oscar wilde essay on socialism

Oscar Wilde - An Annotated Bibliography of Manuscripts and their Provenances

The Soul of Man Under Socialism

The Soul of Man Under Socialism (1891/1895)

First published in Fortnightly Review, vol. XLIX, no. 290, February 1891, pp. 292-319. ( https://bit.ly/3t5ei50 )

First published in the United States in Humboldt Library of Science , vol. 147, New York, March 1891. ( https://bit.ly/3a8JmZh )

First publication under the title The Soul of Man , privately printed by Arthur L. Humphreys, London, Chiswick Press, 30 May 1895 (five days after Wilde was convicted and sentenced to two years hard labour), edition of fifty copies.

No mention of mss. in Mason’s Bibliography of Oscar Wilde.

“My dear Wilde, Our lunch today has made me wish that you would write an Article for the March Fortnightly . Can you do this within 8 days? – An Article on Literature or any Social Subject as paradoxical as you please.“ (letter Frank Harris to Oscar Wilde, 10 February 1890, see Small, Oscar Wilde Revalued , p. 79)

“We have little concrete information either about when Wilde began this essay or how long it took him to compose. In his ‘Memories of Oscar Wilde’ (appended to the second edition of Harris’s Oscar Wilde ) George Bernard Shaw claimed the credit, via Robert Ross, for inspiring the piece: ‘I delivered an address on Socialism, and at which Oscar turned up and spoke. Robert Ross surprised me greatly by telling me, long after Oscar’s death, that it was this address of mine that moved Oscar to try his hand at a similar feat by writing ‘The Soul of Man Under Socialism’. Modem critics, though, have been skeptical of Shaw’s account, not least because it has proved difficult to trace precisely the lecture to which he refers.“ (Guy, Complete Works, vol. IV , pp. lxix-lxx)

“Our best source of evidence for the dating of ‘The Soul of Man under Socialism’ is the single (though unfortunately incomplete) extant manuscript (…) which was used a printer’s copy for the Fortnightly Review (it is marked on the front – in a hand other than Wilde’s – ‘proof edition’ and also has Wilde’s Tite Street address pencilled under the title – again not in Wilde’s hand). It is currently held in the Berg Collection in the New York Public Library.“ (ibid., p. lxx)

“… ‘The Soul of Man Under Socialism’ was probably substantially written in the late autumn/early winter of 1890, and the final revisions to it were made after Wilde had begun reworking his essays Intentions (for the earliest he is likely to have agreed terms with Osgood, McIlvaine is January 1891).“ (ibid.)

“Dear Sir, there is an error of setting in my article, which pray correct at once, if possible. The passage (p. 307 [ in the Fortnightly Review article ]) on morbidity, beginning ‘Perhaps however’ and ending with ‘King Lear’, must be transferred to page 308 and put after ‘ healthy work of art ’ 17 lines from the bottom. It occurs rightly between line 18 and 17 from bottom – of course as a separate complete paragraph, as it now stands. Kindly see to this, as it is out of place at present.“ (letter to an unidentified correspondent, Complete Letters , p. 462)

“The correction was never carried out and the error was perpetuated through every printed version of the essay until the HarperCollins centenary edition of Wilde’s works (1999).“ ( ibid. , p. 462n)

“In a letter to the Fortnightly offices dated January 1891 Wilde alerted the recipient (addressed as ‘Sir’ and probably Verschoyle [ Frank Harris’s assistant ]) to an ‘error of setting’ which he asked to be corrected ‘at once, if possible’. The addition of ‘if possible’ suggests that the error was only picked up by Wilde at a very late stage in the publication process (almost certainly, given the reference in his letter to page and line numbers of the Fortnightly , in final proofs), and that he had some doubts as to whether there would be time for the correction to be made.“ (Guy, Complete Works, vol. IV , p. lxxiii)

“Why don’t Chapman and Hall send a copy of the Fortnightly to each author who contributes to the number in question? They should do it, not merely as a matter of courtesy, and of custom, but because it enables the author to see if his work has been properly produced, and if not, to send something for an errata slip, or for incorporation, if that is possible. In the present case I came across the Fortnightly in the Club on Saturday, and found that an entire paragraph had been misplaced, to the confusion of the sense and the reader. It is possible that the fault may have been originally mine, but I should have been given the earliest opportunity of correction. Don’t you think so? I wrote off at once to them, but received no acknowledgment of my letter. This seems to me to be wrong.“ (letter to Frank Harris, ca. 3 February, Complete Letters , p. 469 – this letter was sold for $13,912 at RR Auction, catalogue 441, Nov. 2014, item 563)

“It seems likely that the printer or typesetter had simply been confused about Wilde’s instructions, possibly because the two inserted paragraphs (which were probably written out on separate sheets interleaved with the proofs) were to have appeared so close to each other. Intriguingly, this mistake … seems to have gone unnoticed by contemporary readers, despite the fact that the logic of the argument is disrupted. More puzzling still, the error persisted when the essay was reissued in book form in [ May ] 1895, a circumstance which … suggests that Wilde might have had little active involvement in this publication. In fact, it was not until 1993, when the letter quoted above was published for the first time [ see Small, Oscar Wilde Revalued, p. 46, reprinted in Collected Letters, p. 462 ], that anyone apparently became aware of the problem …“ (Guy, Complete Works, vol. IV , p. lxxv)

“… there are only a tiny number of variants between periodical and book texts, and all relate to accidentals: there are small changes in spelling, punctuation, and capitalization of abstract nouns, and the use of italics to emphasize phrases and sentences is omitted (…). All of these details strongly indicate that on this occasion Wilde did not personally oversee proofs, and that he did not even attempt to rework the periodical text.“ (ibid., p. lxxvii-lxxviii)

