About this item
The Duty to Stand Aside tells the story of one of the most intriguing yet little-known literary-political feuds - and friendships - in 20th-century English literature. It examines the arguments that divided George Orwell, future author of Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, and Alex Comfort, poet, biologist, anarchist-pacifist, and future author of the international bestseller The Joy of Sex - during WWII. Orwell maintained that standing aside, or opposing Britain's war against fascism, was "objectively pro-fascist." Comfort argued that intellectuals who did not stand aside and denounce their own government's atrocities - in Britain's case, saturation bombing of civilian population centers - had "sacrificed their responsible attitude to humanity.
About the Author
Eric Laursen is an independent journalist and activist who writes about politics, economics, culture, and the many and devilish ways that all three intersect. He has contributed to a wide range of publications including The Village Voice, Institutional Investor, YES!, In These Times, CFO, Z Magazine, The AICPA Journal of Accounting, and Huffingtonpost.com. He has even reviewed books on Amazon.com. He is the author, most recently, of The People's Pension: The Struggle to Defend Social Security Since Reagan (AK Press) , which was named an Editor's Choice nonfiction book of the year by BookList for 2012. He also co-authored Understanding the Crash (Soft Skull, 2010) . Long engaged in the movements against war, corporate globalization, and neoliberal economics, he lives in the United States.
