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david horowitz
by Alex Burns (alex@disinfo.com) - March 15, 2001

The political conversion of David Horowitz from 1960s New Left leader to reformed liberal represents one of the most intriguing case-studies in the psychology of contemporary US politics.

Best-known for his autobiography Radical Son: A Generational Odyssey (New York: Touchstone Books, 1997) and his polemical collection of essays Hating Whitey & Other Progressive Causes (New York: Spencer Publications, 1999), Horowitz is a complex enigma. His early credentials were impeccable: he received a Bachelor's degree from Columbia University in 1959 and a Masters degree from the University of California at Berkeley in 1961; his first book The Free World Colossus (1963) offered a revisionist history of the Cold War; he was involved with Tom Hayden and the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS), and later with Huey P. Newton and the Black Panthers. Horowitz also edited the legendary Ramparts magazine from 1968 to 1973.

So, why did he evolve into a controversial Salon magazine columnist, director of the neo-conservative Center for Study of Popular Culture think-tank and former speech-writer for one-time Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole?

Throughout the 1980s in volumes like Destructive Generations, Second Thoughts (New York: The Free Press, 1989) written with colleague Peter Collier, Horowitz has criticised the New Left for its willingness to propagate destructive Marxist ideas and rely on ultra-violence. It was the December 1974 murder of Betty Van Tanner (the book-keeper for Ramparts magazine) by the Black Panthers that galvanized Horowitz into questioning his political beliefs and those of his parents.

Increasingly, Horowitz has spread his attacks and 'ideological fatwas' to other areas of the Left, particularly criticizing Hollywood's cultural agenda and the impact of tenured radicals within the American university system. He remains one of the most intelligent conservative critics, offering some powerful denunciations of mainstream agendas and institutionalised politics. However, his critics have claimed that many of his arguments regarding the New Left are now considered orthodoxy, and that his divisiveness is dangerous and counter-productive in a new era that requires trans-partisan solutions, which would transcend the Left/White divide.

David Horowitz
The official homepage of controversial political activist and polemical writer David Horowitz. Get details on his latest books, articles, media appearances and more.

FrontPage Magazine
This site features the online daily publication edited by David Horowitz, and contains frontline despatches from the Culture Wars. Features some of the most intelligent and polemical right-wing commentary from America: very useful for altering your reality epistemology.

Salon Archives: David Horowitz
Courtesy of Salon magazine, you will find an extensive David Horowitz article archive (1995-present) here, including many scathing critiques of the New Left and its legacy within contemporary American politics.

The Center for the Study of Popular Culture
The Center for the Study of Popular Culture is a neo-conservative think-tank that promintently features the writings and thoughts of David Horowitz. This site includes access to their major publications, including the Heterodoxy newsletter and 2nd Thoughts book imprint. Of interest to serious researchers and political analysts.

Scenes from A Radical Life by David Horowitz
Excerpts from Radical Son: A Generational Odyssey (1997) by David Horowitz covers the SDS, Huey Newton, and a New Left movement driven, he contends, by malice.

Chuck Baldwin Live: Interview with David Horowitz
A revealing interview: David Horowitz on the Goldwaters, Marxist-influenced liberals, the McGovern presidential candidacy and autobiographical details.

World's Oldest Red Diaper Baby Tells All
This review of Radical Son: A Generational Odyssey sheds light on the inter-generational dynamics that might be the cause of Horowitz's political conversion.

Jewish World Review: David Horowitz
Features David Horowitz's conservative political commentaries for Jewish World Review on topics ranging from the 1999 World Trade Organization protests in Seattle, to why Republicans lose elections.

David Horowitz: Sore Winner
This brief 1997 article from Slate hits the mark with some telling criticisms of David Horowitz' Born-Again conservative style.

A Real, Live Bigot
This Time magazine article (August 30, 1999), by Jack E. White, sparked a heated exchange of words and media debate regarding the political values of David Horowitz. Has he betrayed his leftist values and "sold out" to the wide-eyed right? Is this article an attempt at character assassination? Consider the evidence from both sides, in this ongoing discussion.

The Chorus and Cassandra
An intriguing article by Christopher Hitchens examining how David Horowitz played a role in spreading disinformation about Noam Chomsky's analysis of the Khmer Rouge regime. Horowitz and William Shawcross come off looking very bad indeed.

The Pacification of Public Radio
David Barsamian examines the Pacifica Radio Crisis, noting how David Horowitz applied some questionable tactics to the debate: "He has been crusading against public TV as being a forum for "the discredited pro-Soviet left." He must be thinking of William F. Buckley. Horowitz has been ballistic when it comes to KPFK, Pacifica's Los Angeles station."

Camille Paglia Defends David Horowitz
Salon columnist Camille Paglia defends David Horowitz against claims of being a 'bigot' from Time magazine staff. Offers an assessment of Horowitz by another controversial social critic.

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