The Radical Papers

"This book is a semi-collective venture: the work, in the main, of a fairly close-knit group composed of fierce individualists. Each of the essays was independently written. Each represents the opinion of its author, for which he alone is responsible. There has been no effort to establish a political or intellectual 'line.' And, in fact, there are considerable disagreements among ourselves.... Yet there is a certain community of experience and outlook behind the making of this book. Most of us regard ourselves as democratic socialists, critical of the status quo, hostile to all forms of dictatorship, committed to a new society. Some of these writers would describe themselves as liberals or radical-liberals in the belief that, at least for America, socialism is irrelevant. But at least half our contributors form a community of friends who for more than a decade have been engaged in political and intellectual collaboration around the magazine Dissent.... We write and act in relation to poverty, civil rights, education, urban renewal, Medicare—a host of immediate problems. At the same time, radical intellectuals seek to connect these problems with the idea of a qualitative transformation of society.... We present here a number of critiques—some containing specific proposals, others not—of contemporary American society. Our hope is thereby to stir people to thought, to controversy, and to action."From Irving Howe'sIntroduction to The Radical Papers