Irving Howe

“To be a Jew is to be in a state of permanent tension between the particular and the universal.”

“The intellectual is a man who speaks with a certain hesitation.”

“In an age of conformism, 'heresy' is the only honourable word.”

“Utopia was a dangerous illusion, but it was also a powerful ideal.”

“The essence of the liberal spirit is to be on guard against those who are found to be too sure of themselves.”

“To be a modernist is to see modern life as a tempting and pointless maze.”

“Socialism is the name of our desire.”

“Politics is the art of choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable.”

“The knowledge that makes us cherish innocence is a knowledge that spoils innocence.”

“The case for democracy is not that it is a guarantee of political virtue but that it supplies a means of fighting the villainy of politics.”

“Mass culture is a dynamic, revolutionary force, breaking down the old barriers of class, tradition, and taste.”

“The great event of the twentieth century is the triumph of the masses.”