Raymond Williams
@raymondkeywords.bsky.social
Assorted words from 'the last of the great European male revolutionary socialist intellectuals' (Cornel West):
Raymond Henry Williams (1921-1988)
Raymond Henry Williams (1921-1988)
Pinned
I come from Pandy
- Politics and Letters: Interviews with New Left Review, 1979
- Politics and Letters: Interviews with New Left Review, 1979
[a cheap radio receiver] was especially welcomed by those who had least social opportunities of other kinds; who lacked independent mobility or access to the previously diverse places of entertainment and information
- Television: Technological & Cultural Form, 1990 #WorldRadioDay
- Television: Technological & Cultural Form, 1990 #WorldRadioDay
February 13, 2026 at 10:01 AM
[a cheap radio receiver] was especially welcomed by those who had least social opportunities of other kinds; who lacked independent mobility or access to the previously diverse places of entertainment and information
- Television: Technological & Cultural Form, 1990 #WorldRadioDay
- Television: Technological & Cultural Form, 1990 #WorldRadioDay
Was I wrong to have referred to Freud mainly in terms of the later works? Surely it is in these that his more general propositions about human history, about the character of civilization, or about the nature of art are to be found?
- Politics and Letters, 1979
- Politics and Letters, 1979
February 13, 2026 at 9:19 AM
Was I wrong to have referred to Freud mainly in terms of the later works? Surely it is in these that his more general propositions about human history, about the character of civilization, or about the nature of art are to be found?
- Politics and Letters, 1979
- Politics and Letters, 1979
When we stress, in [William] Morris, the attachment to handicrafts, we are, in part, rationalizing an uneasiness generated by the scale and nature of his social criticism. Morris wanted the end of the capitalist system and the institution of socialism
- Culture and Society, 1958
- Culture and Society, 1958
February 12, 2026 at 8:44 AM
When we stress, in [William] Morris, the attachment to handicrafts, we are, in part, rationalizing an uneasiness generated by the scale and nature of his social criticism. Morris wanted the end of the capitalist system and the institution of socialism
- Culture and Society, 1958
- Culture and Society, 1958
"What breaks capitalism, all that will ever break capitalism, is capitalists. The faster they run the more strain on their heart"
- Loyalties, 1985
- Loyalties, 1985
February 10, 2026 at 9:34 AM
"What breaks capitalism, all that will ever break capitalism, is capitalists. The faster they run the more strain on their heart"
- Loyalties, 1985
- Loyalties, 1985
Utilitarianism survives in Britain in its crudest forms. Moral paternalism has become more sophisticated, and has even been built into the organs of state: education and the social services are administered in essentially its spirit
- The British Left, in @newleftreview.bsky.social, 1965
- The British Left, in @newleftreview.bsky.social, 1965
February 9, 2026 at 9:02 AM
Utilitarianism survives in Britain in its crudest forms. Moral paternalism has become more sophisticated, and has even been built into the organs of state: education and the social services are administered in essentially its spirit
- The British Left, in @newleftreview.bsky.social, 1965
- The British Left, in @newleftreview.bsky.social, 1965
Authoritarianism clashes with what was a truly liberal tradition in certain spheres of British life. My feeling is that this liberal resistance movement which is coming to light is not strong enough to oppose the authoritarian wave
- interview with Didier Eribon in @liberation.fr, 1980
- interview with Didier Eribon in @liberation.fr, 1980
February 6, 2026 at 10:28 AM
Authoritarianism clashes with what was a truly liberal tradition in certain spheres of British life. My feeling is that this liberal resistance movement which is coming to light is not strong enough to oppose the authoritarian wave
- interview with Didier Eribon in @liberation.fr, 1980
- interview with Didier Eribon in @liberation.fr, 1980
The famous Brussels girls are still around but in very diminished numbers
- Twentyone, 1945
- Twentyone, 1945
February 5, 2026 at 9:50 AM
The famous Brussels girls are still around but in very diminished numbers
- Twentyone, 1945
- Twentyone, 1945
Where the workers are smashed there's that much less strength in all the others [countries]. In 4 or 5 years there could be a Fascist Europe and we'd be back to the Dark Ages. No parties, no unions, no political freedoms, & people like you Bert in prison camps
- Loyalties, 1985
- Loyalties, 1985
February 4, 2026 at 8:10 PM
Where the workers are smashed there's that much less strength in all the others [countries]. In 4 or 5 years there could be a Fascist Europe and we'd be back to the Dark Ages. No parties, no unions, no political freedoms, & people like you Bert in prison camps
- Loyalties, 1985
- Loyalties, 1985
Old Wyndham still ran the garage, and the local bus, in Trawsfynydd, up the valley, north-west of Gwenton. The Owens brothers and their families, every year, rented his two caravans for their holidays
- Second Generation, 1964
- Second Generation, 1964
February 3, 2026 at 8:53 AM
Old Wyndham still ran the garage, and the local bus, in Trawsfynydd, up the valley, north-west of Gwenton. The Owens brothers and their families, every year, rented his two caravans for their holidays
- Second Generation, 1964
- Second Generation, 1964
"Away from the pit, where the workmen lived each village had its management spy."
