Études Britanniques Contemporaines (Dec 2019)
Herbert Read: Neither Liberalism nor Communism. Discussing Art and Democracy from an Anarchist Point of View
Abstract
The article examines the works of Herbert Read (1893-1968) to discuss his anarchist view of art and society and its relationship with democracy. As a poet, essayist and art critic he introduced Surrealism and Existentialism to the British public. Freudian psychoanalysis also informed his view of anarchism, aesthetics and education. In this perspective, he saw the arts as a tool to reform society, and anarchism as a reaffirmation of natural freedom, i.e. a direct communion with universal truth. In Read’s vision, the improvement of material conditions, economic prosperity and political emancipation developed from the capacity of individuals to be and express their natural creativeness. His position is contradictory as the essence of Read’s anarchism is rooted in British ruralism, but, at the same time, it is presented as the most progressive and reliable system of governance for human beings. Read’s anarchism offered a different view of society where the individual could exist beyond any ideal representation of demos.
