19) Morris on energy

Posted in PaulHampton's blog on ,

Morris had less to say of contemporary relevance on energy, which is hardly surprising since renewables were barely even dreamt of when he was politically active.

He did however maintain an aversion to the coal industry, and expressed this sentiment in terms that are strikingly prescient to the concerns about the Kingsnorth development. In an article in Commonweal entitled Coal in Kent (8 March 1890), he wrote: “The news that coal had been discovered in Kent… The threat of the creation of a new black country on the ruins of the rural beauty of some of the most beautiful country in England, and close to London also, must impress most well-to-do people.”

He added: “But to non-Socialist workers I must point out that whatever gains may be made will pass by them… and will but destroy the beauty of the country which will one day be theirs in reality, and not in name only as it is now. A few rich men will be richer; that is to say, they will waste more of the labour of the workers than they do now.” (Salmon 1994 p.464, p.465)

Despite his aversion to coal, Morris knew where he stood a short time later when miners came out on strike. He wrote in The Great Coal Strike, (22 March 1890): “Let us look at it from the same point of view, and understand that it is a battle, not a mere business dispute. If the miners act well together, and if they are supported by the sympathy of their brother workers, even those who will suffer by the strike, they will now for the first time understand their power, and a weapon for the hand of revolution will be fashioned, which will be irresistible; which can only be resisted by the brute-force in the hands of the upper classes — i.e., the army and police. This instrument, the striking-power of the coal miners backed by the assent of their fellow workers, being once ready, there will be nothing between us and revolution but a knowledge on the part of the workers of what to claim, which can be nothing short of an abolition of the monopoly of the resources of nature — i.e. the land and all that is on it which is used for the reproduction of wealth.” (Salmon 1994 p.469)

On alternative energy sources, Morris held out the hope that electricity (along with wood) would be a viable alternative to coal. Apparently he wrote to Bruce Glasier: “For myself, I should be glad if we could do without coal… We could get plenty of timber for our domestic fires if we cultivated and cared for our forests as we might do; and with water and with power we now allow to go to waste, so to say, and with or without electricity, we could perhaps obtain the bulk of the motive power which might be required for the essential mechanical industries.” (Meier 1978 p.330)

He expressed a similar idea in Justice on 12 April 1884, in the article Why Not?: “… it seems probable that the development of electricity as a motive power will make it easier to undo the evils brought upon us by capitalist tyranny when we regain our senses and determine to live like human beings; but even if it turns out that we must still be dependent on coal and steam for force, much could still be done towards making life pleasant if universal co-operation in manufacture and distribution were to take the place of our present competitive anarchy.” (Salmon 1994 p.24)

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