The Strand Magazine has unearthed another diamond in the rough, this time a rather prescient article by John Steinbeck criticizing McCarthyism, a troubling phenomenon that seems to rear its ugly head time after time, and its constant clash with the political left and American democracy.
In a column for the French weekly magazine La Figaro Littérra, Steinbeck not only points out that McCarthyism poses a serious threat to the country, but also presents the idea that McCarthyism is “simply a new name for something that has existed from the moment when popular government emerged.”
Strand Managing Andrew Gulli sums up this notion nicely: “If history is anything to go by, McCarthyism will eventually pass, then crop up again, only to be defeated yet again, because the American democracy is a work in progress.”
McCarthyism is defined as the practice of making false or unfounded accusations of subversion and treason, typically when related to left-of-center politics and especially when done in a public and attention-grabbing manner. Essentially, this concept is a byname for politically oriented defamation of character, the same type of defamation our modern demagogues sling all too frequently.
Interestingly, at the time of this piece’s release, the legendary Brown v. Board of Education ruling had just been made, wherein the Supreme Court declared the “separate but equal” doctrine unconstitutional, thereby signaling the beginning of the end of segregation in America. In the article, Steinbeck points to this landmark decision as evidence of the so-called inevitable triumph of American democracy:
“It has taken ninety years for the amendment granting equality to the negro, for the Supreme Court to come to the noble anti-segregation decision. During that time there has been struggle and bitterness and experiment, but now it is fixed and cannot slip back. And during that time the improvement for the negro has been slow but it has been constant. Change by decree can never have the permanent effect that trial and error does … In a democracy, laws define, they cannot coerce.”
To give credit where it is due, Steinbeck’s foresight regarding the ebb and flow of McCarthyism and the unyielding spirit of democracy is impressive. As they say, history repeats itself, and all it takes is a look out the window to see the rot of modern McCarthyism and the valor with which we fight back. Ironically, however, Steinbeck’s faith in the notion that change caused by democracy is “fixed and cannot slip back” has proven less than justified, as we’ve seen by such recent events as the overturning of Roe v. Wade, which eliminated the federal constitutional right to abortion this past June.
Gulli notes that the article is as relevant today as it was 70 years ago. While this may be true, the assertions made in the article haven’t held up quite as well. This certainly isn’t Steinbeck’s fault, but it still raises an interesting question — What’s changed? The basic dynamic elucidated by Steinbeck still exists; however, over the past few years, McCarthyism seems to be pulling ahead. Does the problem lie with a failing in American Democracy, an evolution undergone by McCarthyism and those that practice it, or something else entirely?
Read the article, which has been published in the most recent edition of The Strand Magazine and decide for yourself.
