Socialism and the Intellectuals (Fabian Tract 304)

First edition. 14pp stapled pamphlet in light card covers.  8vo.  Covers are a little rubbed on edges and slightly soiled, staples rusted. Hint of yellowing to pages but generally neat, clean, bright and tight.

Poet and novelist Kingsley Aims joined the Communist Party in 1956, later describing this phase of his political life as ” the callow Marxist phase that seemed almost compulsory” at Oxford University. His days as a communist were short lived but he remained on the left of the political spectrum for many years – a feature evident in much of his writing – although his creeping conservatism and anti-communism is visible in later works such as Russian Hide and Seek (1980).  In this essay, Amis offers critical examination of the socialist movement in the mid 20th century, and a sharp critique of its intellectual adherents.  The essay is firmly rooted in the Cold War era ideological contest between communism and socialism.