Ernest Belfort Bax (; 23 July 1854 – 26 November 1926) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

barrister,

journalist A journalist is an individual that collects/gathers information in form of text, audio, or pictures, processes them into a news-worthy form, and disseminates it to the public. The act or process mainly done by the journalist is called journalis ...

, philosopher, men's rights advocate,

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

, and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

Biography

Ernest Belfort Bax was born on 23 July 1854, in Leamington Spa, son of Daniel Bax, a wealthy

Mackintosh The Mackintosh or raincoat (abbreviated as mac) is a form of waterproof raincoat, first sold in 1824, made of rubberised fabric. The Mackintosh is named after its Scottish inventor Charles Macintosh, although many writers added a letter ''k' ...

raincoat manufacturer and traditionalist nonconformist. Bax's elder brother, barrister Alfred Ridley Bax, was father of the composer and writer

Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral musi ...

and the playwright and essayist Clifford Bax. In his ''Reminiscences and Reflexions of a Mid and Late Victorian'' (1918), he describes the narrow Evangelicanism and Sabbatarianism in which he was brought up which he describes as having left "an enduringly unpleasant reminiscence behind it". He was privately educated by tutors between the years 1864–1875, and influenced by

George Lewes George Henry Lewes (; 18 April 1817 – 30 November 1878) was an English philosopher and critic of literature and theatre. He was also an amateur physiologist. American feminist Margaret Fuller called Lewes a "witty, French, flippant sort of m ...

, William Lecky, Alexander Bain,

Herbert Spencer Herbert Spencer (27 April 1820 – 8 December 1903) was an English philosopher, psychologist, biologist, anthropologist, and sociologist famous for his hypothesis of social Darwinism. Spencer originated the expression " survival of the fi ...

and John Stuart Mill, which contributed to his dedication to rationalism. At the age of sixteen his interest in public affairs was awakened by the Franco-German War, and by its sequel,

the Commune ''The Commune'' ( da, Kollektivet) is a 2016 Danish drama film directed by Thomas Vinterberg. It was selected to compete for the Golden Bear at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival. At Berlin, Trine Dyrholm won the Silver Bear for Best A ...

. His political ideas during this period amounted to a commonplace radicalism combined with aspirations to economic equality. In his youth Bax had an interest in music and could play the piano, and at the age of 21 (1875) he went to Germany to study music. He visited there again in 1880 as Berlin correspondent of ''The Standard''. It was then that he met with

Eduard von Hartmann Karl Robert Eduard von Hartmann, was a German philosopher, independent scholar and author of '' Philosophy of the Unconscious'' (1869). His notable ideas include the theory of the Unconscious and a pessimistic interpretation of the "best of al ...

and came into contact with

German philosophy German philosophy, here taken to mean either (1) philosophy in the German language or (2) philosophy by Germans, has been extremely diverse, and central to both the analytic and continental traditions in philosophy for centuries, from Gottfried ...

in general. After studying for a period, his interest in Mill, Spencer and Bain yielded to the German greats

Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and aest ...

and Hegel, and his philosophical interests remained with him for life.

Studies in philosophy

In 1880 at the age of 26, Bax began studying philosophy in Germany, beginning with Kant and Hegel. In 1883 he produced an English translation of Kant's '' Prolegomena, and Metaphysical Foundations of Natural Science'', and in 1884 he wrote his ''Handbook to the History of Philosophy'', which was published in 1885 for Bohn's Philosophical Library. Later philosophical works by Bax include ''The Problem of Reality'' (1892), ''The Roots of Reality: Being Suggestions for a Philosophical Reconstruction'' (1907), ''Problems of Men, Mind and Morals'' (1912), and ''The Real, The Rational, and The Alogical'' (1920).

Men's rights advocacy

Bax was a passionate advocate for the social and legal rights of men, which he saw as lacking in comparison to the

legal rights of women Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...

