Ehrenreich on fun

[Brad De Long]

>This is not a defense of Lenin, Mao, etc.; it is a tired frustration and
>bemusement at our ([Ehrenreich's], in this case) collective ignorance
>about these
>histories.  Contemporary accounts of Lenin (and to a lesser extent of
>Trotsky) depict him as a warm, humane, and inspiring fellow (c.f.
>Lunacharsky, Gorky, Mayakovsky

Hmmm....

Maxim Gorky reports a short monologue he once heard from Lenin:

	"I know nothing that is greater than the Appassionata

	[by Beethoven,]; I'd like to listen to it every day

	[Lenin said]. It is marvelous superhuman music. I

	always think with pride--perhaps it is naive of me--

	what marvelous things human beings can do!

	"But I can't listen to music too often. It affects your

	nerves, makes you want to say stupid nice things, and

	stroke the heads of people who could create such

	beauty while living in this vile hell. And now you

	must not stroke anyone's head: you might get your

	hand bitten off. You have to hit them on the head,

	without any mercy, although our ideal is not to use

	force against anyone.

	"Hm, hm, our duty is infernally hard."

Fun guy...

Brad DeLong