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John B. OakesJohn B. Oakes
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Europe social democratic. Because I believed strongly in social controls, but achieved by democratic means. I remember having endless arguments at college with other students, who were to the left of me. I was always very strongly on the democratic side. I think that my own views could best be described as social democratic, rather than anything else, because I think I was probably to the left of the official Democratic party, but not quite far enough left to ever consider myself a Socialist. I know I didn't. And as far as the Communists go, that was beyond the pale.

But at college, for instance, I was the editorial chairman of the daily paper, the Princetonian, and my main editorial campaign, to characterize that year, was attacking the way the club system at Princeton worked or didn't work. I made constant attacks on the club system and the way they emphasized class and exclusivity and so on and so forth. I was a member of a club, by the way, and I felt I was in a good position to attack the clubs because I was a member -- to attack the method of election, selectivity, based so much on social correctness. I guess I became what was considered a lefty or a dissenter or something like that, by an awful lot of people at college.

[TAPE ONE, SIDE TWO; BEGIN TAPE TWO, SIDE ONE]

Q:

You actually told us, I think in your earlier memoir, about the club system.

Oakes:

Did I? But that's part of this general trend toward liberalism, although that wasn't political liberalism, it was sort of social liberalism, I guess. On such issues as the Spanish Civil War, for example -- a very big issue -- I was very strongly on the side of the Loyalists -- I remember having discussions about this - but the democratic Loyalists, on that side. I was





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