"The Soul of Man Under Socialism".....?

Question

In 1891 Oscar Wilde wrote his essay, "The Soul of Man Under Socialism". It is too great a work to do justice to in such limited space as I have, but it may be summarized in the main; chiefly, Wilde pointed to Socialism as a liberating force in the arts. To Oscar's thinking, the liberation of man from the great hours of labour in which he must toil would unleash the creative component of every individual affected. The "soul", as it were, would be free to express itself and as a matter of course, would.

I would like to focus on this aspect of leisure: do you think that greater leisure allows for one to more contemplate matters of art, to allow the soul its expression? It is paradoxical that the leisure class is the class with the least dependence on the religious; is the art, or soul expression, of the same thus a different beast entirely?

How do religiosity, leisure time, & the production of expressive art relate to each other? Is the soul liberated or chained by its leisure?

Come on, TTC, give me more detail than that, love!

In this case, no, less is not more. What is the basis for your belief? If there is not clarification on how you believe the soul is liberated/chained by its leisure, then how can one differentiate between the two? This is what Oscar attempted to address in the context of his times, and I was certainly hoping that we, having seen the realization of more leisure, albeit not through Socialism, would have more to draw on for our opinion---unless you cannot elaborate further...

Very astute, Beano! :)

TTC, sorry, but they really don't. A statement is not the same as an answer; I would certainly think you had the ability for greater illumination, but perhaps you are intent on disappointing me, or consider my question not worth your effort.

Answer 1

For me, too much leisure time inhibits my creativity. My mind wanders more, rather than being focused. It also leads to a lack of discipline in my case. I need structure in my life in order to be productive, creatively or otherwise. It's the same with my spiritual life. If I don't maintain discipline, I wander without accomplishing much of anything. I become stale, stagnant. I 'd have to say the soul is chained by it's leisure.

Thought: Consider a skillful pianist. They've dedicated years of practice to perfect their skill. As if chained to it. Yet, when they finally master the piano, they finally have gained the freedom to play, not just from notes on a piece of paper, but from their memory, their soul. Yet that freedom only came about through first disciplining themselves.

Answer 2

Ah, finally, an intelligent and excellent question! Reminds me of certain classic psychological theories.

I do think that greater leisure allows for one to at least contemplate the expression of one's soul. For novices, I'd say that the art and soul are different, but for one well acquainted with God, the difference may only be semantic, as art is surely an expression of soul.

One would hope that the soul would be liberated by leisure, but those in the leisure class are so often unhappy, so apparently this is not the case. Maybe it's because their leisure or class doesn't allow truly free expression.

Answer 3

Many people believed that the Information Age would bring us a shorter work week and more leisure time for everyone. Just the opposite is true.
While many authors, artists and musicians and philosophers have been Socialist, Nothing substantive exists that would point to Socialism as anything more than another political system.
At the time Wilde wrote his essay, many people believed that the Industrial Age would bring us a shorter work week and more leisure time for everyone.
Arguably, the finest art, sculpture and music on the planet has had a religious theme.

Answer 4

Nice question! From one of the great ethical minds of the last century:

"Both the arts and the sciences had their inception in the leisure of Sumerian and Egyptian priests, who, being priests, could maintain their priveleged positions in society with less effort than the soldier, and were consequently free to devote their leisure to arts and speculations WHICH HAD NO IMMEDIATE UTILITARIAN ADVANTAGE." (Don't mean to yell, but I can't add italics here....) Most of us devote the vast majority of our time and energy to just paying the bills and putting food on the table. In order to support art or science you have to be able to speculate, to let the mind and spirit roam without worries about productivity or efficiency or utility or return on investment. That seems to be obvious.

But, "For every artist which the aristocracy" (i.e. the leisured class) "has produced, and for every two patrons of art, it has supported a thousand wastrels. An intelligent society...will bestow leisure upon those who have the capacity to exploit it, and will not permit a leisured class to justify itself by producing an occasional creative genius among a multitude of incompetents who waste their leisure in vulgarities and inanities."

So leisure is a necessary precondition for all that we call "culture", but it is not a given that the one will result in the other. There has to be some talent, a particular bent of the mind towards a certain application, in order to truly produce art. As for religiosity, well, if the rich are the ones who have leisure time, it's pretty obvious why the leisure class is least attached to religion.

Peace to you.

Answer 5

Religiousity is not away for leisure. It is a way for soul to search Peace. Once a person is in the state of peace the soul become very sensible to the different gift ( generally). Art and beauty resides in peace. It is no longer expressive rather manifestation of the soul- the potency of perfection. The perfection of the essence- " ".

But you are right. In such a way people today are being chained by the world of leisure, which bear too much expressiveness, liberty and super ego. Unleashed everything that leads him to selfishness.

Answer 6

If you mean by soul the inner man or spirit of the man, then I would claim that neither and both have affects. Since the affects themselves would not dictate the outcome if the man chooses for it to be otherwise. The soul regardless of oppression will always soar with forms of art. This is accomplished by will and passion. Leisure, much like oppression can create or destroy depending on the man. Leisure is not the enabler but I say passion and will overrides all. So, both and neither.........to realise the perfection that is within him(Plato) I think?

Answer 7

I get creative ideas while I dig footings for buildings by hand with a shovel (and it's great for your lats)...

I get creative ideas sunbaking naked by the pool while contemplating my navel ...

Sometimes I get creative ideas at 3am in the morning and in a semi conscious stupour I draw it on a notepad.

Sometimes when I am having breakfast I get a creative idea and I scribble it down on the nearest scrap of paper.

These creative ideas .. you can push a pencil around a piece of paper for 20 minutes and then suddenly a spark arrives... that solution you were looking for is there in an instant in time and you think to yourself.. damb... this dude is paying me by the hour for this design.. it just doesn't pay to be creative!@

Wilde was wrong. That's such a 19th century concept - the division of the social classes.

I don't think creativity has anything to do with socialism, leasure, or religion. You either got it or you don't and you just can't learn to be creative, no matter how much leasure time you have at hand.

It sure helps to be in the mood for it though.

Answer 8

I gave up trying to get anyone to answer questions about St. Thomas Moore and "Utopia" and how it compared with Karl Marx. But being the only christian that I will actually call a saint, I have to throw his name out there. Karl Marx re-wrote "Utopia" and took out the human compassion element. While Socialism is the inevitable path that humanity is going to take, I think we have some more evolving to do before what Oscar Wilde was talking about. But, I may be wrong, it's a stormy vodka night in Arizona.

Answer 9

Liesure does indeed liberate the soul for other activities, but most people spend that time on unproductive, or even destructive, activities.

Consider chimps in the zoo. They have nothing but liesure, and they spend that time throwing poop at eachother. Humans aren't much different.

Answer 10

Goatee or a Soul Patch depending on you.