William Morris and the Aesthetic Constitution of Politics

by Bradley J. Macdonald

Bradley Macdonald offers a brilliant reappraisal of one of the most influential and revered British intellectuals of the Victorian age. William Morris was, by turns, an artist, writer, social critic, and political radical who shaped both the British (Fabian) socialist tradition and the internationally influential arts and crafts movement. Macdonald focuses on the interplay between Morris's aesthetic vision and his socialist ideology. He argues compellingly that because these two sides of Morris's personality and career are generally considered separately, by art or literary historians on the one hand, and social theorists on the other, their integral relationship has often been neglected. Thus, Morris's career is divided artificially between a 'Romantic' early period and a later 'revolutionary socialist' phase. In place of this model, Macdonald offers a holistic portrait of Morris as a lifelong 'materialist aestheticist'that is, one who believed in the redemptive power of beautiful objects and everyday, simple pleasures for all classes. This important book is strongly recommended reading for anyone with an interest in modern British culture, politics, and art, as well as for students of Marxist ideology in the West.

200 pages, Hardcover

First published April 16, 1999