How to live the Good Life: William Morris's aesthetic conception of equality

William Morris is best known in popular culture for his wallpapers, prints, and for his association with the Pre-Raphaelite painters, whose works are now copied and mass-produced for poster shops all over the world. And howev er distressed Morris might be if he could see our careless use of the Pre-R aphaelite heritage, it is likely he would be more dismayed to know that few remember his pioneering role as an English progressive, or recall how his conception of art, beauty, and utility was intended to promote a life devoi d of kitsch and selfishness, and full of common cause and beauty.