The Torment of Secrecy : The Background and Consequences of American Secruity Policies

One of the few minor classics to emerge from the cold war years of McCarthyism—an essay in sociological analysis and political philosophy that considers the cold war preoccupation with espionage, sabotage, and subversion at home, and the agitation so wildly directed against the “enemy.” “Brief...lucid...brilliant.”—American Political Science Review. With an Introduction by Daniel P. Moynihan. Edward Shils's __The Torment of Secrecy__ is one of the few minor classics to emerge from the cold war years of anticommunism and McCarthyism in the United States. Mr. Shils's "torment" is not only that of the individual caught up in loyalty and security procedures; it is also the torment of the accuser and judge. This essay in sociological analysis and political philosophy considers the cold war preoccupation with espionage, sabotage, and subversion at home, assessing the magnitude of such threats and contrasting it to the agitation—by lawmakers, investigators, and administrators—so wildly directed against the "enemy." Mr. Shils's examination of a recurring American characteristic is as timely as ever. "Brief...lucid... brilliant."—__American Political Science Review__. "A fine, sophisticated analysis of American social metabolism."—__New Republic__. "An excitingly lucid and intelligent work on a subject of staggering importance...the social preconditions of political democracy."—__Social Forces__. Edward Shils's The Torment of Secrecy is one of the few minor classics to emerge from the cold war years of anticommunism and McCarthyism in the United States. Mr. Shils's "torment" is not only that of the individual caught up in loyalty and security procedures; it is also the torment of the accuser and judge. This essay in sociological analysis and political philosophy considers the cold war preoccupation with espionage, sabotage, and subversion at home, assessing the magnitude of such threats and contrasting it to the agitation—by lawmakers, investigators, and administrators—so wildly directed against the "enemy." Mr. Shils's examination of a recurring American characteristic is as timely as ever. "Brief...lucid... brilliant."— American Political Science Review . "A fine, sophisticated analysis of American social metabolism."— New Republic . "An excitingly lucid and intelligent work on a subject of staggering importance...the social preconditions of political democracy."— Social Forces . "Edward Shils's The Torment of Secrecy is one of the few minor classics to emerge from the cold war years of anticommunism and McCarthyism in the United States. Mr. Shils's "torment" is not only that of the individual caught up in loyalty and security procedures; it is also the torment of the accuser and judge. This essay in sociological analysis and political philosophy considers the cold war preoccupation with espionage, sabotage, and subversion at home, assessing the magnitude of such threats and contrasting it to the agitation - by lawmakers, investigators, and administrators - so wildly directed against the "enemy." Mr. Shils, widely regarded as one of the world's most influential social thinkers, has written an examination of a recurring American characteristic that is as timely as ever."--Jacket