George Grimes Watson (13 October 1927 – 2 August 2013) was a

scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...

literary critic Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

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 stu ...

, a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of St John's College, and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of English at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

Early life

Watson was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

, Australia, on 13 October 1927. He was educated at

Brisbane Boys' College (Let Honour Stainless Be) , established = 1902 , type = Independent, single-sex, day and boarding , denomination = Presbyterian and Uniting Church , slogan = , headmaster = André Casson , city = Toowong , state = Queensland , country ...

and the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

, where he graduated in English in 1948. He secured a scholarship for a second degree and graduated in English from

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

in 1950.

Career

A talented linguist, he worked for the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the executive of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with 27 members of the Commission (informally known as "Commissioners") headed by a President. It includes an administrative body o ...

, both as an interpreter and checking its publications. Watson became a lecturer of English at

in 1959 and a Fellow of St John's College in 1961. Watson met

C. S. Lewis Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963) was a British writer and Anglican lay theologian. He held academic positions in English literature at both Oxford University (Magdalen College, 1925–1954) and Cambridge Univers ...

at Oxford's

Socratic Club The Oxford Socratic Club was a student club that met from 1942 to 1954 dedicated to providing an open forum for the discussion of the intellectual difficulties connected with religion and with Christianity in particular. The club was formed in De ...

in 1948 and attended his lectures. Later, he counted him among his finest professors and, after Watson joined Cambridge, among his colleagues. Among Watson's English students at St John's was

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author and screenwriter, best known for ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' developed into a " ...

Politics and views

Watson was an active member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

, and he was a member of Liberal Party co-ownership committee from 1951 to 1957. He stood in

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

in the

1959 United Kingdom general election The 1959 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday, 8 October 1959. It marked a third consecutive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, now led by Harold Macmillan. For the second time in a row, the Conservatives increased their ...

. In the

1979 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom The 1979 European Parliament election, was the first European election to be held in the United Kingdom after the European Communities (EC) decided to directly elect representatives to the European Parliament. It was held on 7 June. Elections ...

, he fought the Leicester European Parliament constituency. He was senior treasurer of the

Cambridge University Liberal Club Cambridge University Liberal Association (CULA) is the student branch of the Liberal Democrats for students at Cambridge University. It is the successor to the Cambridge Student Liberal Democrats, which in turn was formed from the merger of Cam ...

from 1978 to 1992. In his will, Watson left £950,000 to the Liberal Democrats and the painting ''Rocky Landscape with Saint John the Baptist'' by

Joos de Momper Joos de Momper the Younger or Joost de Momper the Younger (1564February5, 1635) was a Flemish landscape painter active in Antwerp between the late 16th century and the early 17th century. Brueghel's influence is clearly evident in many of de Momp ...

to the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

, London. Watson contributed to ''

Encounter Encounter or Encounters may refer to: Film *''Encounter'', a 1997 Indian film by Nimmala Shankar * ''Encounter'' (2013 film), a Bengali film * ''Encounter'' (2018 film), an American sci-fi film * ''Encounter'' (2021 film), a British sci-fi film * ...

'', a Cold-War intellectual journal, and published material arguing that

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...

was a

Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...

and that

socialism 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 e ...

promoted genocide. He was featured in the film ''

The Soviet Story ''The Soviet Story'' is a 2008 documentary film about Soviet Communism and Soviet–German relations before 1941 and after, written and directed by Edvīns Šnore, and sponsored by the far-right Union for Europe of the Nations group in the Euro ...

'' in 2008, where he argued that

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

was responsible for coming up with the idea of genocide.''The Soviet Story''. Minute 16:37. For this, he was criticised by Ivars Ījabs and Robert Grant, who argue that Watson's views are based on mistranslation and distortion reflecting his ideological bias. The translation of Völkerabfälle as "racial trash" lay at the centre of this, with defenders of Marx and

Friedrich Engels Friedrich Engels ( ,"Engels"
'' In the ''Lost Literature of Socialism'' (1998), Watson cited an 1849 article written by Engels called "The Hungarian Struggle" and published in Marx's journal ''

Neue Rheinische Zeitung The ''Neue Rheinische Zeitung: Organ der Demokratie'' ("New Rhenish Newspaper: Organ of Democracy") was a German daily newspaper, published by Karl Marx in Cologne between 1 June 1848 and 19 May 1849. It is recognised by historians as one of the ...

'', stating that the writings of Engels and others show that "the Marxist theory of history required and demanded genocide for reasons implicit in its claim that

feudalism Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

, which in advanced nations was already giving place to

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

, must in its turn be superseded by

. Entire nations would be left behind after a workers' revolution, feudal remnants in a socialist age, and since they could not advance two steps at a time, they would have to be killed. They were racial trash, as Engels called them, and fit only for the dung-heap of history." Watson's claims have been criticised by Robert Grant for "dubious" evidence, arguing that "what Marx and Engels are calling for is ... at the very least a kind of

cultural genocide Cultural genocide or cultural cleansing is a concept which was proposed by lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1944 as a component of genocide. Though the precise definition of ''cultural genocide'' remains contested, the Armenian Genocide Museum defines ...

