Henry C.K. Liu
Brad De Long wrote:
> >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