NOTES, DRAFTS, MANUSCRIPTS

Version	Present Location	Shelfmark	Provenance	Catalogue Entries / Notes
1. Early draft	unknown
				[see notes to no. 2]
2. Autograph Manuscript 59 pages 1890	Berg Collection New York Public Library, New York, NY	Berg Coll. MSS + Wilde 1890 no digital copy of complete ms. digital copy of pages 1A and 1B digital copy of page 2	2004	“The soul of man under socialism. 59 p.; 34 cm Manuscript in the author’s autograph with his substantial textual emendations and deletions in ink and pencil, throughout. Paginated by the author 1A and 1B-40, 42-50, 56-65. Bound in full green morocco, gilt, and inner levant borders; doublures and end-leaves in white silk, gilt edges, by Wood. Originally owned by John B. Stetson,, Jr. with his bookplate, and later by Alfred S. Austrian with his bookplate. ms. (emended)“
				“… the single (though unfortunately incomplete) extant manuscript (…) which was used a printer’s copy for the Fortnightly Review (it is marked on the front – in a hand other than Wilde’s – ‘proof edition’ and also has Wilde’s Tite Street address pencilled under the title – again not in Wilde’s hand). It is currently held in the Berg Collection in the New York Public Library. … it is written in ink and (as was Wilde’s habit) on one side only of his favorite lined folio notepaper. [The manuscript] is clearly a revised fair copy, with numerous insertions, cancelled passages, and deletions, as well as evidence of pages having been rewritten and renumbered, presumably to incorporate new material.“ (Guy, Complete Works, vol. IV, p. lxx)
				“The numbering (in Wilde’s hand) of the first two folios of [the manuscript] – ‘1A’ and ‘1B’ respectively – suggests that the beginning of the essay was expanded and rewritten at a late stage. (ibid.)
				“… all the corrections to [the manuscript] appear to be in Wilde’s hand; the only markings which are not in his hand are the addition of various names in the margins – almost certainly (…) references to the various typesetters who would work on the manuscript.“ (ibid., p. lxxiin)
			New York Public Library / Berg Collection	“… The New York Public Library purchased The Soul of Man under Socialism manuscript directly from Christie’s in 2004.“ (Berg Collection, personal correspondence, July 21, 2021)
			The Halsted B. Vander Poel Collection of English Literature, Christie, Manson & Woods Ltd., London, 3 March 2004, lot 249	“Autograph manuscript signed (on the last page, ‘Oscar Wilde’) of The Soul of Man under Socialism, n.p. [Tite Street, London], n.d. [December 1890 January1891], including numerous corrections, cancellations and emendations, written on lined paper on rectos, on pages numbered 1a-40, 42-50 and 56-65 (lacking 6 pages), 59 pages, 4to, a few annotations in pencil by the publisher (including on the first page, Wilde’s name and address, ‘Proofs Editor’ and ‘Read’), the leaves tipped on guards into an album, green morocco gilt, spine lettered in gilt, upper board with gilt facsimile of Wilde’s signature (spine and small areas of boards lightly faded, upper joints split, flyleaves detached). Provenance: Alfred S. Austrian (bookplate) — John Batterson Stetson Jr (1884-1932) (bookplate) — purchased Parke-Bernet, New York, 8 February 1940, lot 623, $220.“ “realised £83,650“ [$152,812] (incl. buyer’s premium]
				“Autograph Ms, The Soul of Man under Socialism. [Dec 1890 – Jan 1891]. 59 (of 65) pp, 4to, on lined paper, tipped on guards into a mor gilt album. With numerous revisions. Vander Poel collection C March 3 (249) £70,000.“ (American Book-Prices Current, vol.110, 2004. p. 148)
			Halsted B. Vander Poel	“The books and manuscripts Christie’s have for sale [March 3, 2004] were bought on both sides of the Atlantic, mainly between 1934 and 1960. … the collection is little known to scholars. Many items have never been previously recorded, or have been untraced or unallocated since the 1930s or 1940s. … the best Wilde items were relatively cheap at a few hundred dollars each in the early 1940s.“ (Times Literary Supplement, 27 Feb. 2005, p. 16)
			First Editions of English & American Authors. Library of Mr & Mrs Edward Sedgwick, Beverly Hills, Calif. …, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, Feb. 7-8, 1940, lot 623	“Autograph manuscript entitled ‘Soul of Man Under Socialism’, signed Oscar Wilde. . 59 pp. [numbered pp. 1A and 1B-40; 42-50; 56-65]. About 10,000 words. Folio, full green levant morocco, gilt, inner levant borders; doublures and end-leaves of white watered silk, gilt edges, by Wood. A fine manuscript, carefully preserved, and displaying a large number of corrections and deletions by the author. A few pages, as noted above, are lacking. Accompanying the manuscript is the first edition of the work entitled ‘The Soul of Man’, small 4to, original brown paper covers, uncut. London: Privately Printed, 1895. This edition, published by Arthur L. Humphreys, consisted of only fifty copies. Enclosed in a half morocco slip case. The manuscript was originally in the library of John B. Stetson, Jr. and displays the latter’s book-label, and the Alfred S. Austrian bookplate. [sold for] USD 220“ [text from Rare Book Hub]
			First Editions of English Authors, Historical and Literary Autograph Letters & Mss., Americana Standard Sets in Fine Bindings, Selections from the Library of the late Alfred S. Austrian, Chicago, Illinois, Sold by Order of the Present Owner Mrs Alfred S. Austrian, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, April 4-5, 1939, lot 516	“ entitled ‘Soul of Man Under Socialism’, signed ‘Oscar Wilde’. 59 pp. [numbered pp. 1A and 1B-40; 42-50; 56-65]. About 10,000 words. Folio, full green levant morocco, gilt, inner levant borders; doublures and end-leaves of white watered silk, gilt edges, by . . A few pages, as noted above, are lacking.“ Accompanying the manuscript is the first edition of the work entitled ‘The Soul of Man’, small 4to, original brown paper covers, uncut. London: Privately Printed, 1895. This edition, published by Arthur L. Humphreys, consisted of only fifty copies. Enclosed in a cloth wrapper. The manuscript was originally in the library of John B. Stetson, Jr. and displays the latter’s book-label.”
				“Ms, Soul of Man under Socialism, 59 pp.(’39) $165, (’40) $220.“ (American Book-Prices Current Index 1933 – 1940, p. 738)
			Alfred S. Austrian
			Gabriel Wells	purchased for $875 (see The New York Times, April 24, 1920, p. 32)
			The Oscar Wilde Collection of John B. Stetson, Jr., Anderson Galleries, New York, April 23, 1920, lot 108	“THE SOUL OF MAN UNDER SOCIALISM. of ‘The Soul of Man under Socialism.’ 66 pp. folio, but wanting p. 41, and 51-55 inclusive. Bound in full green levant morocco, gilt fillet back and sides, gilt edges, doublures and flys of pale green moire silk, with facsimile of Oscar Wilde’s signature on front cover, by Wood. , with an additional signature and his address in pencil, on the first page. The manuscript has been profusely corrected by Wilde, evidencing the thought given by him to this subject, and represents, in its present state, the copy materially as it appears in the printed version.“ [facsimile of page 1A, see sale catalogue, p. [23]]
				“MS. of The Soul of Man under Socialism. With an additional signature and his address in pencil, on the first page, and signed in full. 66 pages, fol., wanting pages 41, and 51-55 inclusive. Bound in lev. mor., g.e. by Wood. Stetson, A., April 23, ’20. (108) $875.00.“ (American Book-Prices Current, vol. XXVI, 1920, p. 1041)
			John B. Stetson,	bookplate
			Charles Cannon [Dan Rider]	purchased for £180
			Valuable Books, Autograph Letters and Illuminated and Other Manuscripts, Sotheby, Wilkinson & Hodge, London, 27 July 1911, lot 195 [Subtitle: “A Collection of Autograph Manuscripts, Printed Books, Newspaper Cuttings, &c., By and Relating to Oscar Wilde, the Property of a Gentleman“ – “Lots 195 to 200, and 204 to 212, 214 and 219 uniformly bound in green morocco extra, gilt backs, line sides.“]	“ , part of the MS. on 60 pp. folio (numbered up to 65, but first page in duplicate, pages 41 and 51-55 missing), signed at the end ‘Oscar Wilde.’ Apparently the original MS. from which the Essay was printed in the Fortnightly Review, February 1891, the various sheets bearing the printer’s marks. The opening paragraph of the Essay has evidently been re-written from an earlier draft.“
				“The Soul of Man under Socialism, part of the MS. on 60 pages, folio (numbered up to 65, but first page in duplicate, pages 41 and 51-55 missing), signed at the end ‘Oscar Wilde’ (195) Cannon, £180“ {Book-Prices Current, vol. XXV, 1911, p. 629)
				fetched $900 (The Sun, 28 July 1911)
			Vyvyan Holland	“Forgive me for having … [?] you. Poor Vyvyan Holland has come a fearful smash [?]. He has been repudiated by his broker & I have had to send him off to Spain, which has made a sudden & unpleasant strain on my resources. The sale at Sothebys which I made early on his behalf was not enough, & he has banked his share of his father’s estate long ago“ (letter from Robert Ross to Walter Ledger, 11 Oct. 1911, see Robert Ross Memorial Collection, MS Ross 4)
			?Christopher Millard / Stuart Mason
			Robert Ross
3. Autograph or Typewritten Manuscript	unknown
			(?Bartholomew) Robson
			Grant Richards
			?Robert Ross	“You may possibly now have an opportunity of disposing the manuscript of ‘The Soul of Man’. I have written to Robson telling him you thought you would be willing to sell it at a price. In making your quotation you ought to allow for Robson to make at least 20% on the transaction, otherwise I do not suppose there will be any deal. Please understand there is no question of any commission to me at all.“ (letter from Robert Ross to Grant Richards, 12 July 1912, see Clark Library, Box 85, folder 10)
				“Ross (Robert) [i – viii] comprising: … (ii) Series of seven autograph and typed letters signed to Grant Richards, explaining that the L.L. [of Wilde’s poem] was Lillie Langtry of which Ross possesses two of the four manuscripts, confirming that the pamphlet he mentions is a forgery, thanking him for his assistance, outlining his travelling ‘adventures,’ and informing him of an opportunity to sell the manuscript of ‘The Soul of the Man’, 7 pages, 4to and 8vo, c. 1900-1915. …“ (English Literature and History, Sotheby’s, London, 13 Dec. 1990, lot 180) [sold for £2,200, Buyer: B. Rota] [see also Guy, Complete Works, vol. IV, p. lxxx n116]