; but it is not obvious, at least from Watson's citations, that actual mass killing, rather than (to use their phraseology) mere 'absorption' or 'assimilation', is in question." Talking about Engels' 1849 article and citing Watson's book, historian

Andrzej Walicki Andrzej Stanisław Walicki (15 May 1930 – 20 August 2020) was a Polish historian. He was a professor at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, United States. He specialized in philosophy of sociopolitics, history of Polish and Russian philosop ...

wrote: "It is difficult to deny that this was an outright call for genocide." In the 2008 documentary film ''

'', Watson stated at minute 16:37 that Engels is "the ancestor of the modern political genocide." While confirming the use of the term '' Völkerabfälle'' in Marx's daily newspaper to describe several small European ethnic groups, Latvian political scientist and cultural commentator

Ivars Ijabs Ivars Ijabs (born 17 November 1972) is a Latvian political scientist and politician. He is a lecturer and professor at the University of Latvia and holds a PhD in political science. In May 2019, representing political alliance Development/For!, he ...

responded: "To present Karl Marx as the 'progenitor of modern genocide' is simply to lie."

Works

Books

Watson's works, many of them reprinted, in the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

include: * ''

Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature The ''Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature'' is an encyclopaedic bibliography of literature in English published by the Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Gra ...

'', Vols. 1–5 (1969–1977) * ''Unservile State'', essays in liberty and welfare (1957) * ''Concise Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature'' (1958) * ''British Constitution and Europe'' (1959) * "Dryden :'Of Dramatic Poesy' and other critical essays " 2vols (1962) * ''Literary Critics'', a study of English descriptive criticism (1962) * ''Literary Critics'', a study of English descriptive criticism (1964) * ''Concise Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature, 600–1950'' (1965) * ''Coleridge the Poet'' (1966) * ''Is Socialism Left?'' (1967, 1972) * ''Study of Literature'' (1968) * ''New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature'', edited by George Watson (1969) * ''Literary English since Shakespeare'', edited by George Watson (1970) * ''The English Ideology'', studies in the language of Victorian politics (1973) * ''Literary Critics'', a study of English descriptive criticism (1973, 1986) * ''Politics and Literature in Modern Britain'' (1977) * ''The Discipline of English: A Guide to Critical Theory and Practice'' (1978, 1979) * ''Castle Rackrent'' by

Maria Edgeworth Maria Edgeworth (1 January 1768 – 22 May 1849) was a prolific Anglo-Irish novelist of adults' and children's literature. She was one of the first realist writers in children's literature and was a significant figure in the evolution of the n ...

, edited with an introduction by George Watson (1980, 1995, 2008) * ''Shorter New Cambridge Bibliography of English Literature'' (1981) * ''Idea of Liberalism: Studies for A New Map of Politics'' (1985) * ''Writing a Thesis: A Guide to Long Essays and Dissertations'' (1987) * ''Certainty of Literature: Essays in Polemic'' (1989) * ''Biographia Literaria, or, Biographical Sketches of My Literary Life and Opinions'' by

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poe ...

, edited and with an introduction by George Watson (1991) * ''Critical Essays on C.S. Lewis'', edited by George Watson (1992) * ''Lord Acton's History of Liberty'', a study of his library, with an edited text of his ''History of Liberty Notes'' (1994) * ''Lost Literature of Socialism'' (1998, 2002, 2010) * ''Never Ones for Theory?: England and the War of Ideas'' (2002) * ''Take Back the Past: Myths of the Twentieth Century'' (2007)

Articles

* "Were the Intellectuals Duped?", ''Encounter'' (December 1973) * "Millar or Marx?", ''

The Wilson Quarterly ''The Wilson Quarterly'' is a magazine published by the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. The magazine was founded in 1976 by Peter Braestrup and James H. Billington. It is noted for its nonpartisan, non-ideolog ...

'' (Winter 1993) * "The Messiah of Modernism: F. R. Leavis (1895–1978)", ''The Hudson Review'', Vol. 50, No. 2 (Summer 1997), pp. 227-241. * "Hitler and the Socialist Dream", ''The Independent'' (November 1998) * "Remembering Prufrock: Hugh Sykes Davies 1909–1984", ''Jacket'' (Fall 2001)

References

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, George G. 1927 births 2013 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford British classical liberals British literary critics Fellows of St John's College, Cambridge Liberal Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Literary critics of English People from Brisbane People educated at Brisbane Boys' College University of Queensland alumni