Socialism and Civilized Society
Leonard’s autobiography reveals his apolitical upbringing, although exposure to East End poverty and the experience of the First World War turned him into a political animal. The Fabian Society and the Cooperative movement converted him to socialism, while he continued to cherish the conviction that there is no higher value than the individual. He always defined civilization by reference to fifth-century Athens, which embraced freedom, equality, and tolerance. It was this belief that led him to deplore Stalinism as a travesty of Marxist objectives. In his later political writings, imbued with anti-communist sentiments, he argued that it was never right to do a great evil so that a greater good might result, a view that prompted heated exchanges with Kingsley Martin. In addition to writing polemical books and articles, he devoted more than thirty years to his magnum opus, the two-volume After the Deluge and its successor Principia Politica, a resounding defense of liberal values in the face of human aggression and an exploration of communal psychology, whose prolixity received a cool reception from critics.