The Soul of Man under Socialism

Socialism and the soul of man ( The Soul of Man under Socialism ) is an essay by Oscar Wilde, who was regarded by him as the future. He first appeared in February 1891 in The Fortnightly Review. In February 1895 a new edition followed under the title The soul of man ( The Soul of Man).

Translations into German

A first German translation of Gustav Landauer and Hedwig Lachmann appeared in 1904 under the title "Socialism and the soul of man." This translation is now in the public domain and, among others, the Zurich Diogenes Verlag available. In 1970, Christine published Koshel and ingestion of a willow tree translation with the title "The Soul of Man under Socialism ". This translation is yet available as part of the island's total output today. The published in 1999, " Neue Zürcher edition " of the works of Oscar Wilde which contained a translation of the essay by Georg Deggerich; However, this issue is now out of print.

Content

The social conformism, submission to the authority Wilde juxtaposes the individual creativity of the artist in his essay. The essay is an anthemic credo of absolute, unbending, but completely peace-loving, anti-radical individualism in which Wilde the ideals of Hellenism saw renewed in modern social form and the roots all his aesthetic attitude:

"Man longs to live intensely whole and complete. If humans are able to without exerting on other coercive or forced to suffer even if satisfy him and all his works, he is mentally healthier, stronger, more civilized and more to be himself. In the joy of the nature expresses her true them. When man is happy, he lives in harmony with himself and his environment. The new individualism, acts in whose service Socialism, whether he wants to admit it or not, will be perfect harmony. He will be the fulfillment of which longed the Greeks and what they were able to realize fully only in thought, because they held slaves, and they fed; he will be the fulfillment of what the Renaissance longed, but was able to realize truly only in art, because she kept slaves and let them starve. He will be perfect, and through him every man will arrive at its perfection. The new Individualism is the new Hellenism. "

Current print editions

Translations into German

• Oscar Wilde: Socialism and the human soul ( Original title: The Soul of Man under Socialism translated by Gustav Landauer and Hedwig Lachmann ), 7th Edition, Diogenes TB ( detebe 20003, Diogenes Vintage Art), Zurich 2004 ( first edition 1970), ISBN 978-3-257-20003-4.
• Oscar Wilde: Socialism and the soul of man. An essay [ Edited by Jürgen Müller, from the English by Hedwig Lachmann and Gustav Landauer ], Ahrend & Wegner, Berlin 2008, ISBN 978-3-8370-5348-7 ( Books on Demand ).
• Oscar Wilde, "The Soul of Man under Socialism " [ from the English by Christine Koshel and rings of willow tree ]. In: Oscar Wilde: The Complete Works in seven volumes, Volume 7 ( Essays II ), page 211-252. Insel Verlag, Frankfurt am Main and Leipzig, 2000, ISBN 978-3-458-34344-8.

Original

• Oscar Wilde: "The Soul of Man under Socialism ". In: Oscar Wilde: The Artist as Critic: Critical Writings of Oscar Wilde [ Edited by Richard Ellmann ], University Of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1998, ISBN 978-0-226-89764-6.