In Siberia—Literary Clubs ?

Eliot who had an object "my aim is to help define the word culture" confined himself to the world he knew .the world of the West N.G. has to point a moral and he therefore lectures on the superior position of the communist artist. It is not necessary to comment on the statement that "every town has its theatre, its library, its orchestra, its writers, artists, musicians."

Professor Rhodes is quoted to support censorship. The so-called censorship of literature, music and art was precisely the effective control of the reader over the writer, the audience over the artist. The control in the U.S.S.R. is made more explicit (note there are no concrete facts). "The ordinary citizen reads every notable Soviet book that appears." No comment necessary. "They talk about it, write to their papers about it, and finally invite the writer to discuss it with them.....When the controversy is at its height it is the habit of responsible Russian political organs, following a lead from cultural organisations to sum up the discussion and give judgment."

N.G. does not say so but we infer that this judgment by a political organ is final. Shades of "1984." Everything we suppose is Marxist or non-Marxist. We are reminded of another type of dictator kultur in which everything was Aryan or non-Aryan.