How does the Puritan experience in The Crucible resurface in the modern world?

The modern "witch hunt" that prompted Arthur Miller to write The Cruciblewere the investigations conducted by the House UnAmerican Activities Committee in the 1950s and 60s.  Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed that there were some "two hundred card-carrying Communists" in the U.S. and that they posed a serious threat to national security.  Just like the witch trials, then, the enemy was invisible (and was perceived as posing a very real threat to life).  One could...

The modern "witch hunt" that prompted Arthur Miller to write The Crucible were the investigations conducted by the House UnAmerican Activities Committee in the 1950s and 60s.  Senator Joseph McCarthy claimed that there were some "two hundred card-carrying Communists" in the U.S. and that they posed a serious threat to national security.  Just like the witch trials, then, the enemy was invisible (and was perceived as posing a very real threat to life).  One could not tell the difference between an enemy and a friend just by looking at them; therefore, everyone becomes suspect.  In Salem, witchcraft was thought to be an invisible crime, known only to the witch and her victim; therefore, the testimony of the victim was typically all that was necessary for a conviction.  It was easy to accuse someone in both situations because it comes down to one person's word against another's. 

Further, those who were questioned by the HUAC and confessed to having Communist ties or sympathies were required to "name names" of others with similar involvement; their testimony was only seen as valid if they could do so.  In the Salem Witch Trials, confessions were only seen as valid if those confessing could name the names of other witches they saw with the Devil. 

Each "witch hunt" led to the ruination of lives and livelihoods (though no one was executed as a result of Communist ties), and created a widespread hysteria that caused people to suspect or even turn on their friends and neighbors.  Further, the responsible parties were never really held responsible for the panic they caused.