Quack, Quack
From Dickinson College Wiki
Introduction
Quack, Quack! was written by Leonard Woolf in 1935 and expresses his views on fascism and the current state of governments in Europe.
Carlyle - Fascism
Carlyle:
- Scottish Calvinist
- believed in the necessity of Heroes and hero worship
- blamed the Jewish people for social problems without providing any real evidence
- conducted experiments to prove Jewish inferiority and drew conclusions from assumed ideas
- used hatred and bias to unite
- believed that lesser people needed guidance from their superiors to stay human, if not they would degenerate to animals
What Woolfe says about Fascism:
- relies on charismatic, emotional, passionate leader
- requires that people give up on rational thought and blindly accept the word of the state
- depends on people's primal urges
Smith/Mill branch
- analytical egalitarianism
- language is the indicator of civilization
- no difference between "street porter and philosopher"
- human difference is illustrated through human bestiality
- denies human bestiality, all have same potential
Woolf's oppostion to Carlyle
What Woolfe says about Fascism:
- relies on charismatic, emotional, passionate leader
- requires that people give up on rational thought and blindly accept the word of the state
- depends on people's primal urges
- Jamaica Committee
Woolf's agreements with Smith/Mill
- distrust of intellectuals
