I totally agree with all you have just wrote! William Morris doesn't quite get the recognition he deserves. Many call him idealist and some accuse his culturalism (the liking of his culture in a non-nationalistic sense) of being ''reactionary'' in character, but they ignore the fact that he believed in internationalism without unrealistically thinking that the world could exist in a (highly boring) monoculture. As he says, without me quoting, in an international world he would still have cultures, local cuisines, ideas, but all would live as brothers. His utopia is a grand vision that parallels the thinking of many revolutionaries. His poetry and writings were sublime, and he inspired me before even Marxist-Leninism so I will always owe him a debt of gratitude. I will certainly hunt down the biography you mentioned. :-)
Morris was very important in British socialism and is very important in the history of socialism as a whole. By all means, read E.P. Thompson's biography. It's inspiring. Morris, perhaps the finest poet in England of his time, died at 63 of pneumonia, which he contracted after speaking about socialism at a factory gate in the rain!
Hi again RED DAVE, I was doing a search for topics related to William Morris (because I am engaged into a debate whether the Morris styled love of culture, specifically pertaining to Anglo-Saxons, can be classed as reactionary, I do not think so personally), and I have seen that you have referenced him many times. So where would you put William Morris in a list of influences? I know he is very important to socialism as a whole in my country.
Hey, nice use of a William Morris quote. I am not a Libertarian Socialist like Morris but I have always liked his writings and if I didn't agree with Marxism-Leninism so much I would probably be a Morrisian Libertarian Socialist...not as big a jump as you would think. ;-)
