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FREEDOM IS THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE by Archibald MacLeish

FREEDOM IS THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE

By

Publisher: Beacon Press

In a rush of ideals cloaked in a sonorous prose, MacLeish urges his fellow Americans to cling to truth, discard contemptible philosophies, realize the strength of their heritage, imagine- and then- create the right kind of future. In this new series of essays, he discusses -- along with the above theses-poetry and art, how to act in the event of victory, and the fallacy of assuming the inevitability of conflict between capitalism and communism. He does not pretend to come down to earth with discussion of concrete problems or methods, but advances two beliefs:- one that we must cling to what is good, specifically the Jeffersonian democracy, as tools for building the future; the other that we can overlook much of what is bad by being liberal and unafraid. This may provide a lift for those in the morasses of political despair, but for most readers it will seem vague, imageless and tautological.