Nelson Rockefeller: An Anti-Obituary

It is altogether appropriate that Nelson Aldrich Rockefeller, after more than seventy years, should have departed the scene. His public career can be interpreted as a series of efforts to turn whatever was free, living, and vibrant into something inorganic, fixed, and non-autonomous. He was the personal embodiment of Kurt Vonnegut's Ice-Nine, from the thin-lipped smile to the wing-tipped shoes.This article can also be found at the Monthly Review website, where most recent articles are published in full.Click here to purchase a PDF version of this article at the Monthly Review website.