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Oscar Wilde online

The soul of man under socialism.

by Oscar Wilde

The chief advantage that would result from the establishment of Socialism is, undoubtedly, the fact that Socialism would relieve us from that sordid necessity of living for others which, in the present condition of things, presses so hardly upon almost everybody. In fact, scarcely anyone at all escapes.

Now and then, in the course of the century, a great man of science, like Darwin; a great poet, like Keats; a fine critical spirit, like M. Renan; a supreme artist, like Flaubert, has been able to isolate himself, to keep himself out of reach of the clamorous claims of others, to stand ‘under the shelter of the wall,’ as Plato puts it, and so to realise the perfection of what was in him, to his own incomparable gain, and to the incomparable and lasting gain of the whole world. These, however, are exceptions. The majority of people spoil their lives by an unhealthy and exaggerated altruism—are forced, indeed, so to spoil them. They find themselves surrounded by hideous poverty, by hideous ugliness, by hideous starvation. It is inevitable that they should be strongly moved by all this. The emotions of man are stirred more quickly than man’s intelligence; and, as I pointed out some time ago in an article on the function of criticism, it is much more easy to have sympathy with suffering than it is to have sympathy with thought. Accordingly, with admirable, though misdirected intentions, they very seriously and very sentimentally set themselves to the task of remedying the evils that they see. But their remedies do not cure the disease: they merely prolong it. Indeed, their remedies are part of the disease.

They try to solve the problem of poverty, for instance, by keeping the poor alive; or, in the case of a very advanced school, by amusing the poor.

But this is not a solution: it is an aggravation of the difficulty. The proper aim is to try and reconstruct society on such a basis that poverty will be impossible. And the altruistic virtues have really prevented the carrying out of this aim. Just as the worst slave-owners were those who were kind to their slaves, and so prevented the horror of the system being realised by those who suffered from it, and understood by those who contemplated it, so, in the present state of things in England, the people who do most harm are the people who try to do most good; and at last we have had the spectacle of men who have really studied the problem and know the life—educated men who live in the East End—coming forward and imploring the community to restrain its altruistic impulses of charity, benevolence, and the like. They do so on the ground that such charity degrades and demoralises. They are perfectly right. Charity creates a multitude of sins.

There is also this to be said. It is immoral to use private property in order to alleviate the horrible evils that result from the institution of private property. It is both immoral and unfair.

The Soul of Man Under Socialism

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Analysis: “The Soul of Man Under Socialism”

Content Warning: This section references institutionalized anti-gay prejudice.

Socialism and (especially) anarchism were radical philosophies in 19th-century England, particularly in Oscar Wilde’s elite social circles. Wilde’s essay uses two distinct strategies to render its ideas more palatable to such readers: satire and the lens of artistic criticism.

Where the former is concerned, Wilde uses irony and humor not only to make his points memorable but also to add an element of playfulness that takes the edge off his more biting remarks. In fact, with his reputation for extravagance and iconoclasm, the more scathing Wilde is, the more he blurs the lines before an earnest appeal and self-deprecating joke. Readers can, if they wish, dismiss Wilde’s arguments as a mere exercise in imagination and his authorial persona as a character—a man so concerned with aesthetics that he dabbles in “dangerous” ideas merely for their charm.

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Wilde's Intentions: The Artist in his Criticism

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7 ‘The Soul of Man Under Socialism’

Published: October 1998
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This chapter analyses Oscar Wilde's essay The Soul of Man Under Socialism , which highlights how apparent polarities become the permanently unsettled stuff of Wildean paradox. It considers the essay's contributory discourses of politics and culture, where Wilde imagines a world, adjacent to the imaginative world of The Importance of Being Earnest , in which individual desire is fully and joyfully free. The chapter also discusses Wilde's prison letter entitled De Profundis .

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The Soul of Man under Socialism

By oscar wilde .

The Soul of Man under Socialism by Oscar Wilde

Author: Oscar Wilde

Genre: Non-fiction, Essay

1. The Soul of Man under Socialism Summary

“The Soul of Man under Socialism” argues for the establishment of Socialism to free individuals from the oppressive need to live for others, a condition prevalent in the current system where most are burdened by economic responsibilities and societal expectations. The few exceptions who break away are anomalies, while the majority remain trapped in a cycle of “unhealthy and exaggerated altruism.” They strive to remedy visible societal ailments, such as poverty, through short-term solutions like charity, which the author deems ineffective and even harmful.

