Wilde’s Soul of Man Under Socialism
We live in grimy times, in a world ruled by dully clashing grim forces, withscarcely an ounce of merit or humanity on either or any side of their cynically antagonistic hegemonies. At a moment when our rulers’ failure has
never been so visible, real choice, the truly human alternative lies critically ill, a victim of the grim failures of those who once stood in its name.
Its a time like this that where to retain any hope you need real inspiration, the optimism of the will to compliment Gramsci’s pessimism of the intellect. And you could do worse than reading, or re-reading the Soul of
Man Under Socialism as I’ve just done. Mine probably counts as “reading” without the “re” prefix, as I don’t think I
read it in its entirety during the Wilde phase of my teens.
Reading it now, I am reminded of how joyous a writer, in the truest sense,Wilde can be. The wry epigrams are all there for sure, the love of paradox and the sure-footed knowledge that being playful can be far more effective
than being ponderous amidst the great matters of the world. Philanthropists set back the cause of progress, the best of the poor are the vicious and the ungrateful, to free the public we must first see that public opinion is worthless……….The portrayal of art as something that must fight against and lead public opinion rather than pandering to it is a delight. More inspirational still though is its vision of a future where people will no longer have to live in dependence on one another, of a genuine freedom unknown as yet to humankind then or now.
It is as devastating a critique and auger of the statist authoritarianism that was to become known as communism several decades on, as it was of the disgusting class-bound poverty and degradation of the Victorian day.
It rescues the vision of socialism as redemptive of humankind - a vision which has animated so many millions of people over the centuries - from the shoddy vandalism done to this dream by the Soviets and their hangers on. This
is what we are fighting for, not Politburos and bread cues. It is as effective a blast at these false pretenders as it is against the asininities of the blind, spiritually stunted, money-worshiping thugs who today call themselves libertarians. Wilde, a true libertarian just as he was a true socialist, could see in an instant that any “freedom” based on the subjugation of others, the freedom to exploit, the freedom to serve and starve, is no freedom at all. It is an effective kick against them as it is against the other. But, as always with Wilde, it feels more like kiss than kick.
Ah, but these are the pretentious utopian dreams of an aesthete fop you may say. Indeed they are. What use can they be? Well, without hope, humankind would never have crawled from the swamp.
“Is this Utopian? A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at, for it leaves out the one country at which Humanity is always landing. And when Humanity lands there, it looks out, and, seeing a better country, sets sail. Progress is the realisation of Utopias.”
Other Splinters posts of interest:
- Those who can write novels, those who can’t write plays
- For the new year
- Shoot The Archer
- Sing me to sleep
- Gay Godfather of the Left
Make A Comment: ( 1 so far )
One Response to “Wilde’s Soul of Man Under Socialism”
User links about "degradation" on iLinkShare
October 1st, 2008
[...] | user-saved public links | iLinkShare 4 votesWilde’s Soul of Man Under Socialism>> saved by Skyentertaiment 1 days ago1 votesDigital Age = Degradation of Handwriting?>> saved by [...]