Iris Murdoch

How deliciously fascinating – so many questions, can anyone answer them? I heard the most interesting piece on the Radio 4 Today programme yesterday morning (http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/newsid_8467000/8467961.stm) outlining the late Irish Murdoch’s political views. Murdoch – a celebrated 20th century writer and poet, was from her school days a committed Communist as were it appears many of the later great and (perhaps not so) good, including figures who were simultaneously members of the Communist Party, fascists groups, the Labour and Conservative parties and so on.

Can it really be that, as Murdoch’s biographer describes, the writer was, at her school ‘trained to think of Stalin as a benevolent grandmother figure…’ She then went to Oxford University and immediately joined the Communist Party. Despite defections from the CP at the outset of the Second World War, over the issue of the pact between Hitler and Stalin, Murdoch stayed loyal.

Radicalised at school? Joining radical student societies at University? Why is this woman remembered so fondly? Does it mean that radical politics are okay in hindsight, however dubious some may be? Indeed, come to think of it, despite suffering various humiliations from the US establishment in blocking her entering the country for a while, and of course personal traumas related to her political beliefs, she managed to live out a long life replete with literary accomplishment. Not exactly control orders, detention without charge and rendition is it?

A few questions (of many that I have)… Why are contemporary radicals treated so drastically differently? Is it a class issue, ethnicity, religion? Or was Stalin somehow more of a benevolent granny than say Osama bin Laden, who let’s face it, even if all the things they say about him are true will never have the death toll attributed to him as has been attributed to Stalin.

Will history view the staunch and loyal supporters of the Taliban, Osama bin Laden or any number of so-called Islamists be viewed so kindly in 10, 20 or a hundred years time?