Emma hesitated "It's difficult to believe that kind of thing happens in England," she said
"This is Wales, actually. But it's a general tactic
- Loyalties, 1985
Emma hesitated "It's difficult to believe that kind of thing happens in England," she said
"This is Wales, actually. But it's a general tactic
- Loyalties, 1985
February 2, 2026 at 10:55 AM
"Away from the pit, where the workmen lived each village had its management spy."
Emma hesitated "It's difficult to believe that kind of thing happens in England," she said
"This is Wales, actually. But it's a general tactic
- Loyalties, 1985
Emma hesitated "It's difficult to believe that kind of thing happens in England," she said
"This is Wales, actually. But it's a general tactic
- Loyalties, 1985
Until economic democracy in [the] full sense is established, it is necessary for socialists to describe existing representative systems as what they are: bourgeois democracy
- #Democracy and Parliament, in Marxism Today, 1982
- #Democracy and Parliament, in Marxism Today, 1982
January 30, 2026 at 9:41 AM
Until economic democracy in [the] full sense is established, it is necessary for socialists to describe existing representative systems as what they are: bourgeois democracy
- #Democracy and Parliament, in Marxism Today, 1982
- #Democracy and Parliament, in Marxism Today, 1982
All British Ministers are Ministers of the Crown, Her
Majesty's Ministers. Even the Opposition is Her Majesty's Opposition: a phrase first used in the C19 as a joke
- Democracy and Parliament, in Marxism Today, 1982
Majesty's Ministers. Even the Opposition is Her Majesty's Opposition: a phrase first used in the C19 as a joke
- Democracy and Parliament, in Marxism Today, 1982
January 29, 2026 at 10:41 AM
All British Ministers are Ministers of the Crown, Her
Majesty's Ministers. Even the Opposition is Her Majesty's Opposition: a phrase first used in the C19 as a joke
- Democracy and Parliament, in Marxism Today, 1982
Majesty's Ministers. Even the Opposition is Her Majesty's Opposition: a phrase first used in the C19 as a joke
- Democracy and Parliament, in Marxism Today, 1982
'The bloody SS?' Sam said. 'Not those Death's Head bastards.'
'Yes,' Bert said. 'Fascists get frightened too.'
'Fascists are Italians. These are Germans'
'And confused and scared,' Bert said. 'They probably only went into the farm for some eggs'
- Loyalties, 1989
'Yes,' Bert said. 'Fascists get frightened too.'
'Fascists are Italians. These are Germans'
'And confused and scared,' Bert said. 'They probably only went into the farm for some eggs'
- Loyalties, 1989
January 28, 2026 at 4:43 PM
'The bloody SS?' Sam said. 'Not those Death's Head bastards.'
'Yes,' Bert said. 'Fascists get frightened too.'
'Fascists are Italians. These are Germans'
'And confused and scared,' Bert said. 'They probably only went into the farm for some eggs'
- Loyalties, 1989
'Yes,' Bert said. 'Fascists get frightened too.'
'Fascists are Italians. These are Germans'
'And confused and scared,' Bert said. 'They probably only went into the farm for some eggs'
- Loyalties, 1989
The very continuance of the power system we have called the new #imperialism underlies much of the foreign policy in European countries which socialists have had to fight against so hard
- #MayDay Manifesto 1968, 1968
- #MayDay Manifesto 1968, 1968
January 27, 2026 at 9:59 AM
The very continuance of the power system we have called the new #imperialism underlies much of the foreign policy in European countries which socialists have had to fight against so hard
- #MayDay Manifesto 1968, 1968
- #MayDay Manifesto 1968, 1968
If the people in the [Cambridge] teashop go on insisting that #culture is their trivial differences of behaviour, their trivial variations of speech habit, we cannot stop them, but we can ignore them
- Culture Is Ordinary, 1958
- Culture Is Ordinary, 1958
January 26, 2026 at 10:02 AM
If the people in the [Cambridge] teashop go on insisting that #culture is their trivial differences of behaviour, their trivial variations of speech habit, we cannot stop them, but we can ignore them
- Culture Is Ordinary, 1958
- Culture Is Ordinary, 1958
When I was teaching political economy in California, which sounds like a joke in itself, we didn’t go anywhere around by car, we went on the buses and on trains, and I have never seen such poverty, at least in any comparable country
- Ecology & the Labour Movement lecture, 1984
- Ecology & the Labour Movement lecture, 1984
January 23, 2026 at 9:40 AM
When I was teaching political economy in California, which sounds like a joke in itself, we didn’t go anywhere around by car, we went on the buses and on trains, and I have never seen such poverty, at least in any comparable country
- Ecology & the Labour Movement lecture, 1984
- Ecology & the Labour Movement lecture, 1984
The strength of our enemies isn't to be doubted
- The Practice of Possibility in @newstatesman1913.bsky.social, 1987
- The Practice of Possibility in @newstatesman1913.bsky.social, 1987
January 22, 2026 at 8:30 AM
The strength of our enemies isn't to be doubted
- The Practice of Possibility in @newstatesman1913.bsky.social, 1987
- The Practice of Possibility in @newstatesman1913.bsky.social, 1987
Reposted by Raymond Williams
Extra tickets have been made available for the BFI and Stuart Hall Foundation's look back on Hall's impact in media, screening TV programmes he developed, followed by a panel discussion.
