Oscar Wilde

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.

“Now, for the first time, we can read the version that Wilde intended…Both the text and Nicholas Frankel’s introduction make for fascinating reading.” —Paris ReviewMore than 120 years after Oscar Wilde submitted The Picture of Dorian Gray for publication in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine, the uncensored version of his novel appears here for the first time in a paperback edition. This volume restores all of the material removed by the novel’s first editor. Upon receipt of the typescript, Wilde’s editor panicked at what he saw. Contained within its pages was material he feared readers would find “offensive”—especially instances of graphic homosexual content. He proceeded to go through the typescript with his pencil, cleaning it up until he made it “acceptable to the most fastidious taste.” Wilde did not see these changes until his novel appeared in print. Wilde’s editor’s concern was well placed. Even in its redacted form, the novel caused public outcry. The British press condemned it as “vulgar,” “unclean,” “poisonous,” “discreditable,” and “a sham.” When Wilde later enlarged the novel for publication in book form, he responded to his critics by further toning down its “immoral” elements. Wilde famously said that The Picture of Dorian Gray “contains much of me”: Basil Hallward is “what I think I am,” Lord Henry “what the world thinks me,” and “Dorian what I would like to be—in other ages, perhaps.” Wilde’s comment suggests a backward glance to a Greek or Dorian Age, but also a forward-looking view to a more permissive time than his own repressive Victorian era. By implication, Wilde would have preferred we read today the uncensored version of his novel.