A Bit Of A Dope

Now here's a thing. Moody argues that Pound wasn't really a fascist (or Fascist) despite his sympathies for Mussolini and Il Duce's undoubtedly Fascist state. And I'm beginning to think he's right, not out of any special pleading for a misunderstood genius kind of nonsense, but because he marshals the facts, plenty of them, with clarity and understanding. He also makes it compellingly clear that Pound, despite his numerous denials - obviously sincere - to the contrary, can reasonably be accused of anti-Semitism despite his friendships with a number of Jews. And he further makes clear that Pound for all his blistering intelligence could be incredibly dopey about the screamingly obvious (e.g., that A. Hitler was a thoroughly nasty piece of work. (Pound, astonishingly compared him to a saint (I kid you not!) as late as 1945.))

So you can be brilliant and an idiot. As well as dense and an idiot. I've known that all along, but it's fascinating to see it in action.

Who will watch the watchmen, eh?