Literary Hangover

19 - 'The Soul of Man under Socialism' by Oscar Wilde (1891)

04.06.2019 - By Matthew LechPlay

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Today, joining Matt (@MattLech) and Alex (@Alecks_Guns) is David Griscom (@DavidGriscom) of The Michael Brooks Show and sinthome.com. We're discussing Oscar Wilde's 1891 essay, 'The Soul of Man under Socialism' and it's continued, though submerged, relevance.

How earnest is Oscar Wilde's socialism? Oscar Wilde's mother as a revolutionary poet in Dublin during the great famine. Wilde's opposition to private property. Private property vs. Personal property. William Morris and a brief look into the socialistic/medieval nostalgic Arts & Crafts movement. Matt misuses the word "triage." Oscar Wilde, a fully-automated luxury space communist? Oscar Wilde's criminal justice bona fides. What's the role of the state in Wilde's anarcho-socialism?

Sources:

Full audiobook:

https://librivox.org/the-soul-of-man-by-oscar-wilde/

'Some Notes on Wilde's Socialism,' Peter van de Kamp and Patrick Leahy. The Crane Bag, Vol. 7, No. 1, Socialism & Culture (1983), pp. 141-150

O'Sullivan, Emer. 2016. The Fall of the House of Wilde: Oscar Wilde and his Family.

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