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To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.

Oscar Wilde, The Soul of Man under Socialism

Literature

The story behind the card

From The Soul of Man under Socialism (1891), an essay by the Irish writer Oscar Wilde (1854–1900), best known for his wit, his comedies and The Picture of Dorian Gray. Wilde argues that a socialism built on freedom rather than state authority would release people from poverty and the worries of property, so that each could develop their own personality. He also criticises charity, which he felt kept poverty going instead of ending it. Living, in his sense, means becoming fully yourself; merely existing means getting through the days.

Türkçe oku
Yaşamak dünyadaki en nadir şeydir. İnsanların çoğu yalnızca var olur, o kadar.
Oscar Wilde, Sosyalizm ve İnsan Ruhu

İrlandalı yazar Oscar Wilde'ın (1854–1900) 1891 tarihli Sosyalizm ve İnsan Ruhu denemesinden. Wilde bugün en çok nükteleri, komedileri ve Dorian Gray'in Portresi romanıyla tanınır. Denemede, devlet otoritesine değil özgürlüğe dayanan bir sosyalizmin insanları yoksulluktan ve mülk kaygısından kurtaracağını, böylece herkesin kendi kişiliğini geliştirebileceğini savunur. Hayırseverliği de eleştirir; ona göre yardım yoksulluğu bitirmez, sürdürür. Wilde'ın gözünde yaşamak, insanın tam anlamıyla kendisi olmasıdır; yalnızca var olmak ise günleri geçirip gitmektir.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Oscar Wilde
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