Carlyle, Ruskin, And Morris: Work Across the 'River of Fire' (Thomas Carlyle, John Ruskin, William Morris) (Essay‪)‬

for between us and that which is to be, if art is not to perish utterly, there is something alive and devouring; something as utterly, there is something alive and devouring; something as it were a river of fire that will put all that tries to swim across to a hard proof indeed ... (cited in Thompson 1977, 244). This imagery is from William Morris (1834-1896) writer, poet, artist, artisan, and socialist calling for courage in confronting the daunting work of transforming industrial capitalist society to a better socialist future; a transformation from 'old art' to 'new art'. The reference to 'art' here is a reflection of Morris's developed view of art as a holistic manifestation of the condition of human society and of its deep connection with 'work' or labour (Morris [1884] 1969, 94-5). The intransigent and deeply embedded barrier which Morris saw before him in his mission to contribute to transforming society was the Political Economy of his time. (1) It was a similarly daunting 'river of fire' which had earlier confronted the prophetic 'man of letters', historian and social critic Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881) and the equally prophetic and incisive social critic and art critic John Ruskin (1819-1900).