Commentary on the November "Novae Terrae"
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| Title: | Commentary on the November "Novae Terrae" |
| Creator: | Donald A. Wollheim |
| Date(s): | Published January 1938; arrived too late to appear in the December issue |
| Medium: | |
| Fandom: | Science Fiction |
| Topic: | Michelism, Leftism in Fandom |
| External Links: | Hosted online. Novae Terrae #20 pp. 11-14. Jan. 1938. |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Donald A. Wollheim's Commentary on the November "Novae Terrae" was printed in the January 1938 issue of Novae Terrae.
Wollheim expressed his approval of British fandom's attitudes toward science fiction, which he and his fellow Futurians felt was a unique chance to help the public embrace social chance. (See Mutation or Death!) He called on all fans to embrace Communism in the name of a future "scientific and socialist World-State", which would require violence and "practical idealists united in almost military order".
He pointed to what he and his followers called "the Gernsback delusion", which had held that science fiction's goal was to encourage fans into scientific careers. The Michelists felt this goal had been doomed to fail. Wollheim also cited the recent failure of the International Scientific Association, which he had personally dissolved after his former friend William S. Sykora resigned as its head. Rather than providing escape or leading people into practical science, science fiction's purpose was to guide the masses and prepare their minds for scientific and social progress.
Excerpt
Here in New York, where fans have been active for years, we have realized this fact more and more. As fandom was aware, New York was the hot-bed of science-fictional quarrels and wars for years. What they did not realise was that this was not in mere childishness but derived its vigour and intensity from the fact that we in New York have always recognized that there was a greater object in science-fiction than the mere reading. It was directly due to that that our fights with other organizations arose. We felt and knew that such silly organizations as had for their motive nothing but spreading science-fiction as a form of bad writing and reading science-fiction for science-fiction's sake were worthless and a waste of time. For that reason we fought them. True, our belief had been for years that it was "science-fiction for sciences' sake". The end of the International Scientific Association early this year was the realization of the failure of that theme to prove itself. Now, we seem again embarked on a struggle. This time under the banner of Michelism.
Michelism derives its name in honour of John B. Michel of Brooklyn who was the first amongst us to state clearly the new concept. We define it as follows:- MICHELISM is the belief that-science-fiction followers should actively work for the realization of the scientific socialist world-state as the only justification for their activities and existence.
MICHELISM believes that science-fiction is a force; a force acting through the medium of speculative and prophetic fiction upon the minds of idealist youth; that logical science-fiction inevitably points to the necessity for socialism, the advance of science, and the world-state; and that those aims, created by science-fictional idealizing, can best be reached through adherence to the program of the Communist International. MICHELISM is the theory of science-fiction Action.
In practice, Michelism permits very wide deviation so as to take in any who honestly believe that science-fiction has those aims. In that sense Messrs. Williams and Griffiths are definitely Michelists. So, I feel, are a great and growing, number of fans. And we of America hold out an eager hand to grasp yours of Britain as we shall march forward together towards the future.
We have a fight to wage. We have to clear away the rubbish and out-moded notions still besetting many fans; we must remove the obstructionists and evasionists from our midst, the Ackerman sycophants of Esperantic muddle, the Sykorist Holy Science Reactionaries, and the Russellian scoffers. You may not favour the Communist outlook but if you keep your mind clear and watch the world, in two years you will be with us. Meanwhile let us work together. SALUD, comrades!