JOHN FRANCIS BRAY (1809–1897)

Summary

At first sight, an obscure Leeds printer may seem oddly out of place amongst the illustrious contributors to the rest of this volume. But Labour's Wrongs (1839) may usefully be regarded as the culmination of the first phase of indigenous modern socialism, launched by Robert Owen, and the last, with the exception of Marx's writings, in a series of works which drew upon the classical labour theory of value to attack the foundations of capitalism itself. Of these ‘Ricardian Socialists’, as they are commonly termed, Marx himself regarded Bray as the best exemplar.

Though a skilled artisan, Bray had early experienced difficulty in finding work, and had been forced to tramp in search of occasional employment on illegally printed periodicals. Such jobs, potentially liable to imprisonment, finally gave way to more secure employment on the Leeds Mercury under the editorship of Samuel Smiles, the author of Self-Help. Meanwhile Bray had embarked upon an active political life. Labour's Wrongs had its origins in a series of letters, initialled ‘U.S.’, in the Leeds Times (19 Dec. 1835; 9, 23, 30 Jan., 13 Feb. 1836). In its present form it was published at Bray's own expense, for the not inconsiderable sum of £70, in weekly parts during 1838, and in book form, price 2s, in 1839. Its second chapter was subsequently released as an Owenite pamphlet in 1842.