The Lion and the Unicorn: Socialism and the English Genius

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Some gave them white bread, And some gave them brown; Some gave them plum cake and drummed them out of town. Patriotism is usually stronger than class-hatred, and always stronger than any kind of internationalism. As a result, "The Lion and the Unicorn" became an emblem of the revolution which would create a new kind of socialism, a democratic "English Socialism" in contrast to the oppressing Soviet totalitarian communism and also a new form of Britishness, a socialist one liberated from empire and the decadent old ruling classes. And underlying this is the really important fact about so many of the English intelligentsia – their severance from the common culture of the country.

The Lion and the Unicorn // George Orwell Work : Essays : The Lion and the Unicorn // George Orwell

KiB] ‘An economic system in which land, factories, mines and transport are owned privately and operated solely for profit — does not work. But here it is worth noting a minor English trait which is extremely well marked though not often commented on, and that is a love of flowers. A family with the wrong members in control – that, perhaps, is as near as one can come to describing England in a phrase.Taking their lead from a famous speech by the Bulgarian communist Georgi Dimitrov’s at the 1935 Congress of the Communist International, British Marxists believed that Hitler, Mussolini and their ilk had won the support of ordinary people by posing as the modern inheritors of their respective national traditions. And yet somehow the ruling class decayed, lost its ability, its daring, finally even its ruthlessness, until a time came when stuffed shirts like Eden or Halifax could stand out as men of exceptional talent. It was behind him when he went to Munich, when he tried to come to an understanding with Russia, when he gave the guarantee to Poland, when he honoured it, and when he prosecuted the war half-heartedly.

The Lion and the Unicorn : Socialism and the English Genius The Lion and the Unicorn : Socialism and the English Genius

It is a fact that any rich man, unless he is a Jew, has less to fear from Fascism than from either Communism or democratic Socialism. It must be admitted that so long as things were peaceful the methods of the British ruling class served them well enough. But it plays its part in the English mystique, and the intellectuals who have tried to break it down have generally done more harm than good.On the other hand, if one of them succeeds in blowing me to pieces with a well-placed bomb, he will never sleep any the worse for it. The power-worship which is the new religion of Europe, and which has infected the English intelligentsia, has never touched the common people.