 In a 1951 essay in "Commentary", he explained that Communism “permits of no neutrality.The liquidation of neutrals is one of its specialties.” Its aim is “brutal revolutionary totalitarianism.” 

Hicks's seminal work, "Small Town," based on his experiences in Grafton, NY, was published in 1946.For three years (1955–58) he taught novel writing at the New School for Social Research in New York.