Christianity is mentioned as a potential aid in developing a true personality. The essence of Christ’s message, according to Wilde, was to emphasize individualism and be oneself. Wealth is not condemned, but the attachment to material wealth is. The core argument is that a person’s true worth and richness lie within, not in the material possessions they have.

Wilde emphasizes the tension between the individual artist and public opinion, particularly in the realm of journalism. The central argument is that true art arises from the unique expression of the individual artist, uninfluenced by the demands or tastes of the community. Any interference, especially by powerful community factions or governments, can distort or suppress genuine art, leading it to become mere craft or even degenerate. An artist, according to this viewpoint, should create based on their own temperament and not based on the demand of the public. Catering to public demands can dilute an artist’s authenticity, relegating them to a mere craftsman or tradesman.

Wilde discusses the relationship between art, the artist, and public opinion. He critiques the public’s desire to exercise authority over art and argues that true art can only flourish when the artist is free from such constraints. The best arts in England, for instance, have thrived when the public wasn’t particularly interested in them.

“The Soul of Man under Socialism” delves into the concepts of individualism, society’s perception of it, and the evolution of societal ideals. It critiques society for labeling those who follow their own desires rather than conforming to societal expectations as ‘affected’ or ‘selfish’. True selfishness is imposing one’s views on others. Individualism acknowledges and celebrates the diversity of humanity. The writing also challenges common conceptions of sympathy, suggesting that merely sympathizing with suffering doesn’t decrease the amount of pain. It promotes sympathy with all aspects of life, including joy, beauty, and health.

2. The Essence of Wilde’s Argument: Socialism as a Doorway to True Self

At the heart of “The Soul of Man under Socialism” lies a central thesis that challenges conventional wisdom and offers a provocative reimagining of society and individuality. Two key components form the cornerstone of this thesis: Wilde’s view on socialism as a pathway to individualism and his belief in the artificial nature of poverty, advocating for its eradication as essential for true freedom.

2.1. Wilde’s View on Socialism as a Pathway to Individualism

2.2. the idea that poverty is an artificial construct and its eradication as essential for true freedom.

Wilde’s essay goes a step further by challenging the prevailing notion of poverty as an inevitable and natural state of affairs. He vehemently rejected the idea that poverty was a result of some inherent deficiency in individuals or a necessary consequence of economic systems. Instead, Wilde argued that poverty is an artificial construct, a product of societal structures and economic disparities.

3. Unveiling Core Thoughts: Wilde’s Vision of a Socialistic Society

Wilde’s perspective on individualism contrasts commonly held views. He saw socialism as a supporter of real individual expression, debunking myths of it being inherently altruistic. This, he believed, would give rise to true personal freedom.

4. Tackling the Contradictions and Critiques

4.1. the paradoxical nature of wilde’s thoughts on individualism within socialism.

One of the most intriguing aspects of Wilde’s essay is the apparent paradox it presents concerning individualism within the context of socialism. While Wilde passionately argues for socialism as a means to liberate the individual from the constraints of poverty and societal expectations, some readers find his stance paradoxical. They question how a collectivist ideology like socialism can align with Wilde’s promotion of individualism.

4.2. Views on How Wilde Might Oversimplify or Misrepresent Socialism and Its Potential Outcomes

Furthermore, some critics assert that Wilde’s essay lacks a detailed examination of the potential pitfalls and unintended consequences of socialism. They argue that his focus on individualism and artistic freedom might overshadow critical issues such as economic planning, resource allocation, and the role of government in a socialist society. In this sense, they believe that Wilde’s essay may not provide a comprehensive and balanced perspective on the complexities of socialism and its potential outcomes.

5. Its Contemporary Significance

5.1. comparison to modern socialist movements and theories.

Wilde’s vision of socialism as a means to liberate the individual and foster genuine creativity remains pertinent in the context of modern socialist movements and theories. In today’s world, where income inequality and social disparities persist, many continue to look to socialism as a potential solution. Wilde’s assertion that socialism can coexist with individualism challenges the misconception that socialism inherently stifles personal freedom. This perspective aligns with contemporary debates about balancing collective welfare with individual autonomy.

5.2. The Ongoing Debate on Automation, Labor, and the Role of Machines in Society

5.3. the persistent struggle for artistic freedom in the face of commercialism and popular opinion, 6. conclusion: why “the soul of man under socialism” still matters.

In wrapping up, the enduring significance of “The Soul of Man under Socialism” cannot be understated. It serves as a beacon for discussions around society, freedom, and the essence of individualism.

Intentions by oscar wilde, the truth of masks, the critic as artist, pen, pencil, and poison, the decay of lying, sign up for sevenov newsletter, get the latest updates delivered straight to your inbox..

worldsocialism.org/spgb

Part of the World Socialist Movement

Oscar Wilde: the soul of man under socialism

Oscar Wilde was a well known critic of many aspects of the nineteenth century writer Britain in which he lived. Especially interesting from a WSM point of view are the views that he expressed in his essay, The Soul of Man Under Socialism . Wilde’s description of socialism was as a world without private property. He clearly favoured this kind of society, commenting that

“It is immoral to use private property in order to alleviate the horrible evils that result from the institutions of private property”.

He does not state that socialism is a world without money. His criticism of charity, however, does imply that the capitalist system should not be reformed but abolished:

“Their remedies do not cure the disease; they merely prolong it. Indeed, their remedies are part of the disease”.

Although written just over one hundred years ago it is remarkably apt for the contemporary world. Wilde continues:

“For what are called criminals nowadays are not criminals at all. Starvation, and not sin, is the parent of modern crime”.

This is far removed from the traditional values in nineteenth century Britain which we still hear about, as is his condemnation of contemporary attitudes to the poor. He comments:

“sometimes the poor are praised for being thrifty. But to recommend thrift to the poor is both grotesque and insulting. It is like advising a man who is starving to eat less”.

Anticipating criticism of this view, he argues t hat “no Authoritarian Socialism will do”, meaning socialism cannot be forced on people and can only be achieved when the majority want it:

“Socialism, Communism, or whatever, one chooses to call it, by converting private property into public wealth, and substituting co-operation for competition, will restore society to its proper condition of a thoroughly healthy organism, and ensure the material well-being of each member of the community”.

This is as good a definition of socialism as we will find. As well as material well-being, socialism will, for Wilde, also help to bring about a positive brand of ‘individualism’ in which every people can fulfill their individual potential:

“One will live. To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”

This personality or “spirit,” is what Wilde means by the ‘Soul of Man.’ With the end of war, hunger and poverty, people will take for granted the material things of this world and concentrate on “not in what man has but in what man is.”

Wilde sees machinery as vitally important for this type of society, since it can do most, if not all, of the work:

“At present machinery competes against man. Under proper conditions machinery will serve man.”

Wilde predicts that this will leave man to enjoy:

“cultivated leisure—which, and not labour, is the aim of man—or making beautiful things, or reading beautiful things, or simply contemplating the world with admiration and delight.”

