In some ways, the great ideological struggles of the twentieth century now seem about as close and relevant as the scholastic debates of the Middle Ages – especially, but not only, for younger generations. Who now remotely understands – let alone takes the trouble to try to understand – the great political dramas of intellectuals like Arthur Koestler and Victor Serge, people who risked their lives for and then against communism?
从某种角度看，这场二十世纪伟大的思想斗争现在似乎像中世纪的学术辩论一样远离现实，这种观点在民众中普遍存在，但在青年一代中尤为明显。亚瑟·库斯勒和维克多·塞尔等学者冒着生命危险支持后来又反对共产主义，人们现在只是对他们伟大的政治作为一知半解，更遑论去深入理解他们的想法了。