The Making of a Radical: A Political Autobiography

Scott and Helen Nearing are familiar to many of my post-WWII peers because of their figurehead status in the back-to-the-land movement in the 60s. Their homestead experience as reported in LIVING THE GOOD LIFE provided a blueprint for many city folk who wanted to follow Joni Mitchell's Woodstock admonition to "get back to the land and set my soul free." Scott Nearing's earlier life was far from invisible, however, and in this work he explains his journey from a childhood of conservative privilege to the forefront of pacifist, socialist economic theorizing and activism. Along the way you will relive his public and popular debates with the likes of William Jennings Bryan and H.L. Mencken, his expulsion from teaching at the prestigious Wharton School of Business. (which became and remains a landmark in the struggle for academic freedom), and his federal trial for publication of anti-American opinion (not-guilty). Though Nearing is sometimes disappointingly uncritical of the Soviet and Chinese experiments with socialism, that does not diminish his clear-eyed critique of our own system. In his view, capitalism replaced feudalism over a period of three hundred years, and the system which replaces our current one of "monopoly-capitalism" will be a similarly gradual process. Communism's failures are to be expected, he believes, because they are an early attempt at a reorganization of human endeavor -- and he reminds us of the horrors of early capitalism (slavery, child labor, sweatshops, violent suppression of unions, etc.), as well as the wars fought to make the world safe for capitalism. This is the story of an intentional life, lived by a profound thinker. You will bid goodbye to Nearing either furious, or inspired, but definitely not unmoved. Whither humanity?

This book gives a person an idea about how the controlling forces in America will supress someone that tries to help the lower classes. In Nearing's early career he spoke out about child labor, and was hated on by the controlling forces at that time. Only time would tell how right he was. Yet he spent his entire career being shunned away from the universities which he wished to teach at, just because he would not shut up when he cared about something. The greatest part of this book, to me, was that Nearing talks about "avoiding wealth" and "narrowly avoiding getting rich"... as if it is a disease or something. He never aspired to become rich, in fact he purposely stopped anything of the sort from happening. Nearing sets an excellent example of someone that tries to help out, never gives up, and cannot be silenced. When he turned 100 he stopped eating and CHOSE to die, believing that he had lived a full life and did not deserve any more of the earth's resources. Now, if that doesn't make you think, what does.

Each human being's life is itself of great value and meaning.And so, life should be lived just as life itself, not as a means for other doctrines or propaganda. No one is expendable.The author also gives a sharp insight into monetary economy in which we live in. Day after day we are getting subject to the Lord of Money, and money becomes our Lord.So parodoxically, the more money one make, the more subject to money we get.That's absurd.This book shares much in common with 'To have or To Be' by Erich Fromm.The author is a real humanist, who wanted every living being live the life as it deserves. Not being deceived by the illusions that we meet in our daily lives.I really want to recommend this book to all those who looks upon all living beings as a united One, each not a separate pieces of life against life.

Many people try to live keeping their conviction. However it is difficult to keep it and it is even not easy to have a right conviction. Scott Nearing was the sociologist who practiced the right things that he believed and lived all his life as a naturalist. He lived for true convictions. After reading this book, I reflected my past. At least I think, it could be fortunate to have a opportunity to think of our spiritual slackening in the midst of material prosperity. I recommend this autobiography.