Oscar Wilde

Broschiertes Buch

The Soul of Man Under Socialism

Beschreibung

Oscar Wilde, better known as a genius of English literature, was also an avid advocate of 'socialism' of an 'individualistic or 'anarchist' variety. However Wilde's socialism, like his literary genius, was highly original. Wilde was neither a socialist nor an anarchist in the conventional sense, still less what has come today to be regarded as 'socialism' or 'anarchism'. Wilde was an aesthete, not an economist. Therefore, the socialism he expounded had as its purpose the elevation of the individual to new heights of creativity and culture, rather than as merely a change of ownership of the machinery of production from 'bourgeoisie' to 'proletariat'. The Marxists and most other socialists offer only a mirror image of capitalism. There is no intention of transcending the capitalist ethic but of merely taking it over in the name of the 'worker'. Wilde's socialism sought to get the individual off the economic treadmill, to provide him with the time to stop and appreciate the higher things in life. The aim of this freedom was to bestow the opportunities that would again see the flowering of cultural achievement and appreciation, not just among 'privileged' sectors of society, but among all who are capable of allowing their souls to soar above a merely produce-and-consume existence. The Soul of Man Under Socialism redefines the purpose of human life beyond the crass materialism of both capitalism and orthodox socialism. Given the ever-increasing hours all sectors of society are working, regardless of improvements in technology, Wilde's message of freedom from economic burdens is even more timely.

Autor

Oscar Wilde (16 October 1854 - 30 November 1900) was an Irish poet and playwright. After writing in different forms throughout the 1880s, he became one of London's most popular playwrights in the early 1890s. He is best remembered for his epigrams and plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and the circumstances of his criminal conviction for "gross indecency", imprisonment, and early death at age 46. Wilde's parents were successful Anglo-Irish intellectuals in Dublin. Their son became fluent in French and German early in life. At university, Wilde read Greats; he proved himself to be an outstanding classicist, first at Trinity College Dublin, then at Oxford. He became known for his involvement in the rising philosophy of aestheticism, led by two of his tutors, Walter Pater and John Ruskin. After university, Wilde moved to London into fashionable cultural and social circles.

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Produktdetails

• Verlag: Black House Publishing Ltd
• Seitenzahl: 66
• Erscheinungstermin: 21. September 2012
• Englisch
• Abmessung: 216mm x 140mm x 5mm
• Gewicht: 97g
• ISBN-13: 9781908476418
• ISBN-10: 1908476419
• Artikelnr.: 36726601