David Goodway surveys key figures, among them G.K. Chesterton, G.D.H. Cole, George Orwell, Raphael Samuel, E.P. Thompson and Colin Ward. He reflects on literature and experience, offering insights on 1917, the Spanish revolution, the Peckham Health Centre and the beginnings of the Welfare State. ​Throughout, there runs an emphasis on the connection between British left-libertarianism and literature.