Oscar Wilde
Irish poet, playwright and essayist (1854 to 1900); author of The Soul of Man under Socialism.
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What they believe
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The chief advantage of socialism would be relief from having to live for others
The chief advantage that would result from the establishment of Socialism is, undoubtedly, the fact that Socialism would relieve us from that sordid necessity of living for others which, in the present condition of things, presses so hardly upon almost everybody.
gutenberg.orgSaid c. 1891This on korrents
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Beliefs
Korrents What they believe 16 beliefs — each backed by an exact quote.
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The chief advantage of socialism would be relief from having to live for others
The chief advantage that would result from the establishment of Socialism is, undoubtedly, the fact that Socialism would relieve us from that sordid necessity of living for others which, in the present condition of things, presses so hardly upon almost everybody.
The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891) Said c. 1891
Relieving the poor aggravates poverty; society should be rebuilt so poverty is impossible
But this is not a solution: it is an aggravation of the difficulty. The proper aim is to try and reconstruct society on such a basis that poverty will be impossible.
The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891) Said c. 1891
Using private property to relieve the evils of private property is immoral and unfair
It is immoral to use private property in order to alleviate the horrible evils that result from the institution of private property. It is both immoral and unfair.
The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891) Said c. 1891
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Charity degrades and demoralises, and creates a multitude of sins
They do so on the ground that such charity degrades and demoralises. They are perfectly right. Charity creates a multitude of sins.
The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891) Said c. 1891
Progress has been made through disobedience and rebellion
It is through disobedience that progress has been made, through disobedience and through rebellion.
The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891) Said c. 1891
A person's perfection lies in what they are, not in what they have
So that man thought that the important thing was to have, and did not know that the important thing is to be. The true perfection of man lies, not in what man has, but in what man is.
The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891) Said c. 1891
Wherever someone exercises authority, someone resists it
Wherever there is a man who exercises authority, there is a man who resists authority.
The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891) Said c. 1891
Truly living is rare; most people merely exist
To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.
The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891) Said c. 1891
Christ's message to humanity was simply to be oneself
And the message of Christ to man was simply ‘Be thyself.’ That is the secret of Christ.
The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891) Said c. 1891
Democracy amounts to the people bludgeoning the people
High hopes were once formed of democracy; but democracy means simply the bludgeoning of the people by the people for the people.
The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891) Said c. 1891
Modern crime is caused by starvation, not by sin
For what are called criminals nowadays are not criminals at all. Starvation, and not sin, is the parent of modern crime.
The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891) Said c. 1891
All dull, unpleasant and unintellectual labour should be done by machines
All unintellectual labour, all monotonous, dull labour, all labour that deals with dreadful things, and involves unpleasant conditions, must be done by machinery.
The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891) Said c. 1891
An artist who supplies what others want stops being an artist
Indeed, the moment that an artist takes notice of what other people want, and tries to supply the demand, he ceases to be an artist, and becomes a dull or an amusing craftsman, an honest or a dishonest tradesman.
The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891) Said c. 1891
Art should never try to be popular; the public should become artistic
Now Art should never try to be popular. The public should try to make itself artistic.
The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891) Said c. 1891
The public is insatiably curious about everything except what is worth knowing
The fact is, that the public have an insatiable curiosity to know everything, except what is worth knowing.
The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891) Said c. 1891
The only thing known about human nature is that it changes
The only thing that one really knows about human nature is that it changes. Change is the one quality we can predicate of it.
The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891) Said c. 1891
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