📅 Wed 18 Feb, 6.10pm
📍 NFT1, BFI Southbank
🎟️ £6.50
On sale now:
www.stuarthallfoundation.org/events/bfi-r...
📅 Wed 18 Feb, 6.10pm
📍 NFT1, BFI Southbank
🎟️ £6.50
On sale now:
www.stuarthallfoundation.org/events/bfi-r...
January 21, 2026 at 3:12 PM
Extra tickets have been made available for the BFI and Stuart Hall Foundation's look back on Hall's impact in media, screening TV programmes he developed, followed by a panel discussion.
📅 Wed 18 Feb, 6.10pm
📍 NFT1, BFI Southbank
🎟️ £6.50
On sale now:
www.stuarthallfoundation.org/events/bfi-r...
📅 Wed 18 Feb, 6.10pm
📍 NFT1, BFI Southbank
🎟️ £6.50
On sale now:
www.stuarthallfoundation.org/events/bfi-r...
The central fact [is] that most of our cultural institutions are in the hands of speculators, interested not in the health and growth of the society, but in the quick profits that can be made by exploiting inexperience
- Freedom and Ownership in the Arts, in @newleftreview.bsky.social, 1960
- Freedom and Ownership in the Arts, in @newleftreview.bsky.social, 1960
January 21, 2026 at 2:43 PM
The central fact [is] that most of our cultural institutions are in the hands of speculators, interested not in the health and growth of the society, but in the quick profits that can be made by exploiting inexperience
- Freedom and Ownership in the Arts, in @newleftreview.bsky.social, 1960
- Freedom and Ownership in the Arts, in @newleftreview.bsky.social, 1960
Legislation on foreign agencies, in the whole field of communications is then a necessary and urgent objective
- Television: Technology and Cultural Form, second ed. 1990
- Television: Technology and Cultural Form, second ed. 1990
January 20, 2026 at 3:42 PM
Legislation on foreign agencies, in the whole field of communications is then a necessary and urgent objective
- Television: Technology and Cultural Form, second ed. 1990
- Television: Technology and Cultural Form, second ed. 1990
Symposium on Raymond Williams's Keywords at Bangalore University next month. Abstracts invited
Scan the QR code for more details. In-person event only
Scan the QR code for more details. In-person event only
January 19, 2026 at 2:06 PM
Symposium on Raymond Williams's Keywords at Bangalore University next month. Abstracts invited
Scan the QR code for more details. In-person event only
Scan the QR code for more details. In-person event only
He realised, as he watched, what had happened in going away. The valley as landscape had been taken, but its work forgotten. The visitor sees beauty; the inhabitant a place where he works and has his friends
- Border Country, 1960
- Border Country, 1960
January 19, 2026 at 11:01 AM
He realised, as he watched, what had happened in going away. The valley as landscape had been taken, but its work forgotten. The visitor sees beauty; the inhabitant a place where he works and has his friends
- Border Country, 1960
- Border Country, 1960
Reposted by Raymond Williams
"Las masas son siempre los otros, aquellos a quienes no conocemos ni podemos conocer (...). Para otras personas nosotros también somos masas. Las masas son la otra gente. En realidad, no hay masas; solo formas de ver a la gente como tales".
Raymond Williams
Raymond Williams
December 24, 2025 at 2:15 PM
"Las masas son siempre los otros, aquellos a quienes no conocemos ni podemos conocer (...). Para otras personas nosotros también somos masas. Las masas son la otra gente. En realidad, no hay masas; solo formas de ver a la gente como tales".
Raymond Williams
Raymond Williams
Reposted by Raymond Williams
Marxism and Literature by Raymond Williams. I hadn’t read much Williams until last year. This book is great for thinking through various Marxist concepts.
December 31, 2025 at 9:52 PM
Marxism and Literature by Raymond Williams. I hadn’t read much Williams until last year. This book is great for thinking through various Marxist concepts.