Witness

I am re-reading Whittaker Chambers' Witness, the best autobiography I have ever encountered. The drama of the man's life was his accession to, then flight from, the American Communist party underground. It seems to have the lugubrious tone appropriate to this election season. I will be excerpting it as I go. This from the first page, as he describes decidingt to break with Communism:

I wanted my wife to realize clearly one long-term penalty, for herself and for the children, of the step I was taking. I said, "You know, we are leaving the winning world for the losing world." I meant that, in the revolutionary conflict of the 20th century, I knowingly chose the side of probable defeat...But nothing has changed my determination to act as if I were wrong -- if only because, in the last instance, men must act on what they believe right, not on what they believe probable.

Fortifying words for a pessimistic conservative.

Mao the Uebermensch

I am reading Mao: The Unknown Story, and I think it's great. Because of its 600+ page length, however, you might want to take a pass, but I'll summarize. I think the following quotation from a 24 year-old Mao gives explanation to the entirety of his career:

I do not agree with the view that to be moral, the motive of one's action has to be benefiting others. Morality does not have to be defined in relation to others...People like me want to .... satisfy our hearts to the full, and in doing so we automatically have the most valuable moral codes. Of course there are people and objects in teh world, but they are all there only for me.