Anarchism and Misery in Austerity Britain: Alan Sillitoe, Samuel Selvon, and the Origins of Neoliberalism

Abstract: Saturday Night and Sunday Morning by Alan Sillitoe (1958) and The Lonely Londoners by Samuel Selvon (1956) are significant portraits of post-World War II British life. Given their statements on individualism and self-preservation, they can be read as depictions of the origins of contemporary neoliberalism. Sillitoe's novel follows a main character whose individualist ideology leads him to commit acts of anarchy that are ultimately ineffectual, while Selvon's novel shows the way Black citizens of postwar London were encouraged to abandon collectivity after being held to racist standards of decorum. Together, these two works are important in understanding how today's neoliberal ideology of isolationism began developing during Britain's postwar period, which was characterized by a nation struggling to define itself as powerful despite its waning sphere of influence in global politics.