Whilst a socialist world may still require plenty of useful work to be done, it is true that technology can help humanity. Instead of studying new ways for us to kill each other, scientists can concentrate on developing things which would improve the quality of life for everyone. As Wilde puts it:

“The state is to make what is useful. The individual is to make what is beautiful”.

Wilde defines the state as

“an association that will organize labour and be the voluntary manufacturer and distributor of necessary commodities”.

To use the word state was a mistake as he did not mean a government and argued that “the state is not to govern” . For Wilde, the “state” simply meant the co-operation of humans to provide what we need.

The Soul of Man serves as a good introduction to socialism, and is clearly still relevant today:

“They try to solve the problem of poverty, for instance, by keeping the poor alive; or, in the case of a very advanced school, by amusing the poor. But this is not the solution; it is an aggravation of the difficulty. The proper aim is to try and reconstruct society on such a basis that poverty will be impossible.”

Researcher: Nigel Green

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Document – Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891)

Abstract and keywords.

Oscar Wilde, an Irish poet and writer, became one of London’s most popular playwrights in the 1890s. Trained as a classicist in Dublin, then at Oxford, Wilde became a journalist in London and made a name for himself as a flamboyant proponent of the new philosophy of aestheticism. After several popular stage plays, he wrote his most famous work, The Importance of Being Ernest, in 1895. The same year, Wilde was put on trial for homosexuality, a crime in England at that time, and imprisoned for two years. Upon his release Wilde immigrated to Paris, where he died in 1900 at the age of forty-six. In The Soul of Man, Wilde explores the manner in which socialism, allowing people to realize greater individualism, will provide the best context for art—Wilde’s ultimate goal. The chief advantage that would result from the establishment of Socialism is undoubtedly, the fact that Socialism would relieve us from that sordid necessity of living for others which, in the present condition of things, presses so hardly upon almost everybody. In fact, scarcely anyone at all escapes.

From Oscar Wilde, “The Soul of Man Under Socialism,” New York: Humboldt, 1891.

Now and then, in the course of the century, a great man of science, like Darwin; a great poet, like Keats; a fine critical spirit, like M. Renan; a supreme artist, like Flaubert, has been able to isolate himself, to keep himself out of reach of the clamorous claims of others, to stand “under the shelter of the wall,” as Plato puts it, and so to realise the perfection of what was in him, to his own incomparable gain, and to the incomparable and lasting gain of the whole world. These, however, are exceptions. The majority of people spoil their lives by an unhealthy and exaggerated altruism—are forced, indeed, so to spoil them. They find themselves surrounded by hideous poverty, by hideous ugliness, by hideous starvation. It is inevitable that they should be strongly moved by all this. The emotions of man are stirred more quickly than man’s intelligence; and, as I pointed out some time ago in an article on the function of criticism, it is much more easy to have sympathy with suffering than it is to have sympathy with thought. Accordingly, with admirable, though misdirected intentions, they very seriously and very sentimentally set themselves to the task of remedying the evils that they see. But their remedies do not cure the disease: they merely prolong it. Indeed, their remedies are part of the disease.

They try to solve the problem of poverty, for instance, by keeping the poor alive; or, in the case of a very advanced school, by amusing the poor.

But this is not a solution: it is an aggravation of the difficulty. The proper aim is to try and reconstruct society on such a basis that poverty will be impossible . And the altruistic virtues have really prevented the carrying out of this aim. Just as the worst slave-owners were those who were kind to their slaves, and so prevented the horror of the system being realised by those who suffered from it, and understood by those who contemplated it, so, in the present state of things in England, the people who do most harm are the people who try to do most good; and at last we have had the spectacle of men who have really studied the problem and know the life—educated men who live in the East End—coming forward and imploring the community to restrain its altruistic impulses of charity, benevolence, and the like. They do so on the ground that such charity degrades and demoralises. They are perfectly right. Charity creates a multitude of sins.

There is also this to be said. It is immoral to use private property in order to alleviate the horrible evils that result from the institution of private property. It is both immoral and unfair.

Under Socialism all this will, of course, be altered. There will be no people living in fetid dens and fetid rags, and bringing up unhealthy, hunger-pinched children in the midst of impossible and absolutely repulsive surroundings. The security of society will not depend, as it does now, on the state of the weather. If a frost comes we shall not have a hundred thousand men out of work, tramping about the streets in a state of disgusting misery, or whining to their neighbours for alms, or crowded round the doors of loathsome shelters to try and secure a hunch of bread and a night’s unclean lodging. Each member of the society will share in the general prosperity and happiness of the society, and if a frost comes no one will practically be anything the worse.

Upon the other hand, Socialism itself will be of value simply because it will lead to Individualism.

Socialism, Communism, or whatever one chooses to call it, by converting private property into public wealth, and substituting co-operation for competition, will restore society to its proper condition of a thoroughly healthy organism, and insure the material well-being of each member of the community. It will, in fact, give Life its proper basis and its proper environment. But for the full development of Life to its highest mode of perfection, something more is needed. What is needed is Individualism. If the Socialism is Authoritarian; if there are Governments armed with economic power as they are now with political power; if, in a word, we are to have Industrial Tyrannies, then the last state of man will be worse than the first. At present, in consequence of the existence of private property, a great many people are enabled to develop a certain very limited amount of Individualism. They are either under no necessity to work for the living, or are enabled to choose the sphere of activity that is really congenial to them, and gives them pleasure. These are the poets, the philosophers, the men of science, the men of culture—in a word, the real men, the men who have realised themselves, and in whom all Humanity gains a partial realisation. Upon the other hand, there are a great many people who, having no private property of their own, and being always on the brink of sheer starvation, are compelled to do the work of beasts of burden, to do work that is quite uncongenial to them, and to which they are forced by the peremptory, unreasonable, degrading Tyranny of want. These are the poor, and amongst them there is no grace of manner, or charm of speech, or civilisation, or culture, or refinement in pleasure, or joy of life. From their collective force Humanity gains much in material prosperity. But it is only the material result that it gains, and the man who is poor is in himself absolutely of no importance. He is merely the infinitesimal atom of a force that, so far from regarding him, crushes him: indeed, prefers him crushed, as in that case he is far more obedient.

Private property has crushed true Individualism, and set up an Individualism that is false. It has debarred one part of the community from being individual by starving them. It has debarred the other part of the community from being individual by putting them on the wrong road, and encumbering them. Indeed, so completely has man’s personality been absorbed by his possessions that the English law has always treated offences against a man’s property with far more severity than offences against his person, and property is still the test of complete citizenship. The industry necessary for the making of money is also very demoralising. In a community like ours, where property confers immense distinction, social position, honour, respect, titles, and other pleasant things of the kind, man, being naturally ambitious, makes it his aim to accumulate this property, and goes on wearily and tediously accumulating it long after he has got far more than he wants, or can use, or enjoy, or perhaps even know of. Man will kill himself by overwork in order to secure property, and really, considering the enormous advantages that property brings, one is hardly surprised. One’s regret is that society should be constructed on such a basis that man has been forced into a groove in which he cannot freely develop what is wonderful, and fascinating, and delightful in him—in which, in fact, he misses the true pleasure and joy of living. He is also, under existing conditions, very insecure. An enormously wealthy merchant may be—often is—at every moment of his life at the mercy of things that are not under his control. If the wind blows an extra point or so, or the weather suddenly changes, or some trivial thing happens, his ship may go down, his speculations may go wrong, and he finds himself a poor man, with his social position quite gone. Now, nothing should be able to harm a man except himself. Nothing should be able to rob a man at all. What a man really has, is what is in him. What is outside of him should be a matter of no importance.

