Talk:A. L. Rowse

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The "Political Right"

This article presents an interesting idea: that Rowse's increasing opposition to Nazis and their sympathizers makes him a "right-winger."

I would also note that Rowse campaigned against appeasement during the 1930's. I guess this would make him an ally of Winston Churchill, and therefore a "right-winger?"

Well, Rowse is a curious case, because he remained a Marxist all his life, but wound up with such misanthropic aphorisms as: "Knowing humans is a waste of time!" As a child, he once shouted down the staircase, "I'm the only one in this house with any brains!" Well, he was right, but he was certainly not polite about revealing this particular truth!

There seems to be little doubt that Rowse developed into a full-fledged curmudgeon. This happens to be one of my favorite literary flavors (at least you know where they stand!), but is obviously not for everyone. The crucial thing, in my opinion, is that these discussions of his personality should not distract us from the pursuit of the truth. What if he was right about the sonnets? What are the odds that he was wrong? 203.170.144.1 14:11, 22 December 2006 (UTC)

I would suggest that Rowse's anti-appeasement stance from the 30's onwards was neither "right wing" or "left wing" - as with Churchill, it placed him somewhat outside the mainstream of British political thought of the time. His enduring admiration of Ernest Bevin (see 'A Man of the Thirties"), and his oft-stated respect for Marxian political analysis combined with an absolute rejection of Stalinism and 'oppositionist' trades-unionism suggest a political position which cannot be categorized in traditional "left-right" terms. He often described himself as a "working-class aesthete", whose sympathies were with both the upper-classes and the honest working-class, and who reviled the middle-classes. A complex character in so many ways.DuncanHill 23:48, 22 December 2006 (UTC)