''Commonweal'' was a British

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 e ...

newspaper founded in 1885 by the newborn Socialist League. Its aims were to spread socialist views and to win over new recruits.

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 ...

, founder of the League, was its chief writer, money finder and "responsible head".

Edward Aveling Edward Bibbins Aveling (29 November 1849 – 2 August 1898) was an English comparative anatomist and popular spokesman for Darwinian evolution, atheism and socialism. He was also a playwright and actor. Aveling was the author of numerous ...

was the sub-editor. Before the last meeting of the Social Democratic Federation Morris and Aveling visited Frederick Engels to discuss their proposed paper. The first number appeared at the beginning of February 1885. John Turner, Ernest Belfort Bax and

Eleanor Marx Jenny Julia Eleanor Marx (16 January 1855 – 31 March 1898), sometimes called Eleanor Aveling and known to her family as Tussy, was the English-born youngest daughter of Karl Marx. She was herself a socialist activist who sometimes worked as a ...

also regularly contributed articles. Its publishing office was at Great Queen Street, London. At first it appeared as a monthly (with supplements) from February, 1885 to May 1st 1886. It then commenced as a weekly. Aveling was unable to devote the necessary time on a weekly basis and Bax replaced him as sub-editor. As E. P. Thompson writes: "Almost every issue included at least one major contribution from Morris. During 1885 "The Pilgrims of Hope" appeared in monthly instalments: during 1886 and 1887 his series of articles with Bax, "Socialism from the Root Up", appeared side by side with "A Dream of John Ball"." Aveling's "Lessons in Socialism", a series of lessons on Marx's "Das Kapital", that had not yet appeared in English translation, were published in nine instalments from April 1885 until March 1886. In 1890, Morris resigned as editor and was replaced by the anarchist David Nicoll (Morris went on to publish the ''Hammersmith Socialist Record'', the paper of the Hammersmith Socialist Society). With the dissolution of the Socialist League, the paper continued as the independent publication of the Commonweal Group. Nicoll published an article on the

Walsall Anarchists The Walsall Anarchists were a group of anarchists arrested on explosive charges in Walsall, present-day West Midlands, England in 1892. Recent research into police files has revealed that the bombings were instigated by Auguste Coulon, an ''agen ...

, for which he was sentenced to eighteen months' hard labour in May 1892;

H. B. Samuels Henry Benjamin Samuels (March 1860 – 1933), known as Henry Benjamin and Harry Samuels, was a British anarchist who came under suspicion of being a police spy. Samuels was known for his incendiary rhetoric. Samuels was born in Kingston u ...

then became acting editor. Soon after Nicoll's release, the paper was closed and replaced by his own periodical ''The Anarchist''. Nicoll later resurrected the name ''The Commonweal'' for this publication, under which name it continued sporadically from 1898 to 1907. Historian Alex Butterworth believes that the staff of ''Commonweal'' "may have consisted entirely of informants, unbeknownst to each other", although " en today, with unprecedented access to police files, Butterworth is often unsure who was reporting back to the cops." Doherty, Brian (2010-12-17
The First War on Terror
''

Reason Reason is the capacity of consciously applying logic by drawing conclusions from new or existing information, with the aim of seeking the truth. It is closely associated with such characteristically human activities as philosophy, science, ...

Editors

:1885:

and

:1890: Frank Kitz and David Nicoll :1891: David Nicoll :1892: Thomas Cantwell :1893:

References

* The Aftermath, with Autobiography of the Author (

John Bedford Leno John Bedford Leno (29 June 1826 – 31 October 1894) was a Chartist, radical, poet, and printer who acted as a "bridge" between Chartism and early Labour movements, as well as between the working and ruling classes. He campaigned to give the v ...

, Reeves & Turner, London, 1892)

External links

Archive
This page indexes some Articles from Commonweal 1884-1890 including those of William Morris, E. Belfort Bax and Paul Lafargue. Newspapers published in London Publications established in 1885 Publications disestablished in 1894 Socialist League (UK, 1885) 1885 establishments in the United Kingdom 1894 disestablishments in the United Kingdom Socialist newspapers published in the United Kingdom Anarchist periodicals published in the United Kingdom

Editors

See also

References

External links