Mr. Justice DOUGLAS, with whom Mr. Justice BLACK concurs, dissenting.
I believe that the provisions of the Act now challenged are void on their face, that there are no factual issues to be resolved which should condition the outcome of the litigation, and that therefore there is no reason for the lower court to abstain from exercising its jurisdiction.
The statute defines 'Communist-front organization' as one which is substantially directed, dominated, or controlled by a Communist-action organization and which is primarily operated for the purpose of giving aid and support to a Communist-action organization, a Communist foreign government, or the world Communist movement. 50 U.S.C. § 782(4). A Communist-front organization, as defined, is not a group engaged in action but in advocacy; or if action is included, so is advocacy, for § 781(15) in describing the growth of the Communist movement speaks of those who seek 'converts far and wide by an extensive system of schooling and indoctrination.'
Legislation curbing or penalizing advocacy even of ideas we despise is, I submit, at war with the First Amendment. Under our Constitution one's belief or ideology is of no concern to government. One can think as he likes, embrace any philosophy he chooses, and select the politics that best fits his ideals or needs. That is all implicit in the First Amendment rights of assembly, petition, and expression. Those rights merely enforce, protect, or sanction the beliefs or ideology to which one is committed. So does the right of association which we have said over and again to be part and parcel of those First Amendment rights. Basic in this scheme of values is the immunity of beliefs, ideas, and ideology from government inquiry, probing, or surveillance.
Jefferson expressed the American constitutional theory:
'(T)he opinions of men are not the object of civil government, nor under its jurisdiction * * *. (I)t is time enough for the rightful purposes of civil government for its officers to interfere when principles break out into overt acts against peace and good order * * *.' Jefferson, A Bill For Establishing Religious Freedom, in The Jeffersonian Cyclopedia 976 (1900).
That is my reading of the First Amendment. Those who can be officially pilloried or punished for having a particular philosphic or political creed are effectively deterred from exercising First Amendment rights.
I see no constitutional method whereby the Government can punish or penalize one for 'being a Communist' or 'supporting Communists' or 'promoting communism.' Communism, as an ideology, embraces a broad array of ideas. To some it has appeal because the state owns the main means of production, with the result that all phases of national life are in the public sector, guaranteeing full employment. To some communism means a medical care program that reaches to the lowest levels of society. To others the communal way of life, even in agriculture, means a fuller life for the average person. To some the flowering of the dance, music, painting, sculpture, and even athletics is possible only when those arts and activities move from the private to the public sector. To some there can be no equivalent of the unemployment insurance, old age insurance, and social security that obtain in a socialized state. To others communism is a commitment to the atheistic philosophy and way of life. To still others, adherence to communism means a commitment to use force and violence, if necessary, to achieve that kind of socialist state. And to some of course it means all of the projects I have enumerated plus perhaps others as well.
The word 'revolution' has of course acquired a subversive connotation in modern times. But it has roots that are eminently respectable in American history. This country is the product of revolution. Our very being emphasizes that when grievances pile high and there are no political remedies, the exercise of sovereign powers reverts to the people. Teaching and espousing revolution-as distinguished from indulging in overt acts are therefore obviously within the range of the First Amendment.