Why did so many distinguished Western Intellectuals--from G.B.
Shaw to J.P. Sartre, and. closer to home, from Edmund Wilson to
Susan Sontag-- admire various communist systems, often in their
most repressive historical phases? How could Stalin's Soviet Union,
Mao's China, or Castro's Cuba appear at one time as both successful
modernizing societies and the fulfillments of the boldest dreams of
social justice? Why, at the same time, had these intellectuals so
mercilessly judged and rejected their own Western, liberal
cultures? What Impulses and beliefs prompted them to seek the
realization of their ideals in distant, poorly known lands? How do
their journeys fit into long-standing Western traditions of looking
for new meaning In the non-Western world?
These are some of the questions Paul Hollander sought to answer
In his massive study that covers much of our century. His success
is attested by the fact that the phrase "political pilgrim" has
become a part of intellectual discourse. Even in the post-communist
era the questions raised by this book remain relevant as many
Western, and especially American intellectuals seek to come to
terms with a world which offers few models of secular fulfillment
and has tarnished the reputation of political Utopias. His new and
lengthy introduction updates the pilgrimages and examines current
attempts to find substitutes for the emotional and political energy
that used to be invested in them.
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