"Despotism is unjust to everybody, including the despot, who was probably made for better things. Oligarchies are unjust to the many, and ochlocracies are unjust to the few. High hopes were once formed of democracy; but democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people. It has been found out. I must say that it was high time, for all authority is quite degrading. It degrades those who exercise it, and degrades those over whom it is exercised."
From The Soul of Man Under Socialism (1891).
I imagine you reply, "ochlocracy"? Now probably an archaism, it literally means "mob rule."
I have to say I love Wilde's ironic echo of Gettysburg here.
Christopher, it's more than an ironic echo of the Gettysburg Address. Wilde substitutes "bludgeoning" for "government," thereby equating them. That would have pleased you during your anarchist phase.
ReplyDeleteThe whole essay makes me wish I knew a bit more about Wilde biographically, for context. He must have personally known socialists of the Fabian manner -- Wells, Shaw, the Webbs. This essay, though using the "S" words, not only seems distinct from what they were doing it seems sharply at odds with them. Did any of that crowd make any response to the appearance this this work? Too lazy to research it, but it does intrigue.
DeleteWikipedia has an article on "The Soul of Man Under Socialism." It doesn't mention the socialists you name, but it states: "Socialism itself will be of value simply because it will lead to individualism" since individuals will no longer need to fear poverty or starvation. This individualism would, in turn, protect against governments leveraging their power over their citizens."
ReplyDeleteWilde's essay includes gems like this: "I hardly think that any Socialist, nowadays, would seriously propose that an inspector should call every morning at each house to see that each citizen rose up and did manual labour for eight hours. Humanity has got beyond that stage, and reserves such a form of life for the people whom, in a very arbitrary manner, it chooses to call criminals. But I confess that many of the socialistic views that I have come across seem to me to be tainted with ideas of authority, if not of actual compulsion. Of course, authority and compulsion are out of the question. All association must be quite voluntary. It is only in voluntary associations that man is fine." -- seems to me that he was likely taking a shot at somebody specific, within the socialis fold, there. "You don't really want to put everybody in prison but ... you are tainted."
Delete"Humanity ... chooses to call criminals" made me think of how it chose to call Wilde a criminal. But he wrote "The Soul of Man Under Socialism" a few years before he was imprisoned. Of course, he would have been aware that his sexual activity could send him to prison, so it's possible that he was thinking of that when he wrote "chooses to call criminals."
ReplyDeleteThen, again, he might have been making the broader point that all crimes are crimes only because we choose to denominate them as such. Some crimes, such as murder, might seem like crimes under natural law, but many crimes are crimes solely because we choose to view them as such in light of our views of property.
I used "property" in the broadest sense, to include banking, finance, investing, etc.
DeleteChristopher, I don't understand the point of the quotation at the end of your last comment.
ReplyDeleteIt was simply my prosaic but concise paraphrase of the Wilde quote vis-a-vis socialistic views "tainted".
DeleteI have remarked on current events, elsewhere. See: A Philosopher's Blog and my notes on isolationism's rise.
ReplyDelete