Quack, Quack
Introduction
Quack, Quack! was written by Leonard Woolf in 1935 and expresses his views on fascism and the current state of governments in Europe. In it he condemns intellectuals such as Carlyle and Sprenger for their influence on Hitler and Mussolini and their respective governments. Woolf places himself in opposition of Hitler and Mussolini by criticizing their fascist governments and their policies directly, but also through his criticisms of Carlyle's writings and stances on religion and racism in particular. It can be determined that he aligns himself more with the views of humanity that John Stuart Mill and Adam Smith take, and also with Mill's socialist leanings. Woolf specifically attacks the language and religion of fascist intellectual quacks.
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
- feudalism- few rule, against democracy
- backed Gov. Eyre
- "proto-fascist... [advocated] compulsory military drilling, the reinstatement of servitude/serfdom for blacks and other "servant" races" [1]
- philosophies closer to romanticism than Calvinism
- accused by Woolf of sadism and simple hatred
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
- humans are humans because they trade
- greatest happiness principle- golden rule
- agreements with evangelicals- but secularized Christianity
- opposed Gov. Eyre's actions
Woolf's oppostion to Carlyle
- appropriation of religious facade
- racism for no reason- make conclusions about Jews
- language of so-called intellectuals (such as Sprenger and Keyserling) marks them as quacks
- dictatorships of Mussolini and Hitler- like oligarchy
- "divine" rulers- like hero-worship
- divinity of king or dictator is primal, to make the people feel better
Woolf's agreements with Smith/Mill
- distrust of so-called intellectuals
- language indicates humanity- the quack intellectuals distort
- against fascism
- against arbitrary racism and persecution of Jews/blacks
- on the side of the Jamaica Committee, uses the example of Gov. Eyre to mock Carlyle
- human potential to become more civilized (although Woolf's comment is that it isn't becoming more civilized)
- rational thought
References
- Levy, David M. 2001. How the dismal science got its name. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
- Peart, Sandra J., and David M. Levy. 2005. The "vanity of the philosopher". Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
- Woolf, Leonard. 1935. Quack, quack!.
