Albert Camus

Parties and Truth

x. Doyou believe it is still possible to identi[y
the cause o/theTruth with that of a party,
of a state, or o/ any organisation whatsoever?
Do
k you believe that it is still possible to spea
in good[aith, a priori, of a "’campof peace"?
Or do you believe that today such an attitude
represents the gravest form of "abnegation"
of one’s conscience?
If anyone in the world is custodian of the
absolute truth, it is surely not the manor the
party which claims to possess it. As for
historical truth in particular, the more one
claims to possess it, the moreone lies. In the
end, one becomes a butcher of the truth.
The Hungarian insurrection was launched in
the first place against the Big Lie. It was
therefore necessary to assassinate the men
whowere fighting against the lie and then to
try to dishonour them by a bigger lie, by
calling themFascists.
So far as the "campof peace" is concerned,
it wouldbe better to put this question to the
former "partisans of peace" who mobilised
in the StockholmAppeal to outlaw the atomic
weapon. They have now to reconcile their
attitude with Bulganin’s ultimatum threaten-
ing England, France, and Israel with atomic
rockets. The question has to be put to them
for, apparently, they are not putting it to
themselves.
The truth is that no nation has a monopoly
of peace--not even, we know now, the
"neutral" nations of the Orient. The manner
in which these last, the Arab countries (ex-
cept Tunisia),* and especially India--yes, the
India which once was Gandhi’s--betrayed
Hungaryat the same time as their own prin-
ciples puts them hereafter on the same foot-
ing as the other nations. The nations of the
Bandoeng group could have tried to save
a great European nation from slavery and
death. That would have been a recognition
of, and a partial paymentfor, the efforts of
all the free Europeans who pleaded freely
the cause of the colonised peoples. But the
Bandoeng group has become realistic at a
very early age. Apparently adulthood comes
quickly in history. These new nations must
therefore be judged from now on as adults,
solely on their acts, without preconceived
sympathyor antipathy. Andtheir attitude in
the face of the Hungarian massacre is in-
excusable. The future will undoubtedly ex-
pose this self-interested evasion as profitless.
The moral strength which these nations
* So far as AIgeriais concerned,to myknowledge
at least, only the MNA of Messali Hadj has pro-
tested against the Soviet intervention in Hungary,
withoutga’ving way on any of its owndemands.
I amnot awareof any protest fi’om the FLN.

EDI’rOR’SNo’rl~: A[ter the suppressiono/ the Hungarian revolution by the RedArmy,lgnazio

Silone and Nicola Chiaromonte,the editors o~ our Italian contemporary,"TempoPresente,"
asl~edAlbertCamus somequestionsaboutpolitical principlesandpolitical expediency.Wepresent
them here, with M. Camus"answers.

