Lydwig Welz
Lydwig Welz | |
|---|---|
 A portrait of Welz in 1879 | |
| Born | 27 February 1832 |
| Died | 24 February 1892 (aged 59) |
Notable work | This Divisive System On Wealth |
| Era | 19th-century philosophy |
| School | Welzism |
Main interests | Socialism, economics, politics |
Influences | |
Lydwig Welz (pronounced /lʏdwiʝ welʒ/) was a Vyvlander political theorist and philosopher noted for his theoretical contributions to early socialism through his books, speeches and letters.
Born and raised in the industrial city of Lyksdal, Welz’ radical ideas developed from seeing the poverty of recent rural-urban migrants and their lack of safeguards and consequent exploitation by factory-owners and industrialists. He published his first work on politics, This Divisive System, at age 28, and On Wealth, widely considered to be his magnum opus, seventeen years later. The latter book has been translated into over 60 different languages and remained in print continuously since its publication.
Later, Welz’ outspoken criticism of government policy during the Great Famine kickstarted popular support for the fledgling socialist movement in Vyvland. In light of this, Welz became a public speaker and campaigner, and lectured at the University of Lyksdal. Welz died of a heart condition three days before his sixtieth birthday.
Welz’ influence is widespread in Esquarium, particularly in Vyvland. His political works, and, especially his description of the class system in Western Esquarium, have become well-known and have served as an explicit and implicit inspiration for many socialist movements and parties. Welz’ analysis of the class system was one of the first such explorations and has shaped attitudes and discourse about social class ever since.
Early life
Welz was born to a middle-class family (in what he described as the ’bourgeois’ class) in a townhouse in the Synt-Johan quarter of Lyksdal, across the river from the historic city centre. He attended the Sgol Synt Piters, a private Lutheran school run by a christian fraternity resident at the Eylavsborg Castle. At age thirteen, Welz’ family moced to a house bordering the Gohtegurden in the south of the city, after their home was destroyed for the construction of the railway line just south of the modern Synt-Johan station.
Preist work and radicalisation
Welz was encouraged to join the preisthood by the brothers at his school, who were in urgent need of new ministers for the rapidly expanding suburbs of Lyksdal. After finishing training at age 19, Welz was assigned to the Oilig Mari Jerj (Holy Mary Church) in the dockside area of Haagenvrosdad. Here, Welz witnessed poverty and its effects on a daily basis in an area that was among the worst in Vyvland for infant mortality, healthcare, and unemployment. After seeing this, he was, in his words, ‘persuaded that there was another way to organise society when someone like me can grow up just across the river in such comfort’.
After spending the church’s funds on books about socialism and the class system, Welz was dismissed from his ministry. However, he described his belief in God as ‘a lie I concocted solely to please my parents’. Later in life, Welz would go on to write that the church was ‘the single greatest factor in holding the people of Vyvland in poverty’.
Writings
Personal life
Welz never married and had no long-term romantic relationships with women throughout his life. Numerous sources have speculated that Welz was in fact gay.