The Critical Shaw: Bernard Shaw on Politics

Shaw's Early Political Views

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was an Irish playwright, critic, and political activist who is best known for his witty and thought-provoking plays. Shaw was a lifelong socialist, and his political views had a profound impact on his work.

In his early years, Shaw was a member of the Fabian Society, a group of British intellectuals who advocated for gradual, evolutionary socialism. Shaw believed that socialism was the only way to create a just and equitable society, and he used his writing to promote socialist ideas.

In his play Widowers' Houses (1892),Shaw criticized the exploitation of the working class by the wealthy. In Mrs. Warren's Profession (1894),he attacked the hypocrisy of Victorian society's attitudes towards prostitution. And in Major Barbara (1905),he explored the conflict between socialism and Christianity.

Shaw's Later Political Views

As Shaw grew older, his political views became more radical. He became increasingly critical of the Fabian Society, which he believed was too moderate and ineffective. In 1906, Shaw joined the Labour Party, and he served as a member of the House of Commons from 1924 to 1929.

In his later years, Shaw became increasingly disillusioned with politics. He believed that the world was too corrupt and selfish to be changed through political action. However, he never gave up on his socialist ideals, and he continued to write plays and essays that promoted his beliefs.

In his play Heartbreak House (1919),Shaw criticized the futility of war and the emptiness of upper-class society. In Back to Methuselah (1921),he explored the idea of human immortality and the need for a new social order. And in his final play, Buoyant Billions (1948),he warned of the dangers of nuclear war.

Shaw's Legacy

Bernard Shaw was one of the most important political writers of the twentieth century. His plays and essays helped to shape the political consciousness of generations of readers and activists. Shaw's work is still relevant today, and his insights into human nature and the nature of power continue to challenge and provoke us.

Here are some of Shaw's most famous political quotes:

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

"The worst sin towards our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that's the essence of inhumanity."

"Socialism is the only political creed which has a future before it. All other creeds are treading the downward path to extinction."