A stirring passage from William Morris lamenting the despoliation of what human "life" could be (still dimly discernable for Morris), but which now seems irrevocably lost:

“Apart from the desire to produce beautiful things, the leading passion of my life has been and is hatred of modern civilisation…. What shall I say concerning its mastery of and its waste of mechanical power, its commonwealth so poor, its enemies of the commonwealth so rich, its stupendous organisation--- for the misery of life! Its contempt of simple pleasures, which everyone could enjoy but for its folly? Its eyeless vulgarity which has destroyed art, the one certain solace of labour? . . . The struggles of mankind for many ages had produced nothing but this sordid, aimless, ugly confusion; the immediate future seemed to me likely to intensify all the present evils by sweeping away the last survivals of the days before the dull squalor of civilisation had settled down on the world. This was a bad look-out indeed, and, if I may mention myself as a personality and not as a mere type, especially so to a man of my scientific analysis, but with a deep love of the earth and the life on it, and a passion for the history of the past of mankind. Think of it! Was it all to end in a counting-house on the top of a cinder-heap, with Podsnap’s drawing-room in the offing, and a Whig committee dealing out champagne to the rich and margarine to the poor in such convenient proportions as would make all men contented together, though the pleasure of the eyes was gone from the world, and the place of Homer was to be taken by Huxley”.

Dear Squeers,

Morris’ vision is not irrevocably lost. I think the passage you cited is from Morris’ “News from Nowhere.” At least it is consistent with that book.

Morris was a Marxist before Lenin and the other criminals took over. He was one of the pre-Raphaelites who wanted to preserve the sense of community, craftsmanship and feeling for nature that was under siege by nineteenth century capitalism.

In the United States pre-Raphaelites together with followers of Henry George founded Arden, an intentional community in 1899. It still exists today. It is a very beautiful place set in woods, and it still encourages cultural activities such as crafts and drama. Every year they put on two Shakespeare plays, a comedy and a tragedy. The houses are all different, but all are tasteful and well-designed. There are other programs to encorage the arts, and the members are politically active in progressive politics.

My daughter lived there before she was married. She has a house just outside of the community now but is still a member and is active in the community.

Neither my daughter nor her husband is rich. She is a school librarian, and he is a free-lance musician, comedian and writer. He also has a net business which sells ethnic music materials mainly to music schools. He spins around and manages to survive. There was a book called “The Hamlet Syndrome” describing the life styles of six individuals (identified by pseudonyms) who had the potential to make big bucks in the corporate world but opted out of it. The book has the attitude that these people are wasting their lives. My daughter is one of the six in the book. As a school librarian she runs programs to help “culturally disadvantaged” children enter the mainstream. I am very proud of her.

Arden is an enclave which fulfils Morris’ vision. I don’t think Morris’ vision could ever extend to an entire country. In a democratic capitalistic society groups of like-minded people can set up such enclaves. In the Marxist tyrannies the intrusive power of the state would prevent it.

Dear DavidF,
You seem to fail to realise that the idyllic enclave you describe--within its vicious and grossly disparate context--is precisely what Morris feared would be the outcome of the reform-minded socialism emerging in his day: that is, a parody of equality--a miniature for the mantelpiece!
Morris shrewdly wondered if "the tremendous organization of civilized commercial society is not playing the cat and mouse game with us socialists. Whether the Society of Inequality might not accept the quasi-socialist machinery above mentioned, and work it for the purpose of upholding the society in a somewhat shorn condition, maybe, but a safe one. The workers better treated, better organized, helping to govern themselves but with no more pretence to equality with the rich, nor any more hope for it than they have now".

Such is exactly the system that has prevailed and is on the point of collapse. You are celebrating a "still-life", like a ship in a bottle, that Morris actually condemned, whose comforts should serve only to highlight the awful and opposite reality!

"...on the grounds that working people have ceased to desire real socialism and are contented with some outside show of it joined to an increase in prosperity enough to satisfy the cravings of men who do not know what the pleasures of life might be if they treated their own capacities and the resources of nature reasonably with the intent and expectation of being happy".

For Morris such pretence was disdainfully rejected and he saw the role of socialism as dedicated to uncovering the charade and helping people "understand themselves to be face to face with false society, themslves the only possible elements of true society".

Quotes from Morris's "Communism".

Dear Squeers,

Morris could be forgiven for thinking that Marxism in practice would be anything but appalling. You can't.

Dear DavidF,
Adam Smith could be forgiven for thinking that capitalism in practice would be anything but appalling. You can't.

I support Marx and Morris's vision of a better world, and their disgust for this one!

Dear Squeers,

In some places capitalism is not appalling. I pointed out the Arden enclave and also the Scandinavian version of capitalism. Marxism has shown itself to be bankrupt and murderous to a greater extent than capitalism.

However, I think you are a good fellow. I have other friends who avoid reality. I wish you well.