
Resist Everything Except Temptation
The Anarchist Philosophy of Oscar Wilde
- English
- ePUB (mobile friendly)
- Available on iOS & Android
About this book
Oscar Wilde is remembered as a wit and a dandy, as a gay martyr, and as a brilliant writer, but his philosophical depth and political radicalism are often forgotten. Resist Everything Except Temptation locates Wilde in the tradition of left-wing anarchism, and argues that only when we take his politics seriously can we begin to understand the man, his life, and his work. Drawing from literary, historical, and biographical evidence, including archival research, the book outlines the philosophical influences and political implications of Wilde's ideas on art, sex, morality, violence, and above all, individualism. Williams raises questions about the relationships between culture and politics, between utopian aspirations and practical programs, and between individualism, group identity, and class struggle. The resulting volume represents, not merely a historical curiosity, but a contribution to current debates within political theory and a salvo in the broader culture wars.
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Information
Table of contents
- Dedication
- Foreword: Green Carnation; Black Flag
- Introduction: The Soul of Man under . . . Anarchism?
- To the Depths
- Declarations and Evasions
- Resist Everything
- On the Side of Civilization
- Chapter 1: The Dynamite Policy
- Propaganda by the Deed
- Making Sense of Vera
- Nationalist Contexts and Contentious Identities
- The Critic as Anarchist
- Chapter 2: The Basis for a New Civilization
- Useless Beauty
- Every Worker an Artist
- Fairy Tale Economics
- From Aestheticism to Anarchism
- Chapter 3: Love Is Law
- The Woman Question
- Trivial Comedies?
- Marriage, Family, and Legitimacy
- Chapter 4: A Language of Love
- The Ordeal
- Names and Laws
- Aftermath
- Chapter 5: Refuse to Be Broken by Force
- A Criminal with a Noble Face
- The Poet as Prisoner
- The Prisoner as Poet
- Chapter 6: The Eternal Rebel
- Acknowledgments
- Endnotes
- Index
- Also by Kristian Williams
- Copyright
- Friends of AK Press