Reactions in the press to the death of Paul Johnson
One journalist recalls that "Johnson's iconoclasm was as evident on the left as it was later on the right."
![Paul Johnson.](https://imagenes.voz.us/files/image_large/uploads/2024/06/17/6670635929f09.jpeg)
Paul Johnson.
He was a journalist, a historian, British, but above all Catholic. Who was Paul Johnson? He lived a life full of prolific work and experiences. Johnson met many of the great protagonists of the century in which he was born 94 years ago.
Johnson's impact was profound, and his obituaries have acknowledged as much. What do they say about this extraordinary man?
From left to right
The Telegraph emphasized his shift from the left to the right. It was a gradual change, made in an era of crisis in the United Kingdom and within the left itself. The country had fallen deeply under the Keynesian avalanche, and the promise of unbounded and unfettered prosperity led to the opposite, the Winter of Discontent in 1978, which prepared the arrival of Margaret Thatcher. From The Telegraph:
Johnson the historian
To define him as a historian, The New York Times chose the following words:
It's worth going back to 2015, when Steve Sailer penned this description of Johnson:
Intellectuals
The fact that Johnson was an intellectual, does not mean that he had an inordinate appreciation for those of his ilk. The Telegraph tells it like this:
Tom Woods dwelled on this point in his book Intellectuals:
Johnson also received criticism. We will not detail this further, but The Telegraph provided this assessment of how he was able to respond:
Dealing with politicians
Johnson was an independent man and not easy to put in a box. Perhaps it was because of his iconoclastic character, to which Stephen Glover refers in the Daily Mail: "Johnson's iconoclasm was as much in evidence when on the Left as it later was on the Right. He railed against many aspects of the modern age, and in 1964 warned of 'The Menace of Beatlism'", in reference to John, Paul, Ringo and George.
He also dealt with politicians, and The Wall Street Journal briefly explained: