From: Robert Owen (rowen@technologist.com)
Date: Sun Mar 19 2000 - 19:08:58 MST
Michael S Lorrey wrote:
> You are automatically assuming that the original works of the artist
> were a clear perspective. Orwell never spent any time in a communist
> nation, he only knew what he heard by hanging out with the Cambridge
> bred aristo-communists popular in Britain in the 30's. Ask Sasha
> Chislenko what he thinks...
Without taking any stand on the politics of the case, I must say, Mike,
that the phenomenon you describe can be hilarious. While a graduate
student my favorite chess opponent had inherited enough money to have
just about anything he wanted (except perpetual victory, of course)
including a live-in femme fatale whom I considered the most beautiful
woman in the world. A propos of nothing, her name was "Polly Parrot".
Naturally I was in love with her. "It's just his MONEY" I told myself
over and over again. Perhaps it was.
But my chess friend was a fanatical, card-carrying, belligerent and
"imperialistic" COMMUNIST. Being quite bright, he really *knew* his
Marx, Engels, Smith, Weber, Lenin, Mao and so on. He held forth
in a "Fair Play for Cuba" type Forum on campus, and I nurtured in an
equally expansionist way what I HAD to call "The Nietzsche Study
Group" -- at the time I thought benevolent authoritarianism was a
good thing, all in all, but of course considered myself an authority-
in-residence. We both got over all this, but both took a lot of abuse
and ridicule for our noble causes.
I personally find John le Carre' and his world of George Smiley the
most vivid way of learning about the "Cambridge Communists".
Bob
=======================
Robert M. Owen
Director
The Orion Institute
57 W. Morgan Street
Brevard, NC 28712-3659 USA
=======================
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