. His first major article on the subject was ''Some Bourgeois Idols; Or Ideals, Reals, and Shams'' (1886), in which he proposed that women were privileged under law at the expense of men. He was to continue writing articles on this topic for most of his life, published notably in ''Social Democrat'', and ''Justice'', and later in ''

The New Age ''The New Age'' was a British weekly magazine (1894–1938), inspired by Fabian socialism, and credited as a major influence on literature and the arts during its heyday from 1907 to 1922, when it was edited by Alfred Richard Orage. It publishe ...

''. In 1896, he wrote ''The Legal Subjection of Men'' * Reprinted as whose title is a play on John Stuart Mill's 1869 essay "

The Subjection of Women ''The Subjection of Women'' is an essay by English philosopher, political economist and civil servant John Stuart Mill published in 1869, with ideas he developed jointly with his wife Harriet Taylor Mill. Mill submitted the finished manuscript ...

." In the volume, Bax draws on his extensive experience as a barrister to demonstrate the numerous ways in which the legal code favoured women to the detriment of men and boys. Chapters in the book include 'Matrimonial Privileges of Women', 'Non-Matrimonial Privileges of Women', 'The Actual Exercise of Women's Sex Privileges', and 'A Sex Noblesse'. Bax was an active

antifeminist Antifeminism, also spelled anti-feminism, is opposition to some or all forms of feminism. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, antifeminists opposed particular policy proposals for women's rights, such as the right to vote, educat ...

since, according to him, feminism was failing to address inequities for both sexes evenly. According to Bax, the "anti-man crusades" of his day were responsible for anti-man laws being both preserved from the old legal canon, and for new laws being passed that were also anti-male and sexist. Bax wrote many articles in ''The New Age'' and elsewhere about English laws partial to women against men, and women's privileged position before the law, and expressed his view that

women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

would unfairly tip the balance of power to women. In 1913 he published a book, ''The Fraud of Feminism'', detailing feminism's adverse effects. Bax's concern for men's equality fuelled his interest in socialism, to which he turned for a potential solution to what he viewed as the exploitation of males by the capitalist system:

"The highest development of modern capitalism, as exemplified in the English-speaking countries, has placed man to all intents and purposes, legally under the heel of woman. So far as the relations of the sexes are concerned, it would be the task of Socialism to emancipate man from this position, if sex-equality be the goal aimed at. The first step on the road towards such equality would necessarily consist in the abolition of modern female privilege."

Socialism

Bax was first introduced to socialism while studying philosophy in Germany in 1879. He combined

ideas with those of

Immanuel Kant Immanuel Kant (, , ; 22 April 1724 – 12 February 1804) was a German philosopher and one of the central Enlightenment thinkers. Born in Königsberg, Kant's comprehensive and systematic works in epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, and ...

, Arthur Schopenhauer and

. Keen to explore possible

metaphysical Metaphysics is the branch of philosophy that studies the fundamental nature of reality, the first principles of being, identity and change, space and time, causality, necessity, and possibility. It includes questions about the nature of conscio ...

and

ethical Ethics or moral philosophy is a branch of philosophy that "involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong behavior".''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy'' The field of ethics, along with aesthetics, concerns ma ...

implications of socialism, he came to describe a "''religion of socialism''" as a means to overcome the dichotomy between the personal and the social, and also that between the cognitive and the emotional. He saw this as a replacement for

organised religion Organized religion, also known as institutional religion, is religion in which belief systems and rituals are systematically arranged and formally established. Organized religion is typically characterized by an official doctrine (or dogma), a ...

, and was a fervent atheist, keen to free workers from what he saw as the

moralism Moralism is any philosophy with the central focus of applying moral judgements. The term is commonly used as a pejorative to mean "being overly concerned with making moral judgments or being illiberal in the judgments one makes". Moralism has s ...

of the middle-class. Bax moved to

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

and worked as a journalist on the ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

''. On his return to England in 1882, he joined the SDF, but grew disillusioned and in 1885 left to form the Socialist League with

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was a British textile designer, poet, artist, novelist, architectural conservationist, printer, translator and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts Movement. He ...

. After anarchists gained control of the League, he rejoined the SDF, and became the chief theoretician, and editor of the party paper ''

Justice Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...