With the abolition of private property, then, we shall have true, beautiful, healthy Individualism. Nobody will waste his life in accumulating things, and the symbols for things. One will live. To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.

Now as the State is not to govern, it may be asked what the State is to do. The State is to be a voluntary association that will organise labour, and be the manufacturer and distributor of necessary commodities. The State is to make what is useful. The individual is to make what is beautiful . And as I have mentioned the word labour, I cannot help saying that a great deal of nonsense is being written and talked nowadays about the dignity of manual labour. There is nothing necessarily dignified about manual labour at all, and most of it is absolutely degrading. It is mentally and morally injurious to man to do anything in which he does not find pleasure, and many forms of labour are quite pleasureless activities, and should be regarded as such. To sweep a slushy crossing for eight hours, on a day when the east wind is blowing is a disgusting occupation. To sweep it with mental, moral, or physical dignity seems to me to be impossible. To sweep it with joy would be appalling. Man is made for something better than disturbing dirt. All work of that kind should be done by a machine.

And I have no doubt that it will be so. Up to the present, man has been, to a certain extent, the slave of machinery, and there is something tragic in the fact that as soon as man had invented a machine to do his work he began to starve. This, however, is, of course, the result of our property system and our system of competition. One man owns a machine which does the work of five hundred men. Five hundred men are, in consequence, thrown out of employment, and, having no work to do, become hungry and take to thieving. The one man secures the produce of the machine and keeps it, and has five hundred times as much as he should have, and probably, which is of much more importance, a great deal more than he really wants. Were that machine the property of all, every one would benefit by it. It would be an immense advantage to the community. All unintellectual labour, all monotonous, dull labour, all labour that deals with dreadful things, and involves unpleasant conditions, must be done by machinery. Machinery must work for us in coal mines, and do all sanitary service, and be the stoker of steamers, and clean the streets, and run messages on wet days, and do anything that is tedious or distressing. At present machinery competes against man. Under proper conditions machinery will serve man. There is no doubt at all that this is the future of machinery, and just as trees grow while the country gentleman is asleep, so while Humanity will be amusing itself, or enjoying cultivated leisure—which, and not labour, is the aim of man—or making beautiful things, or reading beautiful things, or simply contemplating the world with admiration and delight, machinery will be doing all the necessary and unpleasant work. The fact is, that civilisation requires slaves. The Greeks were quite right there. Unless there are slaves to do the ugly, horrible, uninteresting work, culture and contemplation become almost impossible. Human slavery is wrong, insecure, and demoralizing. On mechanical slavery, on the slavery of the machine, the future of the world depends.

There are three kinds of despots. There is the despot who tyrannises over the body. There is the despot who tyrannises over the soul. There is the depot who tyrannises over the soul and body alike. The first is called the Prince. The second is called the Pope. The third is called the People. The Prince may be cultivated. Many Princes have been. Yet in the Prince there is danger. One thinks of Dante at the bitter feast in Verona, of Tasso in Ferrara’s madman’s cell. It is better for the artist not to live with Princes. The Pope may be cultivated. Many Popes have been; the bad Popes have been. The bad Popes loved Beauty, almost as passionately, nay, with as much passion as the good Popes hated Thought. To the wickedness of the Papacy humanity owes much. The goodness of the Papacy owes a terrible debt to humanity. Yet, though the Vatican has kept the rhetoric of its thunders, and lost the rod of its lightning, it is better for the artist not to live with Popes. It was a Pope who said of Cellini to a conclave of Cardinals that common laws and common authority were not made for men such as he; but it was a Pope who thrust Cellini into prison, and kept him there till he sickened with rage, and created unreal visions for himself, and saw the gilded sun enter his room, and grew so enamoured of it he sought to escape, and crept out from tower to tower, and falling through dizzy air at dawn, maimed himself, and was by a vine-dresser covered with vine leaves, and carried in a cart to one who, loving beautiful things, had care of him. There is danger in Popes. And as for the People, what of them and their authority? Perhaps of them and their authority one has spoken enough. Their authority is a thing blind, deaf, hideous, grotesque, tragic, amusing, serious, and obscene. It is impossible for the artist to live with the People. All despots bribe. The people bribe and brutalise. Who told them to exercise authority? They were made to live, to listen, and to love. Someone has done them a great wrong. They have marred themselves by imitation of their inferiors. They have taken the scepter of the Prince. How should they use it? They have taken the triple tiara of the Pope. How should they carry its burden? They are as a clown whose heart is broken. They are as a priest whose soul is not yet born. Let all who love Beauty pity them. Though they themselves love not Beauty, yet let them pity themselves. Who taught them the trick of tyranny?

There are many other things that one might point out. One might point out how the Renaissance was great, because it sought to solve no social problem, and busied itself not about such things, but suffered the individual to develop freely, beautifully, and naturally, and so had great and individual artists, and great and individual men. One might point out how Louis XIV., by creating the modern state, destroyed the individualism of the artist, and made things monstrous in their monotony of repetition, and contemptible in their conformity to rule, and destroyed throughout all France all those fine freedoms of expression that had made tradition new in beauty, and new modes one with antique form. But the past is of no importance. The present is of no importance. It is with the future that we have to deal. For the past is what man should not have been. The present is what man ought not to be. The future is what artists are.

It will, of course, be said that such a scheme as is set forth here is quite unpractical, and goes against human nature. This is perfectly true. It is unpractical, and it goes against human nature. This is why it is worth carrying out, and that is why one proposes it. For what is a practical scheme? A practical scheme is either a scheme that is already in existence, or a scheme that could be carried out under existing conditions. But it is exactly the existing conditions that one objects to; and any scheme that could accept these conditions is wrong and foolish. The conditions will be done away with, and human nature will change. The only thing that one really knows about human nature is that it changes. Change is the one quality we can predicate of it. The systems that fail are those that rely on the permanency of human nature, and not on its growth and development. The error of Louis XIV. was that he thought human nature would always be the same. The result of his error was the French Revolution. It was an admirable result. All the results of the mistakes of governments are quite admirable.

1. Is Wilde deliberately writing in a serious or a sarcastic way, especially about the various ‘do-gooders’ who espouse socialism?

2. How do aesthetics and notions of beauty shape his reactions to socialist plans?

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The Socialism of Oscar Wilde

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Oscar Wilde is known today for his satirical wit and literary accomplishments. But he was also a socialist committed to the fight against oppression and exploitation.

