Elitism and the revolt of the masses: reactions to the ‘great labour unrest’ in the<i>New Age</i>and<i>New Witness</i>circles

Abstract This paper examines the reactions to the British labour unrest of 1910–1914 among the writers associated with two Edwardian periodicals, the Catholic Distributivist New Witness, and the advanced socialist New Age. Both papers were thrown into sympathy with the strikes whether through libertarianism, hatred of capitalism or the glorification of violence and struggle. This prompted theoretical discussions on the future organisation of labour in which liberty and consensus were precariously balanced, and mediated through elitism. By examining the contested and ambiguous origins of guild socialism, the paper draws tentative conclusions about its troubled legacy. Keywords: New AgeNew WitnessA.R. OrageH. BellocGuild socialismElitism Notes 1 There is a vast literature on the European dimensions of this revolt, usually framed as the intellectual origins of fascism. See especially, G.L. Mosse, The crisis of German ideology: intellectual origins of the Third Reich (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1966) and Z. Sternhell (tr. D. Maisel), The birth of fascist ideology. From cultural rebellion to political revolution (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1994). For a criticism of Sternhell see D.D. Roberts, “How not to think about fascism and ideology—intellectual antecedents and historical meaning”, Journal of Contemporary History, 35 (2), pp. 185–211. The British dimensions of this revolt are recognised in Dan Stone, Breeding superman. Nietzsche, race and eugenics in Edwardian and interwar Britain (Liverpool: Liverpool Unviersity Press, 2002). 2 The concept of ‘periodical community’ is developed by L. Delap in ‘The Freewoman, periodical communities, and the feminist reading public’, Princeton University Library Chronicle, Winter 2000, pp. 233–276 and L. Delap, ‘The Freewoman, periodical culture and the ideas of Edwardian feminism’ (Ph.D thesis, Kings College, Cambridge, 2002), pp. 12–45. An example of how the same approach can be used for the interwar period is provided by J. Harding, ‘The Criterion’: cultural politics and periodical networks in inter-war Britain (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002). 3 W. Martin, The ‘New Age’ under Orage. Chapters in English cultural history (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1967) and the website run by Brown University, www.modjourn.brown.edu are examples of its literary treatment. Two recent articles are exceptions to this rule and underline the paper's ambiguous politics: C. Ferrall, ‘The New Age and the emergence of reactionary modernism before the Great War’, Modern Fiction Studies, 38 (1992), pp. 653–667 and A. Fernihough, ‘“Go in fear of abstractions”: modernism and the spectre of democracy’ Textual Practice 14 (2000), pp. 479–497. C. Ferrall has recently updated his analysis in the introduction to Modernist writing and reactionary politics (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001), pp. 13–20. 4 D. Milburn, The Deutschlandbild of A.R. Orage and the New Age Circle (Frankfurt am Main: P. Lang, 1996), p. 22. 5 The New Age, Aug. 14, 1913, p. 458. (Hereafter referred to as ‘NA’). 6 NA, November 26, 1908, p. 81. 7 W. Martin, The New Age Under Orage, p. 10. This is probably taken in turn from the estimate in R. Kenney, Westering (London 1939), p. 152. 8 Prospectus, 30 July, 1913. PRO, ref. BT 31/20104/116585. 9 Ibid. 10 Times Literary Supplement, Thursday, June 22, 1911, p. 237. 11 A.R. Orage (1873–1934) was a literary editor who has gained much scholarly attention over his influence on the beginnings of English literary modernism. He edited The New Age from 1907 to 1922 and The New English Weekly from 1932 to 1934. See books in n. 3 above, but also P. Mairet, A.R. Orage. A Memoir (London: J.M. Dent and Sons, Ltd., 1936), P. Selver, Orage and the New Age Circle (London: Allen and Unwin, 1959) and T. Steele, Alfred Orage and the Leeds Art Club, 1893–1923 (Aldershot: Scolar, 1990). 