Left Illusions: An Intellectual Odyssey

David Horowitz provides the reader with a unique perspective of political life on both the left and the conservative right. For half of his life he was one of the most prominent American leftists. He helped establish the New Left - a movement that sought to dissociate the socialist dream from the gulags of Stalin - and committed himself in various ways to its cause: organizing the first anti-war rally at Berkeley, editing the left's most definitive periodicals, and aiding such organizations as the Black Panthers. Personal tragedy (the murder of a close friend at the hands of the Black Panther, and the subsequent cover-up by the entire left community) made him deeply question his ideological commtiments, and after a period of several years, he emerged again as a figure of the conservative right. It is a sad fact about the state of political discourse (especially on college campuses) that people of the left automatically brand people of the right as racists, bigots, fascists and sexist pigs. Read this book - it will disabuse you of such preposterous notions (if you indeed believe in them). Though there are certainly prominent right wing nuts (usually derided by other conservatives) you will quite clearly see the left's utter hypocrisy in levelling these accusations. With a clear, rational analysis - supported by facts - and made very readable by his lucid writing, Horowitz covers a broad range of issues in his debate with the left. He writes of their willingness to support the world's most oppressive regimes, and downplay or turn a blind eye to the deaths of millions (such as after the Vietnam War, the slaughter by the North Vietnamese government and also Pol Pot's regime - under these regimes, more Indochinese countrymen died in three years than they had in the thirteen prior years of war). He discusses the untenable nature of the socialist dream and how that dream has assumed various guises both before and after the fall of the Soviet Union; the Marxist doctrine is bound to be destructive when applied to the real world, as predicted even by contemporaries of Marx and seen by every regime that has espoused those doctrines (though again, the left pointedly does not learn from history and the deaths of millions and the oppression of millions more). There are essays on the dominance of the left in our culture, particularly in academia, where college conservative groups receive contempt and scant funding from administrators and other student groups, and professors regularly teach only the left side of the argument and demand that students adhere to left opinions while writing assignments for class; I had known of the bias on campuses before reading this book, but reading the statistical figures and personal experiences shocked me - so many college students graduate without being encouraged in independent thought and inquiry and without ever hearing both sides of the debate. You will also be able to read Horowitz's debate on the reparations issue

I spent all weekend reading this book and could not put it down. The insights into the root causes of leftist illusions are fascinating, and are backed up by an awesome display of scholarly knowledge. The book starts off slowly as it features some essays from Horowitz's past, but that really allows the plot to thicken in a sense, as the reader becomes engrossed in what amounts to a sort of ideological detective story as Horowitz investigates both his own motives and reasoning as well as that of his fellow leftists as he gradually frees himself from his enthrallment to Communism, then from Socialism, and finally from the left as a whole. This is a must read for someone who is willing to look beneath the surface of politics to try and understand what makes the whole thing tick.

What seems to bother the left so much about Horowitz is they have a difficult time using their typical propaganda to marginalize him. (Typical propaganda includes any way the left can tear a person's ideas down for an irrelevant reason -- for example: He's religious!; His ancestors owned slaves!: His family owned an "evil corporation!") One reviewer tries this tactic, but the only thing he can spew is that Horowitz was somehow disrespectful to his deceased parents in an earlier book. (Of course, Horowitz was not disrespectful, but this is how most of the left operates because they have little or no valid critique and certainly have no ideas.)Generally, conservatives come by their beliefs through honest, organic intellectual analysis. However, liberals can never acknowledge this because to do so would expose the truth that fair, intellectual quest is the almost exclusive province of the right, while the left relies on indoctrination, brainwashing, and intimidation to create lemmings and keep them in the "talking points" fold. This is why communist regimes execute and imprison educated persons with anti-communist points of view. This is the same reason the left wants to teach 1st-graders that homosexuality is a "natural" alternative, that America (and particulary Republicans) are going to destroy earth through global warming, etc. Horowitz's clean, clear thinking is too much for the liberal who wants to stay brainwashed.. More important, it is a challenge to the conservative to keep the mind sharp.

I have been an enthusiastic Horowitz fan for some years now. I've read every book, and followed his career from a small indepedent magazine to this wonderful book. I respect him because he has sat on both sides of the aisle. This book is a great culmination of all his work. David exposes the Black Panthers for the murderous marxists that they were, and uncovers the dishonesty and hypocrisy of liberalism. This book is highly concentrated and, much like his other books, is full of shocking details and stories. Horowitz is one of the greatest intellectuals in politics today because he has seen it all, he pays attention, and devotes great sincerity to his work. This is a thoughtful piece. I was disappointed when it ended. From Ramparts to Left Illusions, Horowitz brings light to a very darkened truth. You will find yourself completely engrossed in this book, chapter by chapter, one unveiled lie to the next, one stunning truth to the next, observation and clear logic. David is making great contributions, and this book is another notable source. I applaud him for his brilliance in writing and oration, the work he does with SAF, and his bravery and dedication to dismantling the lies and offering truth. Thank you David.

....While this latest effort from the prolific Horowitz certainly contains autobiographical material, as one would expect of a book that follows an activist's ideological journey, it is really much more than that. The scope of the chapters range from the very specific (e.g., the propriety of reparations) to the demonstrated failings of ultra liberal, socialist or communist policies over the past century(as well as where they may well take us in the future if allowed to flourish). Conservatives will find their beliefs & suspicions reinforced by much of what the author writes. His appeal, however, lies not in simply stating time-worn principles from Conservatism 101. Horowitz has an uncanny knack for demanding of liberals the same consistency--in their theories/policies and the application of them--that they demand of others. He exposes demonstrably false assumptions, shows how they corrupt otherwise worthy goals, and in many instances work against the end they seek to achieve. If there is one book I would buy in a minute after having read this one, it is a genuine, intellectually honest literary effort by Horowitz's opponents that exposes the factual or logical errors in Left Illusions. I suspect it would be a daunting task. I do not expect to see one. It is much easier to stick a label on someone, whether it be an accurate one or not, than take on discomforting facts that don't accommodate one's worldview. Horowitz has devoted countless hours and hundreds of pages documenting the errors of his past; not so much what he wanted for his fellow man, but how best it could be achieved. It's too bad some people are more interested in silencing or marginalizing him than in rebutting him and his work. I do understand their reluctance to take on that assignment, however. Name-calling has always been easier than debating.