''. He opposed the party's participation in the Labour Representation Committee, and eventually persuaded them to leave. Almost throughout his life, he saw economic conditions as ripe for socialism, but felt this progress was delayed by a lack of education of the

working class The working class (or labouring class) comprises those engaged in manual-labour occupations or industrial work, who are remunerated via waged or salaried contracts. Working-class occupations (see also " Designation of workers by collar colo ...

. Bax supported

Karl Kautsky Karl Johann Kautsky (; ; 16 October 1854 – 17 October 1938) was a Czech-Austrian philosopher, journalist, and Marxist theorist. Kautsky was one of the most authoritative promulgators of orthodox Marxism after the death of Friedrich Engels i ...

over Eduard Bernstein, but Kautsky had little time for what he saw as Bax's

utopianism A utopia ( ) typically describes an imaginary community or society that possesses highly desirable or nearly perfect qualities for its members. It was coined by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book ''Utopia'', describing a fictional island society ...

, and supported Theodore Rothstein's efforts to spread a more orthodox Marxism in the SDF. Initially very anti-

nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...

, Bax came to support the British in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, but by this point he was concentrating on his career as a barrister and did little political work.

Historian

As well as his contributions to philosophy, men's rights, and socialism, Bax published several in depth historical studies of individuals, and cultures. He records in his Reminiscences that he always felt, from childhood on, the need of an intelligible doctrine of history. Among his historical works are: '' Jean-Paul Marat: The People's Friend'' (1879), ''German Society at the Close of the Middle Ages'' (1894), ''The Social Side of the Reformation in Germany'' (1894), ''The Peasants' War in Germany'' (1899), ''The Rise and Fall of the Anabaptists'' (1903), ''The Last Episode of the French Revolution'' (1911), and ''German Culture Past and Present'' (1913).

Works

He wrote the following books on various subjects:
''Jean-Paul Marat: A Historico-Biographical Sketch''
(1882)
''A Handbook of the History of Philosophy''
(1886)
''A Short Account of the Commune of Paris of 1871''
with Victor Dave &

(1886)
''Religion of Socialism''
(1886)
''The Story of The French Revolution''
(1890)
''Outlooks From a New Standpoint''
(1891)
''The Problem of Reality''
(1893)
''The Ethics of Socialism''
(1893)
''German Society at the Close of The Middle Ages''
(1894)
''A Short History of The Paris Commune''
(1894)
''Socialism; Its Growth and Outcome''
with William Morris (1894)
''The Legal Subjection of Men'' (1896 with Twentieth Century Press) with an unnamed Irish barrister, (republished in 1908 with New Age Press)

''The Peasants War in Germany''
(1899)
''Jean-Paul Marat: The People's Friend''
(1901)
''The Rise and Fall of the Anabaptists''
(1900)
''A New Catechism of Socialism''
with Harry Quelch (1903)
''Essays in Socialism, New and Old''
(1906)
''The Roots of Reality''
(1908)
''The Last Episode of the French Revolution: Being a History of Gracchus Babeuf and the Conspiracy of the Equals''
(1911)
''Problems of Men, Mind, and Morals''
(1912)
''The Fraud of Feminism''
(1913)
''Reminiscences and Reflexions of a mid and late Victorian''
(1918)
''German Culture Past and Present''
(1915)

References

External links

Ernest Belfort Bax: Father of the Men's MovementArchive of Bax's work
on Marxists.org * * * * ''The Legal Subjection of Men'', 1908 antithesis of John Stuart Mill's 1869 ''

''. * ''Fraud of Feminism'', full 1913 text online
Article on Bax
at

Spartacus Educational Spartacus Educational is a free online encyclopedia with essays and other educational material on a wide variety of historical subjects principally British history from 1700 and the history of the United States. Based in the United Kingdom, Spart ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bax, Ernest Belfort 1854 births 1926 deaths British Socialist Party members English atheists 19th-century English historians English male journalists English philosophers English socialists Freethought writers Male critics of feminism People from Leamington Spa Social Democratic Federation members Socialist League (UK, 1885) members 20th-century English historians