12 Hilaire Belloc (1870–1953), primarily known as a writer and political theorist, had been a Liberal member of parliament from 1906 to 1910 before resigning his seat in despair of the party system. He founded The Eye-Witness in 1911 but relinquished the editorship in 1912 because of stress and other literary commitments. For his life see R. Speaight, The Life of Hilaire Belloc (London: Hollis and Carter, 1957), A.N. Wilson, Hilaire Belloc (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1984) and J. Pearce, Old Thunder. A Life of Hilaire Belloc (London: Harper Collins, 2002). For his politics see J.P. Corrin, G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc. The Battle Against Modernity (Athens [Ohio]; London: Ohio University Press, 1981) and J.P. McCarthy, Hilaire Belloc: Edwardian Radical (Indianapolis: Liberty Press, 1978). 13 Cecil Chesterton (1879–1918), brother of the more famous G.K. Chesterton, edited The New Witness from 1912 until 1917. For details on his life see B. Sewell, Cecil Chesterton (Faversham: Saint Albert's Press, 1975). He is most remembered for his role in uncovering the Marconi revelations in 1913. See F. Donaldson, The Marconi Scandal (London: Quality Book Club, 1962). 14 T.E. Hulme (1883–1917), famous mostly because of his influence on T.S. Eliot, is now increasingly seen as a major figure in the origins of literary modernism. His writings were posthumously published in Speculations (London: K. Paul, Trench, Trubner & Co., Ltd., 1924) but are now best consulted in K.E. Csengeri (Ed.), The Collected Writings of T. E. Hulme (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1994). For his life see M. Roberts, T.E. Hulme (Manchester: Carcanet Press, 1982), A.R. Jones, The Life and Opinions of T.E. Hulme (London: Gollancz, 1960) and now R. Ferguson, The Short Sharp Life of T. E. Hulme (London: Allen Lane, 2002). 15 A.J. Penty (1875–1937), originally an architect, became one of the originators of guild socialism with his book, The Restoration of the Gild System [sic.] (London: Swan Sonnenshein & Co., 1906) and was a regular contributor to The New Age. 16 Little is known about the life of J.M. Kennedy, possibly because, according to Beatrice Hastings, Orage burnt all his notes after his death in the War. (B. Hastings, The Old ‘New Age’. Orage and Others (London: Blue Moon Press, 1936) n. p. 22.). He was, however, one of the most prolific of The New Age writers, influential in propagating Nietzsche. He developed ideas of classicism in politics and literature contemporaneously with Hulme. 17 J.P. Corrin, G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc: The Battle Against Modernity (London: Ohio University Press, 1981), p. 80, D. Milburn, The Detschlandbild of A.R. Orage and the New Age Circle (Frankfurt am Main: P. Lang, 1996), p. 73. 18 Standish Meacham, ‘The sense of an impending clash. English working class unrest before the First World War’, American Historical Review, 77 (1972), pp. 1343–64 at p. 1344. 19 Graham Wallas, Human Nature in Politics (London: Archibald Constance & Co., 1908). 20 Letter, H. Belloc to E.S.P. Haynes, August 23, 1911. Hilaire Belloc Archive, British Library. 21 A.N. Wilson, Hilaire Belloc (London: Hamish Hamilton, 1984), p. 27. 22 The Eye-Witness July 20, 1911, p. 141. (Hereafter referred to as EW.) 23 J.M. Kennedy, Tory Democracy (London: Stephen Swift & Co., 1911), p. 127. 24 H. Belloc, The Servile State (London and Edinburgh: T.N. Foulis, 1912). 25 Letter, H. Belloc to E.S.P. Haynes, August 25, 1911. Hilaire Belloc Archive, British Library. 26 Debate on the Proposition, ‘That a Democrat who is not also a Socialist is no gentleman’ between George Bernard Shaw and G.K. Chesterton, Memorial Hall, Farrington Street, London, 30 November, 1911, p. 35. Papers of George Bernard Shaw, British Library. 27 Kennedy, Tory Democracy, p. 131. 28 NA, May 25, 1911, p. 59. 29 NA, August 24, 1911, p. 388. 30 NA, August 24, 1911, pp. 388–9. 31 NA, August 24, 1911, p. 389. 32 NA, June 12, 1913, p. 163. 33 NA, May 11, 1911, p. 35. 34 ‘Present-day criticism’, NA, April 9, 1914, p. 719. 35 NA, April 13, 1911, p. 558. 36 ‘Politics and the Wage System’, NA, June 27, 1912, p. 199. 37 ‘Views and Reviews’, NA, October 9, 1913, p. 700. 38 J.M. Kennedy, ‘Notes on the Present Kalpa. 6—Hierarchy, cont.’, NA, January 2, 1913, p. 201. 39 ‘Notes of the Week’, NA, July 11, 1912, p. 241. 40 ‘Suggestions Towards a New Morality’, NA, October 3, 1907, p. 357. 41 Ibid. 42 ‘The Transition from the Wage System II’, NA, August 29, 1912, p. 418. 43 A.R. Orage, ‘Unedited Opinions’, NA, May 4, 1911, p. 13. 44 Ibid. 45 Ibid. 46 Ibid. 47 A.R. Orage, ‘Unedited Opinions. The Roots of Sentimentalism’, NA, May 16, 1912, p. 59. 48 See G. Alderman, ‘The anti-Jewish riots of August 1911 in south Wales’, Welsh History Review, 6 (1972), pp. 190–200 and W.D. Rubinstein, ‘The anti-Jewish riots of 1911 in south Wales: a re-examination’, Welsh History Review, 18 (1997), pp. 667–99. 