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shiqingxuan34's review
4.0
Interesting to read, Wilde brought up lots of good points that need to be considered, though I ended up disagreeing with a few things.
kgosi's review against another edition
4.0
"The true perfection of man lies, not in what man has, but in what man is."
I think enough was said.
I think enough was said.
mwplante's review
3.0
Instructive but not in the ways I had anticipated. Ya Boi Oscar spends a lot of the text on aesthetics and complaining about how dumb "The Mob" are. To be fair, it seems pretty clear he believes The People are in the sorry state they are in BECAUSE of the depredations of capitalism, and can therefore flourish in artistic terms under a socialist system. This goes a long way towards shielding him from the suspicion of fascism one might otherwise have towards a dude spending most of an essay complaining about how the plays aren't as good as they used to be because the populace has degenerated.
I have to say I found his exhortations towards artistic expression very persuasive, though. I left this essay feeling inspired to express myself artistically with greater frequency. The definition of "morbidity" as a failure of expression that he offers was particularly striking.
I have to say I found his exhortations towards artistic expression very persuasive, though. I left this essay feeling inspired to express myself artistically with greater frequency. The definition of "morbidity" as a failure of expression that he offers was particularly striking.
mashedpotatoandsaladcream's review against another edition
informative
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
“the majority of people spoil their lives by an unhealthy and exaggerated altruism — are forced, indeed, so to spoil them… it is much more easy to have sympathy with suffering than it is to have sympathy with thought… But their remedies do not cure the disease: they merely prolong it. indeed, their remedies are part of the disease. They try to solve the problem of poverty, for instance, by keeping the poor thing alive; or in the case of a very advanced school, by smudging the poor… The proper aim is to try and reconstruct society on such a basis that poverty will be impossible. and the altruistic virtues have really prevented the carrying out of this aim”
oscar wilde enters the debate on socialism with this essay of his, giving his own ideas and interpretations. specifically in how socialism is a natural transition point to Individualism - a premise i’ve taken as developing one’s own personality so that if all your property and possessions were taken, you would be just fine because you know your soul and you know true life and beauty (i’m not a philosophy? student. this could be totally wrong but this is how i have taken it)
he goes on to discuss his views on things such as journalism (horrific and they only write to appease the society’s interest and obsession with gossip and personal lives, and those smart ones who recognises how terrible this is are the worse for it), he talks of authority (how art and people can only flourish with NO government at all because it’s tyranny and it stumps out all kinds of individuality and beauty, the only good thing to come out of tyrannical governments is that people grow to recognise his terrible it is and revolts physically - to not know how bad the situation leaves you pitifully), and also art and artists and how they lose any sense of identity as an artist if they were to conform and produce art for the whole instead of for yourself.
“the true perfection of man lies, not in what man has, but what is”
“man will kill himself by overwork in order to secure property, and really, considering the enormous advantages that property brings, one is hardly surprised. one’s regret is that society should be constructed on such a basis that man has been forced into a groove in which he cannot freely develop what is wonderful, and fascinating, and delightful in him - in which, he misses the true pleasure and joy of living… nothing should be able to harm a man except himself. nothing should be able to rob a man at all. what a man really has, is what is in him. what is outside of him should be a matter of no importance… one will live. to live is the rarest thing in the world. most people exist, that is all”
as much as the ideas in this essay are lovely (a society were machines do all manual labour with people being left to explore their personal interests and thrive) it is just not really feasible and you can tell it was written by someone of privilege with how he describes the poor and there’s one comment on slavery where he goes to say that when slavery was made illegal, once they saw how they were to live in poverty they low-key regretted it. again problematic points but it’s largely utopian in how he presents his other ideas.
it makes one wonder in how wilde was a controversial figure both when he was alive and for the centuries after and in this essay he goes on about an artist who conforms and works for the public’s interest is no artist at all and yet people need money to live and has always needed to earn money within our society and wilde himself would have also had to change his works for the public because they are his consumers and he also needs money.
it’s easily read, theres little confusing words and he’s very talented in how he’s written things out, like i actually understood his points and where it was coming from, even when i didnt agree with his points. i’m not really one to read much into politics because it is never written in a way i can understand but wilde was able to do it! so if you want to learn more in the political ideas of the time this is a good read or if you want to learn more about wildes mindset this would also be an interesting read.