The great satirist Oscar Wilde believed that a better society was possible under socialism. (Pixabay)

That Oscar Wilde found much to ridicule in the conventional values of late Victorian society is evident to anyone who has turned a page of his work. What is less known is that the playwright and poet envisioned a very different society as not only desirable but possible, and penned a political essay — “The Soul of Man Under Socialism ” — in which he outlined his political beliefs. One of Wilde’s most frequently quoted lines — often reproduced without reference to its source — is contained within that work: “To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”

Wilde lived a full life, albeit a short one. Born in October 1854 at Dublin’s Westland Row, but raised primarily at nearby Merrion Square, Oscar Fingal O’Flahertie Wills Wilde was the son of two of the great eccentrics — and intellects — of nineteenth-century Dublin. His father, William Wilde, was a pioneering surgeon and medical authority, who accepted a Knighthood in Dublin Castle, the home of British rule on the island of Ireland. By comparison, his mother Jane Wilde spent much of her life seeking to break that connection with Britain. A folklorist, poet, and essayist, she wrote under the pen name Speranza, the Italian word for hope.

The Nation and Young Ireland

The household in which Wilde was raised was one of intense political discussion, encouraged by Speranza who saw the home as something of a political salon. The suffragist Millicent Fawcett was invited by Speranza to come “explain what female liberty means,” in a city where the question of women’s suffrage failed to gain the same traction as on the neighboring island for some decades.

As a poet, Speranza’s output appeared in the pages of the Nation, a seperatist newspaper aligned with the Young Ireland movement. The title — “Young Ireland, and thus the Young Irelanders” — was a bestowed reference to the emerging national-republican movements sweeping the continent in the 1840s, in particular Giuseppe Mazzini’s Young Italy.

A break with the conservative constitutional nationalism of Daniel O’Connell, the Young Irelanders heralded the Second French Revolution with the observation that “dynasties and thrones are not half so important as workshops, farms and factories. Rather we may say that dynasties and thrones, and even provisional governments, are good for anything exactly in proportion as they secure fair play, justice, and freedom to those who labour.” The movement led an abortive insurrection in 1848 against the backdrop of famine and starvation, Speranza’s poetry encouraging “fainting forms, hunger-stricken” into revolt.

Speranza, later quoted by James Connolly in the pages of Labour in Irish History , frequently hosted veterans of the Young Ireland movement in the family home, Wilde later recalling that “with regards those men of forty-eight, I look on their work with peculiar reverence and love, for I was indeed trained by my mother to love and reverence them, as a Catholic child is the saints of the cathedral.”

A Different Kind of Separatism: Wilde in America

Wilde’s comments on the Young Irelanders were made during a speaking tour of the United States in 1881, the young poet embarking on a journey across the country speaking on aestheticism, but discovering that audiences were instead drawn by the chance to hear Speranza’s son.

Some of Wilde’s pronouncements before American audiences seem puzzling today, including his lavish praise for the Confederacy, and insistence that “we in Ireland are fighting for the principle of autonomy against empire, for independence against centralization, for the principles for which the South fought.” Wilde toured the French Quarter of New Orleans with former Confederate general Pierre Gustave Beauregard, “the man who ordered the first shot fired in the Civil War,” and professed Jefferson Davis the American he most wished to meet.

Wilde’s flirtations with the cause of the South reveal several things — chiefly, the desire of the young poet to tell local audiences what they wanted to hear. There were no such murmurings in New York, for example. The kind of separatism espoused by the Southern states was at variance with much of what was preached in the pages of the Nation of course, but there was still something Speranza admired in the Confederacy, and in that she was not entirely unique.

Shaw and Fabianism

In the London of the 1880s, Wilde came to prominence as a journalist and playwright. As editor of the Woman’s World from 1886 until 1890, he published articles on the suffrage question, and called for equality in society between the sexes, as “cultivation of separate sorts of virtues and separate ideals of duty in men and women has led to the whole social fabric being weaker and unhealthier than it need be.”

The magazine, Wilde authority Eleanor Fitzsimons has noted, championed “South-African-born radical feminist Olive Schreiner, who agitated for greater access to political life and an end to the sexual double standard,” and was decidedly progressive in tone.

Much is sometimes made of Wilde signing a letter seeking clemency for the anarchists convicted of involvement in the Haymarket Affair in the United States in 1886, at the request of George Bernard Shaw. His fellow Dubliner later recounted however that “it was a completely disinterested act on his part; and it secured my distinguished consideration for him for the rest of his life.”

The socialism of George Bernard Shaw had its origins in his involvement with the Fabian Society in Dublin, but had developed — and been challenged — in his time in England. Much of Fabianism remained with Shaw, who wrote in 1890 of his belief that “socialism can be brought about in a perfectly constitutional manner by democratic institutions.”

Fabianism in Dublin had won few disciples — in a city where Home Rule dominated all political questions and pushed societal questions aside — but things were different in London. A meeting attended by both Shaw and Wilde in July 1888 had a transformative effect on Wilde — Wilde’s former lover and literary executor, Robbie Ross, would insist it formed the inspiration for Wilde’s 1891 essay “The Soul of Man Under Socialism .” It was a work which Shaw commented on bitingly, insisting “it was very witty and entertaining, but had nothing whatever to do with socialism.”

The Soul of Man Under Socialism

While Shaw may not have recognized socialism in Wilde’s essay, perhaps he was looking only for a socialism he himself recognized, from his own past engagement with Marxist ideas.

Wilde had become increasingly influenced by the anarchist writings of Peter Kropotkin, something explored in detail by the anarchist historian George Woodcock, a biographer of both men. The admiration was mutual, Kropotkin later writing to Robbie Ross of the “deepest interest and sympathy” for Wilde within the anarchist community, and lauding “The Soul of Man Under Socialism” as a work containing words “worth being engraved.”

To Woodcock, Wilde’s essay amounts to “the most ambitious contribution to literary anarchism during the 1890s.” In it, Wilde outlines his belief in the need for the abolition of private property:

With the abolition of private property, then, we shall have true, beautiful, healthy Individualism. Nobody will waste his life in accumulating things, and the symbols for things. One will live. To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.

Wilde’s essay was not so much a call for a new order, and the advancement of the cause of labor, but for the abolishment of wage labor, maintaining that “socialism would relieve us from that sordid necessity of living for others which, in the present condition of things, presses so hardly upon almost everybody.” The work also contains a critique of charity, as something which serves only to treat the symptoms of that which is making society sick — a capitalist economy which denies us the time to live.

“The Soul of Man Under Socialism” is no dry polemic — it contains within it some of Wilde’s finest witticisms, that “charity creates a multitude of sins,” and that “it is finer to take than to beg.” Most unfortunately, the work appeared in print right at the worst moment in Wilde’s life.

