Socialism and superior brains: the political thought of Bernard Shaw

Abstract

This book provides a comprehensive critical account of the political ideas of Bernard Shaw, the master intellectual of British socialism and one of the most influential political commentators of the twentieth century. Shaw assumed many roles as a thinker, among them those of artist-philosopher, clowning prophet and pamphleteer. This book explains the methods he employed, the levels of abstraction at which his thought operated, and the intentions which informed his epic engagement with ideas. Part I provides an intellectual biography while at the same time analysing Shaw's key concerns in relation to his Fabianism, arguments for equality of income and ideas on democracy and education. Part II looks at those areas which Shaw approached as long-standing historical problems or as dramas requiring immediate thought or action: sexual equality, the Irish question, war, fascism and Sovietism. Socialism and Superior Brains is directed at the general reader as well as at specialists. It will be central reading for anyone seeking to understand Shaw's life and literary and political writings, the development of political thinking in this century and the problems and potential inherent in socialism.