Anarchist Seeds beneath the Snow: Left-Libertarian Thought and British Writers from William Morris to Colin Ward

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PM Press, Dec 12, 2011 - Political Science - 448 pages

From William Morris to Oscar Wilde to George Orwell, left-libertarian thought has long been an important but neglected part of British cultural and political history. In Anarchist Seeds beneath the Snow, David Goodway seeks to recover and revitalize that indigenous anarchist tradition. This book succeeds as simultaneously a cultural history of left-libertarian thought in Britain and a demonstration of the applicability of that history to current politics. Goodway argues that a recovered anarchist tradition could—and should—be a touchstone for contemporary political radicals. Moving seamlessly from Aldous Huxley and Colin Ward to the war in Iraq, this challenging volume will energize leftist movements throughout the world.

 

Contents

Acknowledgements
1809
Abbreviations
1812
Preface to the new edition
1814
Introduction
1816
William Morris and the background 18801920
1830
Edward Carpenter
1851
Oscar Wilde
His lifephilosophy and individualist anarchism
War and pacifism
Aldous Huxley
Alex Comfort
Nuclear disarmament the New Left and the case of E P Thompson
Christopher Pallis
Colin Ward
Conclusion
Afterword

The Spanish Revolution and Civil War and the case of George Orwell
The impact of Emma Goldman and Spain
Herbert Read
Bibliography
Index
Copyright

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About the author (2011)

David Goodway is a British social and cultural historian who for twenty years has written principally on anarchism and libertarian socialism. He is the editor of Damed Fools in Utopia: And Other Writings on Anarchism and War Resistance, The Letters of John Cowper Powys and Emma Goldman and collections of the writings of Alex Comfort, Herbert Read, and Maurice Brinton. His conversations with Colin Ward have been published as Talking Anarchy

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