World famous Providence , Rhode Island horror writer, H.P. Lovecraft , leaning toward socialism in his remaining years

In this correspondence, Lovecraft predicts the coming prosperity of the Scandinavian nations: “The nations of Scandinavia form a very hopeful sign—for there the plutocrats are gradually backing down under the combined pressure of increased government supervision & the competing system of consumers’ coöperatives. England is also well on the way. The United States has the handicap of a lawless pioneer tradition which exalts in individual gain to a grotesque extent—but even here the Northern-European temperament has softened the savagery of reaction.” Nothing like a bit of biological essentialism to let you know the old Lovecraft is still there somewhere. Though it should be noted that he goes on to disparage the KKK as “backward fundamentalists”. “I read the old *Communist Manifesto* many years ago; & even though then wholly out of sympathy with it, was impressed by some of the isolated points it brought out. Today I would sympathise on more counts—but even so, would not give it a 100% endorsement. There is no question of the vast intelligence & far-sightedness of Marx & Engels, & of the basic importance of the large economic principles they discovered & formulated. The only mistake is to think that every ramification they developed, & every inference they drew, is infallibly accurate & worthy of slavishly literal following under every conceivable set of circumstances. The major discovery as to general drift is sound … Some people seem never able to realise that no great discovery comes forth without attendant clouds of error & half truth.” [ "The only avenue of survival for plutocracy is a military & emotional fascism whereby millions of persons will be withdrawn from the industrial arena & placed on a dole or in concentration-camps with high-sounding patriotic names. That or socialism—take your choice. … All this from an antiquated mummy who was on the other side until 1931! Well—I can better understand the inert blindness & defiant ignorance of the reactionaries from having been one of them. I know how smugly ignorant I was…”]