Imprisonment and Afterlife

As Neil Bartlett has noted, a mere five days had passed after Wilde’s conviction in May 1895 for gross indecency before the publication of “The Soul of Man” (its original title). It was a small print run of just a few dozen copies, but its publication “only five days after Wilde’s conviction was making an extraordinary point. Just at the moment when he was being silenced, somebody was determined that it was Wilde’s voice at its most overtly radical that should continue to be heard in print.”

Wilde’s marriage to Irish author Constance Lloyd had produced two children, but they had become sexually estranged from the time of the birth of their second son, Wilde later writing privately that “she could not understand me, and I was bored to death with the married life,” while also acknowledging she was “wonderfully loyal to me.” By that time, Wilde had embarked on a homosexual relationship with Robbie Ross.

A later relationship with Lord Alfred Douglas ultimately led Wilde to the dock, where he was savagely cross-examined by Edward Carson, later to come to prominence as the leading dissenting voice against Home Rule for Ireland. Both were graduates of Trinity College, and Dubliners, though Wilde wryly noted of Carson’s brief that “no doubt he will perform his task with all the added bitterness of an old friend.” History recalls Carson as the man who divided Ireland, but he was also the downfall of Wilde. The rule of law meant less to Carson a few short years later, when he threatened bloodshed against the passing of Home Rule.

Incarceration, from May 1895 until 1897, produced Wilde’s most poignant and reflective work, the letter De Profundis. It is a work which captures the profound mental anguish of imprisonment, and the breaking down of one’s individuality, but it also contains a sense of defiance: “When first I was put into prison some people advised me to try and forget who I was. It was ruinous advice. It is only by realizing what I am that I have found comfort of any kind.”

On release from prison, Wilde — living under the name Sebastian Melmoth — lived his final years in exile in France. His faithful friend and former lover, Ross, would ensure continued publication, including an edition of “The Soul of Man Under Socialism” in 1912. Ross also commissioned the sculptor Jacob Epstein for Wilde’s tomb in Père Lachaise Cemetery. Much has been written on Epstein’s work, condemned as indecent and which French police insisted be covered, the angel’s genitalia causing offense to the sensibilities of some in Parisian municipal politics. But what of the inscription upon the monument?

And alien tears will fill for him Pity’s long-broken urn, For his mourners will be outcast men, And outcasts always mourn.

With the passing of time, Wilde is no longer a disgraced figure, nor a mourned one. In the Ireland of the late-twentieth century, he became a figure of inspiration to a generation of Irish gay rights activists, challenging the idea — as the writer Declan Kiberd noted some “essentialist souls”saw it — that “you can be gay or you can be Irish, but you cannot be both at the same time.” To popular memory, Wilde exists as the great satirist of his age, but he was a writer for all ages, and there is still much to ponder in his work on society as it is and as it could be.

The Soul of Man Under Socialism

By oscar wilde.

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The Soul of Man under Socialism is an 1891 essay by Oscar Wilde in which he expounds a libertarian socialist worldview and a critique of charity. The writing of "The Soul of Man" followed Wilde's conversion to anarchist philosophy, following his reading of the works of Peter Kropotkin.

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Oscar Wilde. The Soul of Man under Socialism
Oscar Wilde 1891. The Soul of Man under Socialism. The chief advantage that would result from the establishment of Socialism is, undoubtedly, the fact that Socialism would relieve us from that sordid necessity of living for others which, in the present condition of things, presses so hardly upon almost everybody.
The Soul of Man Under Socialism
"The Soul of Man Under Socialism." First publication in Fortnightly Review February 1891, p. 292 "The Soul of Man Under Socialism" is an 1891 essay by Oscar Wilde in which he expounds a libertarian socialist worldview and a critique of charity. [1] The writing of "The Soul of Man" followed Wilde's conversion to anarchist philosophy, following his reading of the works of Peter Kropotkin.
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An essay exploring socialism ideas. Buy Books » Oscar Wilde online. Share Tweet The Soul Of Man Under Socialism. by Oscar Wilde. The chief advantage that would result from the establishment of Socialism is, undoubtedly, the fact that Socialism would relieve us from that sordid necessity of living for others which, in the present condition of ...
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A satirical political essay, Oscar Wilde's "The Soul of Man Under Socialism" was first published in 1891. It was reprinted five days after his trial for "gross indecency"—i.e., sexual relations with another man—under the shortened name "The Soul of Man"; subsequent reprintings restored the original title. As a prominent artist ...
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Socialism and (especially) anarchism were radical philosophies in 19th-century England, particularly in Oscar Wilde's elite social circles. Wilde's essay uses two distinct strategies to render its ideas more palatable to such readers: satire and the lens of artistic criticism.
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Document
Oscar Wilde, an Irish poet and writer, became one of London's most popular playwrights in the 1890s. Trained as a classicist in Dublin, then at Oxford, Wilde became a journalist in London and made a name for himself as a flamboyant proponent of the new philosophy of aestheticism. ... From Oscar Wilde, "The Soul of Man Under Socialism ...
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Wilde The famous writer and poet Oscar Wilde's key text outlining his personal vision for a libertarian socialist society, and its implications for personal freedom and potential. ... Socialism, Communism, or whatever one chooses to call it, by converting private property into public wealth, and substituting co-operation for competition, will ...
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cialist philosophy. Wilde was concerned with the way in which the institution of private property obstructs the free devel-opmentofthepersonality. In his essay The Soul of Man Under Socialism Wilde outlines the general ben-eﬁts that he believes would be present in a socialist society. Wilde's understanding ...
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It seems to be a matter almost of convention, when introducing or con cluding a study of utopianism, to cite a celebrated statement by Oscar Wilde, formulated in an article on 'The Soul of Man Under Socialism' from 1891. Wilde proclaimed, first, that ' [a] map of the world that does not. include Utopia is not worth even glancing at'; and ...
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The Socialism of Oscar Wilde. By. Donal Fallon. Oscar Wilde is known today for his satirical wit and literary accomplishments. But he was also a socialist committed to the fight against oppression and exploitation. Subscribe to our print edition today. That Oscar Wilde found much to ridicule in the conventional values of late Victorian society ...
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(PDF) The Soul of Man Under Socialism by Oscar Wilde
The Soul of Man under Socialism is an 1891 essay by Oscar Wilde in which he expounds a libertarian socialist worldview and a critique of charity. The writing of "The Soul of Man" followed Wilde's conversion to anarchist philosophy, following his reading of the works of Peter Kropotkin.

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The Soul of Man under Socialism

The Soul of Man under Socialism by Oscar Wilde

1. The Soul of Man under Socialism Summary

2. The Essence of Wilde’s Argument: Socialism as a Doorway to True Self

2.1. Wilde’s View on Socialism as a Pathway to Individualism

3. Unveiling Core Thoughts: Wilde’s Vision of a Socialistic Society

4. Tackling the Contradictions and Critiques

4.2. Views on How Wilde Might Oversimplify or Misrepresent Socialism and Its Potential Outcomes

5. Its Contemporary Significance

5.2. The Ongoing Debate on Automation, Labor, and the Role of Machines in Society

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