49 EW, August 31, 1911, p. 324. 50 Ibid. 51 Cecil Chesterton, ‘An Open Letter to a Backwoodsman’, NA, March 30, 1911, p. 511. 52 NA, May 9, 1912, p. 30. 53 ‘Present Day Criticism’, NA, March 19, 1914, p. 624. 54 G. Sorel (tr. T.E. Hulme), Reflections on violence (London: Allen and Unwin, 1916). 55 G. Sorel (tr. T.E. Hulme), Reflections on violence (London, 2nd ed., 1925), p. 132. Hulme had persuaded Stephen Swift to take on his project to translate Sorel in late 1911, but the bankruptcy of the company delayed publication. (R. Ferguson, The short sharp life of T.E. Hulme (London; Allen Lane, 2002), p. 105). 56 ‘Notes of the Week’, NA, May 1, 1913, p. 3. 57 NA, July 25, 1907, p. 199. 58 Ibid. 59 EW, August 31, 1911, p. 329. 60 ‘Miscellaneous Notes on Guild Socialism’, NA, June 12, 1913, p. 166. 61 The wider context of guild ideas is looked at by A. Black, Guilds and civil society in European political thought from the twelfth century to the present (London: Methuen, 1984); J.L. Finlay, Social Credit: the English origins (Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, 1972) and S.T. Glass, The responsible society: the ideas of the English guild socialist (London: Longmans, 1966). 62 Stanley Pierson, British Socialists. The Journey from Fantasy to Politics (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1979), p. 206. 63 Ibid. p. 211. 64 ‘The Great Industry and the Wage System’, NA, May 9, 1912, p. 29. 65 ‘Notes of the Week’, NA, August 31, 1911, p. 411. 66 ‘State Socialism and the Wage System’, NA, May 16, 1912, p. 54. 67 ‘The Heart of the Argument’, NA, June 5, 1913, p. 134. 68 ‘State Socialism and the Wage System’, NA, May 16, 1912, p. 55. 69 Frank Matthews, ‘The Ladder of Becoming: A.R. Orage, A.J. Penty and the Origins of Guild Socialism in England’ in David E. Martin and David Rubenstein (Eds.), Ideology and the Labour Movement. Essays Presented to John Saville (London: Croom Helm, 1979), p. 155. 70 ‘Unedited Opinions. What is the Soul?’, NA, November 7, 1912, p. 10. 71 ‘Notes of the Week’, NA, November 14, 1912, p. 29. 72 ‘Miscellaneous Notes on Guild Socialism’, NA, June 12, 1913, p. 165. 73 Maurice B. Reckitt, ‘The National Guild System’, NA, September 4, 1913, p. 540. 74 Ibid. 75 It was an editorial tactic of Orage to sign these articles collectively, to frighten the labour movement into thinking the ‘national guildsmen’ were already a coherent group. This caused problems and frictions later, when, to maintain the deception, Orage published Hobson's articles with his own name as editor in A.R. Orage, National guilds. An inquiry into the wage system and the way out (London: G. Bell and sons, 1914). (S. G. Hobson, Pilgrim to the left: memoirs of a modern revolutionist (London: Arnold, 1938), pp. 178–9.) 76 ‘Notes of the Week’, NA, September 7, 1911, pp. 434–5. 77 ‘Guild Socialism IV—A Working Model’, NA, October 24, 1912, p. 631. 78 G.D.H. Cole's criticism of the New Age in The World of Labour. Quoted in G.W. Taylor, ‘A.R. Orage, The New Age and Guild Socialism’, (Ph.D thesis, University College of Swansea, University of Wales, 1990), p. 146. G.D.H. Cole was a reader of the New Age, but the version of Guild Socialism that he developed was different in important respects and has been analysed at length in A.W. Wright, G.D.H. Cole and Socialist Democracy (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1979). 79 G.W. Taylor, ‘A.R. Orage, The New Age and Guild Socialism’, p. 57. 80 EW, July 6, 1911, p. 66. 81 Orage's letter to Guildsmen (1920) quoted in Frank Matthews, ‘The Ladder of Becoming’, pp. 153–4. 82 For Croce see R.H.C., ‘Readers and Writers’, NA, December 11, 1913, p. 177. 83 ‘Notes of the Week’, NA, March 27, 1913, p. 490. 84 ‘National Guilds XVIII’, NA, December 4, 1913, p. 135. 85 Ibid. p. 135. 86 Ibid. p. 137. 87 ‘Notes of the Week’, NA, July 4, 1912, p. 220. 88 A.R. Orage, ‘Towards Socialism VII’, NA, November 14, 1907, p. 50. 89 ‘Miscellaneous Notes on Guild Socialism’, NA, December 5, 1912, p. 102. 90 ‘Guild Socialism—XIII The Bureaucrat and the Guild’, NA, February 20, 1913, p. 375. 91 ‘Notes of the Week’, NA, May 28, 1914, p. 73. 92 Ibid. p. 74. 93 ‘Guild Socialism V—Industries Susceptible to Guild Organisation.’, NA, November 7, 1912, p. 6. 94 ‘Guild Socialism III—An Outline of the Guild’, NA, October 24, 1912, p. 606. 95 ‘Unedited Opinions. The Government of the Mind.’, NA, July 27, 1911, p. 299. 96 Ibid. 97 Ibid.

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