Maltz’s tryst with controversy started innocently enough when, in suggesting that an artist can be reactionary and still produce great art, he cited Friedrich Engels’ view on writers such as Balzac. The recognition of artists like James Farrell, a Troyskyite, and Richard Wright, who was hostile to the party,120 drew public and private rebuke from party stalwarts like Joseph North, Howard Fast, et al.121 Maltz retreated, and party chief William Z. Foster weighed in, warning of “left sectarian” dangers (i.e., all art produced under capitalism is decadent) and “right” dangers (i.e., the artist is free and should have nothing to do with class struggle).122