The Soul of Man (Unabridged)

"The Soul of Man" is an 1891 essay by Oscar Wilde in which he expounds a libertarian socialist worldview and a critique of charity. The writing of «The Soul of Man» followed Wilde's conversion to anarchist philosophy, following his reading of the works of Peter Kropotkin. In «The Soul of Man» Wilde argues that, under capitalism, «the majority of people spoil their lives by an unhealthy and exaggerated altruism-are forced, indeed, so to spoil them»: instead of realising their true talents, they waste their time solving the social problems caused by capitalism, without taking their common cause away. Thus, caring people «seriously and very sentimentally set themse…