Spencer Heath Archive

Item 1539

Copy of typed “Memorandum to Louis Solomon”

December 1954?

     Some days ago I had, by appointment, a brief talk with Mr. Fillmore Hyde of the New York University Press. His letter of November 30th, attached, refers to this.

     In our first discussion at lunch with Mr. Armsey it appeared that Mr. Hyde would gladly publish the the­oretical part of my Citadel, Market and Altar, with regard to the nature and processes of our voluntary society, but not without first eliminating my projection of the proprietary, and thereby contractual, free pro­cess of society into the field of common or community services. My theory of free contract as the transforma­tion of human energy into numerically measurable recipro­cal services appeared to be quite acceptable to him; but my description of the present operation of this principal, in the contractual distribution of sites and resources and of its potential of development into the full field of community administration, would not be acceptable for publication.

     However, in our talk of a few days ago Mr. Hyde’s position, as he stated it to me, seemed substantially reversed. But before I could have this matter clarified his conversation shifted to the matter of a small cost — three hundred dollars — of editing and improving the manuscript preliminary to publication. I was not averse to this, but I thought the nature of this proposed pre­liminary work should first be well defined in a letter to me.

     Mr. Hyde’s letter of November 30th leaves me still much in doubt. He seems to aim at an extensive reorgan­ization of my book as the first step “to procure a com­petent analysis of the problem to be solved,” without to me any clear indication as to what the problem is. He would entrust this “analysis” to his associate, Mr. Wilson Pollett, whose competence and experience as a critic, editor and reviewer of literary productions leaves nothing to be desired.

     But Citadel, Market and Altar is not a literary production such as an essay, a novel or a biography and cannot be analyzed or properly appraised as such. It is the report of an experienced and not unsuccessful research engineer with background in legal theory (including prac­tice) and business experience and as a well read free lance in history and philosophy and especially in the methods and fundamentals of the natural sciences.

     Uniquely, and in terms of the natural sciences, the book describes our voluntary (contractual) society, how it is organized and the special functions that it alone among all living things uniquely performs. As to liter­ary form, Mr. Follett’s editing might well be unsurpassed, once the subject-matter is understood. But the outline of his distinguished editing and publishing career makes no reference to any scientific or philosophic writings or reviews.

     The variously related parts of Citadel, Market and Altar are organized with consistency and with a great deal of care. I should be grateful for any improvement of its literary form; but I do not feel that any need for major reconstruction, if it exists, should be at the outset or hastily assumed. Instead of literary or other reconstruction, based on perhaps off-hand peremp­tory judgment, the manuscript invites serious attention not to any artificial plan or device but to the exist­ence in our midst of a value-creating and profit-yield­ing non-coercive alternative to the evils that are inherent in political financing and administration and so widely deplored.

     Please examine for me Mr. Hyde’s letter (with its enclosure attached) and advise me whether you think I should accept his proposition in that form or how other­wise from here on to proceed.

Spencer Heath

 

I will call you over the weekend before going to Boston for a week on Monday.