oscar wilde enters the debate on socialism with this essay of his, giving his own ideas and interpretations. specifically in how socialism is a natural transition point to Individualism - a premise i’ve taken as developing one’s own personality so that if all your property and possessions were taken, you would be just fine because you know your soul and you know true life and beauty (i’m not a philosophy? student. this could be totally wrong but this is how i have taken it)
he goes on to discuss his views on things such as journalism (horrific and they only write to appease the society’s interest and obsession with gossip and personal lives, and those smart ones who recognises how terrible this is are the worse for it), he talks of authority (how art and people can only flourish with NO government at all because it’s tyranny and it stumps out all kinds of individuality and beauty, the only good thing to come out of tyrannical governments is that people grow to recognise his terrible it is and revolts physically - to not know how bad the situation leaves you pitifully), and also art and artists and how they lose any sense of identity as an artist if they were to conform and produce art for the whole instead of for yourself.
“the true perfection of man lies, not in what man has, but what is”
“man will kill himself by overwork in order to secure property, and really, considering the enormous advantages that property brings, one is hardly surprised. one’s regret is that society should be constructed on such a basis that man has been forced into a groove in which he cannot freely develop what is wonderful, and fascinating, and delightful in him - in which, he misses the true pleasure and joy of living… nothing should be able to harm a man except himself. nothing should be able to rob a man at all. what a man really has, is what is in him. what is outside of him should be a matter of no importance… one will live. to live is the rarest thing in the world. most people exist, that is all”
as much as the ideas in this essay are lovely (a society were machines do all manual labour with people being left to explore their personal interests and thrive) it is just not really feasible and you can tell it was written by someone of privilege with how he describes the poor and there’s one comment on slavery where he goes to say that when slavery was made illegal, once they saw how they were to live in poverty they low-key regretted it. again problematic points but it’s largely utopian in how he presents his other ideas.
it makes one wonder in how wilde was a controversial figure both when he was alive and for the centuries after and in this essay he goes on about an artist who conforms and works for the public’s interest is no artist at all and yet people need money to live and has always needed to earn money within our society and wilde himself would have also had to change his works for the public because they are his consumers and he also needs money.
it’s easily read, theres little confusing words and he’s very talented in how he’s written things out, like i actually understood his points and where it was coming from, even when i didnt agree with his points. i’m not really one to read much into politics because it is never written in a way i can understand but wilde was able to do it! so if you want to learn more in the political ideas of the time this is a good read or if you want to learn more about wildes mindset this would also be an interesting read.
carmenx9's review
4.0
Oscar Wilde was the OG fully automated luxury communist and I dread to think what he'd say about Marvel movies. A frustratingly facetious text but he always ends up making excellent points
julia__tabea's review against another edition
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
funnyreadingbug's review
4.75
Lovely as always, Wilde.
Read this because mum sent a screenshot of one of our pastors quoting a line from this essay, telling me that even he, a scholar, admitted that Wilde's writings are wordy and hard to understand &c. So obviously I read this hahaha. I honestly don't know why I put this off for so long; after all, this is literally one of the only essays of his I haven't read and this turned out to be, in my opinion, top three of his best essays. So I'm glad I came around to finally read it and did not disappoint at all.
It's really insightful too, and gives the perfect glimpse into Wilde's political views. Whether one regard or disregard his views on Christianity, it's still an enjoyable read. As per usual, it's not an Oscar Wilde work if it's not witty and mesmerising, so if you're into that sort of thing, this is a must read. It's an amazing read, and also one I'd like to revisit again someday.
Read this because mum sent a screenshot of one of our pastors quoting a line from this essay, telling me that even he, a scholar, admitted that Wilde's writings are wordy and hard to understand &c. So obviously I read this hahaha. I honestly don't know why I put this off for so long; after all, this is literally one of the only essays of his I haven't read and this turned out to be, in my opinion, top three of his best essays. So I'm glad I came around to finally read it and did not disappoint at all.
It's really insightful too, and gives the perfect glimpse into Wilde's political views. Whether one regard or disregard his views on Christianity, it's still an enjoyable read. As per usual, it's not an Oscar Wilde work if it's not witty and mesmerising, so if you're into that sort of thing, this is a must read. It's an amazing read, and also one I'd like to revisit again someday.