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4 Albert
possessed from the fact that they had been
oppressed in a recent past has been squan-
deredby themin a fewd, ays.
Let us therefore say that there are nowonly
nations whichare moreor less belligerent. It
seems, if I maytake the word of the Pro-
gressist press, that Americahas lately shown
herself less belligerent than Russia. But we
need no one today to point out to us that
Socialism,as well as capitalism, can engender
wars.All that is necessaryis a certain will for
power, and I knowhardly any nation which
lacks it (exceptionmadefor those whichhave
no arms--perhaps). Wedid not knowthis
before for the simple reason that there was
no Socialist state. Nowwe know. "Moral
abdication" is in any case too noble a phrase
to describethe attitude of those whopersisted
in seeing only dovesto the East and vultures
to the West.Blindness,a passionfor slavery,
or a nihilistic admirationof force seemto me
to be moreexact descriptions.
2. Doyou thin k that one should nevertheless
attach moreweightto considerationso[ politi-
cal expediency than to the impulse which
leads us to recognise[actual truth be[ore all
else? 1[ so, what in your opinion is the
criterion o[ expediency?
Cases of expediencyshould be examinedto
determinewhat proportion of truth they con-
tain, what lessons maybe drawn from them
to correct what had been believed accurate
hitherto. But expediencycannot be allowedto
take precedenceover the search for factual
truth. Aboveall, expediencycannotbe allowed
to take precedenceover respect for the truth,
as it is permittedto do by the Communists and
the Left intellectuals whofollow them. For
this systematic relativism leads to the death
of the intelligence and the oppressionof the
worker.Apress, a book, are not true because
they are revolutionary. They have a chance
to be revolutionaryonly if they try to tell the
truth. Onehas a right to believe that the
Truth, with a capital T, is relative. Butfacts
are facts. Andhe whosays that the sky is
blue whenit is grey prostitutes wordsand
opens the wayto tyranny.
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Camus
It is perhaps expedient for a Communist
newspaperto say that all the people df Hun-
gary are Fascists except.Kadar,his police, and
his executioners.Butthe factual truth is that
wehavewitnesseda revolt of workers,intel-
lectuals, and peasants whowantednational
independence and personal liberty. Real
Fascism, to speak plainly, is that of Kadar
and Krushchev,whocrushed a popular revolt
alongwithits soviets.
I confess that I do not understand either
the sense of expediencywhichhas impelled
certain of our Progressist militants, after
having denouncedthe Soviet intervention in
Hungary, to recommendin their congresses
unity of action with the French Communists
whoare still insulting the revolters. This
recommendationcomesat the same time that
Hungarians.are still being hanged(only the
other day a young womanof twenty) and at
a momentwhen a representative of. the
French CommunistParty has declared that
in identical circumstances he wouldaccept
the infliction by the U.S.S.R. on France of
the sametreatment inflicted on Hungary.So
muchacceptance ends by becomingcrushing.
What?Do these militants and Progressists
love so madly the Russians they have never
seen ? No, but they heartily detest a part of
the .French--those whothemselveshated the
others enoughto serve the cause of Hitlerian
victory. If France is to disappear, we may
be certain that she will die poisonedby these
two hates.
3" In the oppositecase, whatcanthe intellec-
tual do today?Is it his duty, in all circum-
stances, to express his [eelings and his
opinionspublicly, to all comers?Org~venthe
gravity of events and the lack of effective
political power, do you thin k he should
simply continue his ownwork as best he can?
It wouldbe-better for the intellectual not
to spendall his timetalking. In the first place,
it will wearhim out--and especially it will
prevent him fromthinking. Heshould create,
if he can, andthat first of all, especiallyif
what he creates does not recoil before the
problemsof his owntimes. But in certain
exceptional circumstances(the Spanishwar,
 Parties and Truth 5
the Hitlerian persecutions and camps, the dence, a prisoner of words, boggeddownin
Stalinian trials and camps, the Hungarian its vocabulary, capable of no other than
revolt) he should permit no ambiguityabout stereotypedanswers, failing consistently to
whichside he has chosen. He should refuse measure up to the reality from which it
aboveall to dilute the effectiveness of his asserts neverthelessthat it derives its laws.
choice by shrewdhair-splittings or prudent The Left is schizophrenicand should undergo
reservations, andshould leave no doubtas to treatment, by pitiless criticism, by using the
his personal intention to defend freedom. heart, by sound reasoning, and by a little
Intellectual groupscan, in certain cases--par- modesty.Until considerableprogresshas been
ticularly whenthe liberty of peoples and of madeon this work of reform, any group
thought is mortally menaced--constitute a action will be useless and even harmful.
force and carry out an action: the Hungarian Meanwhile the rble of the intellectual will lie
intellectuals havejust provedit. However, it in pointing out that the king is nakedwhen
should be noted, for our guidance in the he is naked,andnot in describingecstatically
West,that the constant signing of manifestos his imaginaryrobes.
and of protests is one of the surest waysof However,to makea constructive contribu-
degradingthe effectivenessand the dignity of tion, I would suggest as one of the pre-
intellectuals. There is a permanentpressure liminaries to any future grouping,the accep-
to do this whichwehave all experiencedand tance of the following principle: Noneo[
whichwe must have the courage to resist-- the evils whichtotalitarianism (recognisable
often alone. primarily by a single party and the suppres-
Withthese reservations, it is possible to sion of all opposition) claims to remedyis
favourgroupaction. Butit is first necessary worsethantotalitarianismitsel[.
that we, the Left intellectuals, whohave In conclusion,I believe(as onesays, I be-
already given wayso often and are likely to lieve in God,creator of heavenand earth)
do so again, shouldbeginto analysecritically that the indispensableconditionfor intellec-
the reasoning and the ideology to whichwe tual creation and for historical justice is
have so far subscribed and whoseravages we liberty and the free oppositionof differences
can see in the mostrecent historical develop- of opinion. Withoutliberty, there is no art.
ment. This is our most difficult task. Con- Art lives only by the limits whichit sets for
formism today, it must be admitted, has itself. It dies fromall others. Andwithout
fastenedon the Left. It is true that the Right liberties, there is no Socialismeither, except
is not brilliant. Butthe Left is in full deca- that of the gallows.

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Paul Ignotus

The Revolution of the Word

Poets, Peasants, and Commissarsin Hungary

Pushkin’sverse, to not properly understand-

Bolshevism and Snobbery ing him; but he added that there must be
H E vices of Communism are many, some great merit in works which inspired
T but its doomhas been brought about, highly educatedyouths to fight side by side
in Hungaryat any rate, by its few with illiterate workersagainst the traditions
virtues. The most important of these is of an oppressive past. Like so manyenemies
literary snobbery.It is a virtue that dates from of paganantiquity in the early MiddleAges
the epochwhenits leaders wereintellectuals, whononetheless vindicated Virgil on the
caf~-dwellers,andwell-wisherstoward, if not groundsof those verses which,they said, had
always adherents of, vegetarianism, homo- predicted the birth of the Holy Child, so
sexuality, Esperanto,absinthe, andthe artis- Lenin, the prophet of 2oth-century messian-
tic avantgarde. Lenin, a dreary but sagacious ism, madeevery effort in his powerto save
intellect, loved musicand poetry and wasas from damnationthe i8th- and I9th-century
tolerant about rhymes and tunes as he was Virgils he adored, and also the Virgils-to-be
intolerant about opinions. Andit will be re- of his ownday. Thanks to his gentlemanly
membered how,in the midst of the civil war, and revolutionary upbringing, he was a
he found the time and energyto cajole Gorki, worthy successor of the more enlightened
and ultimately to convince him that the Czars,
horrors conspicuous in Bolshevik behaviour UnderStalin’s rule, and in particular after
wereboth needful and legitimate. His voice, the Second World War, Lenin’s kind of
so sharp and venomoustowards political occasional, fascinated tolerance vanished,but
opponents or even simple workers, simple an odd reverence for Culture continued to
peasants, and simple philosophers (e.g. in haunt the mindof the dictator. Theinfalli-
Marxismand Erapirio-Cr#icism), at once bility of the First Secretaryof the Party was
became as ingratiating and tender as an established and nothing could be exempted
amorousbull whenhe approachedthe repre- fromhis jurisdiction: this applied to music
sentatives of Art and Letters. Theleader of and painting as much as to genetics or
the Russian avant garde was at that time philology. No one wasallowed to doubt that
Mayakovski,a fervent though doubt-ridden Stalin was the greatest philologist in the
Bolshevik (who later committedsuicide). world: it is laid downin so manywordsin
Lenin had but a vagueidea of his talents and the Dispute on the late Professor Marr’s
said so; he confessed, as one brought up on theory of the origin and development of

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