ABSTRACT
Some time ago, when Bert Poll called to ask me if I’d like to take part in this gathering, I told him that I would not mind, but that I had no understanding of the subject, ‘Socialism and Culture’. After some insistence on his part, I asked him if he could not help me out a bit with some literature or such. His answer, typical of him, was. that it would be much better if I started out on my own and just said what I had on my mind. And yet, some time later I discovered his book Een dienstreis voor burgers (A Civic Journey) in my mailbox, with a pleasant inscription. Those are the last words of his that I own and I cherish them. I had taken that book along on a trip to Budapest. It motivated me greatly, and at the same time enormously increased my sense of ignorance. That, too, is typically a Bert-Poll effect. Now there is but an empty chair. *
