Review of Jewish interest Michael Holroyd: Bernard Shaw
Unexpected source re Stalin and 20th century fake socialism, 25 Nov 2010
I just wanted to mention this book as a perhaps unexpected source on the way 'socialism' became contaminated into a euphemism for totalitarianism. Holroyd takes himself seriously as a biographer; there's plenty of detail. There's abundant material on Beatrice Webb, and 'Sidney Webb'—I think I'm right in saying the real name is never given. There's material on trust money which 'Webb' used to help set up the LSE. It is a fact (see e.g. Belloc) that Britain's theatre land was dominated by Jews, and it seem likely that Shaw's success, when it finally came (he was about 40—according to Max Beerbohm!) was due to promotional activity. Certainly it's hard to judge his plays—plays are in any case hard to read, since the reader of course has to try to bear in mind all the multiple characters' beliefs and outlooks. The fact these plays are hardly ever presented now, and haven't been for decades, suggest that 'booming' was necessary for them. The filmed versions included the lightweight 'My Fair Lady'. Later in life, to quote Russell, Shaw was 'led into rather absurd adulation of Stalin'. (I think 'led to' was correct—in Russell's Autobiography).