Gary Saul Morson, pictured above, is an American literary critic, known for his scholarly work on Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky. Morson is Lawrence B. Dumas Professor of the Arts and Humanities at Northwestern University, and he was previously Chair of the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures at the University of Pennsylvania. Click this link for more information from Wikipedia.
I was struck by a column written by Morson, and published in the May 15, 2024, edition of The Wall Street Journal. The column was titled, "Marxism Is a Gulag of the Mind." Of course, unless you are a subscriber to The Journal, I give you no guarantee that clicking that link will allow you to evade what is likely to be a paywall of some kind, and let you actually read the article. Here, however, I will give you the gist of the column: "The left manipulates politics by inverting the meaning of terms like ‘democracy’ and ‘equity.’"
Morson lays out his case as follows:
The Marxist impulse is always to accuse your opponent of what you are doing or plan to do. It resembles what Freudians call “projection,” except that in Freudian theory projection happens outside the person’s awareness and is governed by an unconscious desire not to recognize one’s own intentions. For the leaders of Marxist and quasi-Marxist movements, the technique of accusing others of one’s own aggressive plans is entirely conscious. Call it “the political projection principle....”
The test of whether a person really believes in freedom is the readiness to protect the freedom of opponents. It’s easy to do when the opponent is mild and honorable, but what Democrat will rise to defend Mr. Trump? They accuse him of harboring authoritarian designs as they prosecute him in several courts so that he can’t campaign, must spend his money defending himself, and may find himself in prison before the voting starts. Arresting potential challengers is what former KGB operative Vladimir Putin routinely does. In Maine and Colorado, Democrats tried to keep the presumptive Republican nominee off the ballot entirely. Who exactly is undermining democracy?
Mr. Trump was charged with planning to curtail democratic freedoms, but the Biden administration pressured social-media platforms to censor even true information about Covid and other sensitive topics. On campuses and in businesses, “equity,” like “true democracy,” has taken the place of its opposite, equality. Rights are for those who accept the new definition of rights; everyone is equal, except those who aren’t. George Orwell grasped this way of thinking perfectly. “War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength,” goes the slogan of “1984.” Today diversity often means uniformity; equity, inequality; and inclusion, exclusion of those who think differently.
The Hamas charter explicitly calls for killing all Jews, but the terror group’s campus supporters, who often harass Jews, accuse Israel of genocide. They call President Biden “Genocide Joe.” No one uses hate speech more often than those who constantly accuse others of using hate speech.... (emphasis added).
I think that Morson makes a valid point. In political arguments, the kind of "political projection" he identifies and complains about is not uncommon. However, it seems to me that Morson evidences the same pathology that he decries in "Marxists," and "leftists," not to mention, impliedly, those who are supporters of our current President and the Democratic Party. I think that Morson's article might have been better titled, "Infections of the Mind." Morson's title suggests that it is only "Marxists," "leftists," and similar political types who are "imprisoned" within a false understanding of reality.
What I think, differing from Morson, is that political debate and disagreements - central to democratic self-government - can all too easily be "infected" with what amounts to the "virus" of "political projection" that he has identified. Morson is infected himself, it seems to me. The critique he makes of those with whom he disagrees politically would apply to himself, and to other "non-Marxists, non-leftists, and non-Democratic Party Members."
In other words, what Morson has identified is not a disease of "the left." He has identified a disease that can (and often does) infect those of all political polarities and persuasions. This disease of "political projection" can be deadly, too. Our worries about what happens after the November election, this year, no matter who wins, is an evidence of just how concerning this kind of infection can really be.
In my mind, the political phenomenon identified by Morson is related to an observation that was frequently made by my mother (I've mentioned her advisory before):
To insure that we achieve the kind of politics we need, free and untrammeled debate is absolutely vital. Our "Founding Fathers" were pretty smart, politically speaking, and the First Amendment is intended to make sure that we don't allow real or projected "catagories" to preempt political discussion on the merits.
Marxists and MAGA advocates both need to be able to speak freely, and one's membership in whatever group should never be allowed to put them in a category which then allows anyone to dismiss or disregard the merits of what they have to say.
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