To Live Is The Rarest Thing

This line comes from Wilde's 1891 essay The Soul of Man Under Socialism, published in The Fortnightly Review. The essay, written after Wilde encountered the ideas of anarchist philosopher Peter Kropotkin, argues that private property stunts human potential. In context, the passage reads: "Nobody will waste his life in accumulating things, and the symbols for things. One will live. To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all." The essay influenced later writers including George Orwell, who praised its central argument.