The Soul of Man Under Socialism

There is a verve and a beauty to the character and especially the writing of Oscar Wilde. He's one of the few prose stylists who can be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Shakespeare; and as far as raw beauty of language and expression I'd vouchsafe Wilde the greater skill in a narrower depth than the Bard.

That being said Wilde's statements concerning the status of an artist and their role in the society around them are gorgeously insightful. Wilde was that rare bird who from his undoubtedly privileged station in life was able to infer much artistic truth that could be termed near axiomatic. In an odd combination of what my father would call 'native intellect' along with the circumstances of his own life (especially the rough show more conclusion) a life narrative springs to attention almost Dostoyevskian in the inhering diametric opposites between beginning and end.

But this is in reference to Wilde's declamations regarding art. As regards Socialism...

It shouldn't come as too much of a shock, I suppose, that I tend to lean left on most issues. I'm pro choice, pro any kind of marriage (though the institution of marriage makes no sense to me at all at this life juncture but if you want it, hey go nuts), pro a social safety net, stricter gun laws, easier immigration laws, affirmative action WHATEVER. The only issues I'm truly at loggerheads with concerning the democrats (not that I'm registered but I will vote come 2020) is their stance vis a vis Israel. But Israel is a big boy nation that doesn't really need my vote to survive. One hopes, at least.

The reason for that digression is simple. I'm very left learning, borderline socialist. But note the 'borderline'. A few weeks ago I, along with a few friends, saw Bernie Sanders speak in Downtown Los Angeles. It was a good speech and Mr. Sanders, the consummate politician, said all the things he knew his base would love to hear, and did. I enjoyed the speech and believed as much of it as my inhering skepticism regarding politicians could allow, which was a decent amount. Is America ready for Socialism? A more socialized democracy? Sure, but full on Socialism and even Communism? I, honestly, highly doubt it. But Bernie made it sound good and that's where our friend Wilde comes in.

Socialism sounds wonderful, it sounds like a miracle, in fact, it sounds so good that it makes one wonder why it hasn't been tried successfully before, and if it has, what the hell are we waiting for? At least, that's the impression I got from Wilde. Whereas his treatise on art and artistry was spot on, even brilliant, Wilde's adumbration of Socialism felt treacly, even wide-eyed and naive. He doesn't really go into too many details concerning the logistics of how this system could and should be implemented and what to do if there was any opposition to it, or anything like that, Wilde just comes off as an ideologue so assured of his beliefs that a brief going over is all that's required.

Eh. Politics, especially the economic side of them, might not have been Wilde's bag, no harm. It wasn't Ayn Rand's either but it didn't stop her from being a lunatic. In summation: read this for Wilde's art, not his politics. The former is profound, the latter half-baked. show less

The European Socialism movement of the 19th century is much different from socialism of today. Many things we take for granted in our so-called capitalist society simply did not exist then for the vast majority of people. Leisure time, vacation, property ownership, college education (or even high school education), child labor laws, did not exist for the vast majority. Barely subsistence wages and a huge pool of people needing work kept the majority of the population lock into wage slavery. There was little individualism if you were a cog in a machine.

Two points that caught my attention:

"High hopes were once formed of democracy; but democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people." A great quote about show more the current national politics of the Untied States. Elections are treated like football games were you chose the red team or the blue team, and no matter who wins you can count on, for the most part, things will be exactly the same after the game as they were before the game. You may bask in the glory of a victory, but the victory is actually pretty hollow, because change will be mostly unnoticeable and the lack of change will be blamed on obstruction from the losing team (or even obstructionist inside the winning team). When has a team said "We accomplished what we wanted." even when they have the majority? Yet, this bludgeoning cost us $4.8 Billion in the 2012 presidential election.

"Indeed, so complete has man's personality been absorbed by his possessions that the English law has always treated offenses against a man's property with far more severity than offenses against his person..."

This seems to be true in America today. Run a red light and hit someones car and your insurance gets hit for property damage. Police show up, usually several police cars and maybe the fire department too. Cross a crosswalk and get hit by a car, maybe the police will show up, one car at the most. What no witnesses? Well I guess nothing happened here, you really need to be more careful when you cross the street. Another common occurrence, one that happened in my neighborhood. A cyclist stopped at a red light, the car behind him ran the red light killing the cyclist. The driver was charged with failure to drive within the conditions of the road, $250 ticket covered a human life. Looking up "cyclist killed" or "pedestrian killed" on any search engine and you will find many such cases.

We haven't changed since Wilde wrote this. show less

While Oscar Wilde was at times a truly brilliant man, he was also capable of being hopelessly naive. This book was almost cute, at times, like watching a child give a speech at a fundraiser or something. Still, even when I felt the things he was saying were head-slappingly simple-minded, I enjoyed his eloquent way of expressing it. His writing and his thought processes were wonderful, even if his opinions were rather simplistic.

Wilde's egoistic utopia found on aesthetic ideals. A scoiety where there is no property, no poverty and hunger and no burdens of wealth. Where machines do all the tedious labour and a man is completely free to chose himself. Wilde seems more concerned with the banality of the bourgeois than the suffering of the proletariat. You can clearly see that this is an artist's vision.

It's interesting to contrast this with Ayn Rand. Invdividualism vs communism is a false dichotomy.

Оскар Уайлд е бил нежна, романтична и драматична душа и освен това, милият, очевидно е бил абсолютно куха лейка що се отнася до политиката и живият живот. В което няма нищо кой знае колко чудно, много хора, особено по-образованите младежи в Западния свят са същите - дотолкова, че Георги Марков преди бая години е посветил цяло есе на тях, а те още са си такива.

Мечтите на О. Уайлд относно човека и душата му при show more социализма са точно такива, каквито са мечтите на всеки млад и глупав фен на социализма и са само и точно това: мечти. Че всички хора ще живеят братски, ще се трудят отдадено, ще делят насъщния и ще имат време, възможност и желание да израстват духовно, да летят на крилата на мечтите си и т.н. и т.н. детски приказки, които крепят и възраждат изсъхналата мумия на тая безчовечна идеология отново и отново с нов и нов грим. show less

[4.5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Unputtdownable.

This has definitely tempted me to read more Wilde as well as more essays.

[4.5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Unputtdownable.

This has definitely tempted me to read more Wilde as well as more essays.