0*1S2+! ) .ess ) =st a-ways assmed it/ )t seems to me to fo--ow from the simp-est
and most ncontroversia- assmptions abot motivation and interests and the strctre of
power/
'(ES")*N! <nd yet in some ways those assmptions are at the heart of what otra.es
individa-s abot yor tho.hts and writin./ "hey have to be dismissed becase if peop-e
were to confront them% they,d have to write different-y abot the (nited States/
C0*1S2+! 5e--% it,s interestin. that it doesn,t enra.e anyone when ) say this abot
enemies of the (nited States/ "hen it,s obvios/ 5hat otra.es them is when ) try to show
how these patterns a-so exhibited in or own society% as they are/ )f ) were ta-kin. to a
.rop of #ssian inte--ecta-s% they wo-d be otra.ed that ) fai-ed to see the idea-ism
and commitment to peace and brotherhood of the #ssian state/ "hat,s the way
propa.anda systems fnction/
'(ES")*N! 9t do yo wonder why so many share sch assmptions ;; and yo do
not6
C0*1S2+! 5e--% maybe part of the reason is that in a certain sense ) .rew p in an a-ien
c-tre% in the Jewish;Bionist c-tra- tradition% in an immi.rant commnity in a sense%
tho.h of corse others reacted to the same conditions 8ite different-y/ ) sppose ) am
a-so a chi-d of the >epression/ Some of my ear-iest memories% which are very vivid% are
of peop-e se--in. ra.s at or door% of vio-ent po-ice strikebreakin.% and other >epression
scenes/ 5hatever the reasons may be% ) was very mch affected by events of the 19GHs%
the Spanish Civi- 5ar% for examp-e% tho.h ) was bare-y -iterate/ "he first artic-e ) wrote
was an editoria- in the schoo- newspaper on the fa-- of 9arce-ona% a few weeks after my
tenth birthday/ "he rise of naCism a-so made a deep impression% intensified perhaps
becase we were practica--y the on-y Jewish fami-y in a bitter-y anti;Semitic )rish and
@erman Catho-ic nei.hborhood in which there was open spport for the NaCis nti-
>ecember 19A1/
'(ES")*N! +et the 7New +ork inte--ecta-s7 have become prime exponents of a
vir-ent anticommnism that denies a-most a-- the insi.hts yo start with as 7common
sense/7
C0*1S2+! )n part% ) think% a.e maybe was a -cky accident in my case/ ) was =st a
-itt-e too yon. to have ever faced the temptation of bein. a committed :eninist% so )
never had any faith to renonce% or any fee-in. of .i-t or betraya-/ ) was a-ways on the
side of the -osers ;; the Spanish anarchists% for examp-e/
'(ES")*N! >o yo -ook back and see this as exceptiona-6
C0*1S2+! *h% yes/ ) a-ways fe-t comp-ete-y ot of tne with a-most everythin. arond
me/ <s ) mentioned% ) never =oined any or.aniCed .rop becase of sharp disa.reement
and skepticism abot them% tho.h emotiona--y ) was drawn to sch yoth .rops as
0ashomer 0atCair% which in those days professed a commitment to socia-ist
binationa-ism in Pa-estine and kibbtC va-es% as we-- as the 0ebraic c-tre that ) was
very mch a part of/
)n fact% ) was rather skeptica- abot the Second 5or-d 5ar/ ) didn,t know anybody who
shared that skepticism% -itera--y not a sin.-e person/ 9t ) sed to .o to the Phi-ade-phia
pb-ic -ibrary ;; this mst have been 19AA or 19AE% when ) was abot fifteen or sixteen ;;
to read sectarian -eftist -iteratre of a very stran.e natre/ 3or examp-e% .rops -ike the
1ar-enites% who probab-y yo,ve never heard of% who were tryin. to show that the war
was a phony war% that it was simp-y a war desi.ned by the capita-ists of the 5est% actin.
in con=nction with the state capita-ists of the Soviet system to try to destroy the
pro-etarians of Erope/ ) never rea--y be-ieved the thesis% bt ) fond it intri.in. eno.h
to try to fi.re ot what they were ta-kin. abot/ Eno.h ran. tre to make me very
skeptica- abot mch of the patriotic interpretation of the war/ ) a-so reca-- bein. appa--ed
by the treatment of @erman P*5s/ 3or some reason% there were some in a camp ri.ht
next to my hi.h schoo-% and it was considered the red;b-ooded 7thin.;to;do7 to tant them
across the barbed wire/ "hat strck me as dis.racef- at the time% tho.h ) was mch
more of a committed anti;NaCi than the kids en.a.in. in this sport/ ) reca-- bitter
ar.ments abot it/
) remember on the day of the 0iroshima bombin.% for examp-e% ) remember that )
-itera--y co-dn,t ta-k to anybody/ "here was nobody/ ) =st wa-ked off by myse-f/ ) was at
a smmer camp at the time% and ) wa-ked off into the woods and stayed a-one for a cop-e
of hors when ) heard abot it/ ) co-d never ta-k to anyone abot it and never nderstood
anyone,s reaction/ ) fe-t comp-ete-y iso-ated/
<s for the thin.s that ) was invo-ved in direct-y% -ike the Bionist isses a.ain% the position
that ) he-d% whi-e ) wo-dn,t say ) was the on-y person in the wor-d to ho-d it% neverthe-ess
it was very far from the mainstream/ )t was a position that did have some standin. and
some spport in the Bionist movement/ 9t it was a-so one that was distinct from those of
any of the existin. movements% except for ones that were Sta-inist or "rotskyite% therefore
ot for me% so ) co-dn,t =oin in/ ) don,t know how far back it .oes/ 9t% anyway% ever
since ) had any po-itica- awareness% ),ve fe-t either a-one or part of a tiny minority/