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Richard Hauser and the evils of Marx

Richard was a distinguished Austrian sociologist who had contributed to the Wolfenden report that led to the decriminalisation of homosexuality in England, Wales and Scotland in the late 1960's.

I was remembering him on the plane today because I saw a reference to his wife, Hephzibah Menuhin, pianist sister of the violinist Yehudi and human rights activist.

I met him after responding to an advertisement in the New Society. He lived in a house in Pimlico, a widower, with a clutch of young people, running an ill-defined (for me) social research/action institute, that I visited several times and to which Richard wanted to recruit me. I was never clear as to what my responsibilities might be and resisted co-option.

He was, however, extraordinarily charismatic and as a Jew had fled Austria in 1938 not without receiving permanent damage to his hearing, courtesy of Gestapo interrogation.

I vividly remember one story he told me that gives you an idea of his character. He was invited in the early 1970s to a Marxist-Leninist feminist group in Germany. He accepted. Are you mad? His German friends asked. 'They only invite men to enjoy the luxury of them refusing'! He went in any case. That evening several hundred women were gathered in the room. The time came and went for the talk to begin but the 'chair' carried on talking to women in the front row, pointedly ignoring Richard.

Richard thought that he could either leave or have a row. He chose, typically, the latter. He stood up and pointed at one of the only two other men in the room (a portrait of Marx, next to one of Lenin) and proclaimed in a loud voice, 'I am not going to speak to you this evening under the oppressive portrait of that man'! He went on to list all Marx's offences against women including, I recall, not allowing his daughters to marry whom they wanted. He finished to complete silence, imagining that he would now be torn limb from limb. Instead the audience burst out laughing and they had an admirable meeting. Subsequently the portrait of Marx, Richard learnt, was taken down. The fate of Lenin was not recorded.

A final memory was going with Richard to a local doctor's surgery (for what purpose I cannot recall) and in the waiting room was a young pregnant woman and her anxious partner - he had parked his motorcycle on double yellow lines and kept peering out of the window. Until he realised his uncertainty was communicating itself to her. Suddenly the mood changed and he started telling her of a moment when he had been swimming in a pond and breaking the surface had encountered a light that was more than normal, graced, enlightening. It was such an improbable story coming from that man at that moment, dressed in his motorcycle leathers, that often I think I dreamt it. I did not - it was a moment tinged by a rarity of grace that lifted us all up, shared in the most unlike proximity. There is no where that cannot be graced  which was appropriate for the Quakerly Richard - every moment a no nonsense sacramental one.

Comments

  1. I also met Richard after responding to an advert. He was one of the most remarkable men I have ever met.

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    1. I agree, part of me regrets not being co-opted, but we did have wonderful times together, great conversations, and he gave you that kind of attention that a young person needs to help them believe in themselves...

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    2. You should thank your lucky stars you were not coopted! You found the best of him! xC

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  2. I just found my way to this site and read these wonderful tales! I am one of Richard's daughters and it does my soul good to find a little part of his spirit lives on! Thank you both! Clara Hauser

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    1. Hi Clara,
      I worked for a year with Richard in 1986 just after finishing university and would love an opportunity to discuss his life. He played an important role in mine, and I often think about him -- and often sneak a peek at 16 Ponsomby Place when I am nearby, thinking about him, Harpo and some of my lovely co-workers. What were we doing there? I never really knew. But it was intriguing. If you have a chance to contact me, my email is henrytricks@economist.com.
      Thanks

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    2. I am entering this conversation several years late so am not sure where it will land but was thinking about my time with Hephzibah and Richard. A Google search led to this conversation, and Clara’s response. Clara, I don’t know if you would remember me but living with your parents in Pimlico in the 1970s left a deep impression. Sending warm regards,
      Helena (a young American who met your mom though a Chinese class at the Chelsea Westminster Evening Institute and whom Hephzibah then embraced under her wing)

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    3. I most certainly do remember you Helena! Hep was always telling me how grateful she was that you shared your homework with her when she had been absent! C

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  3. What a wonderful story about a clearly remarkable man. Has anyone written his biography and is there film footage of him?

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    1. I am not aware of either a biography or film footage.

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  4. Greetings from Sydney. I was talking about Richard a few days ago and I thought I would do a Google search to see if there is any new information on him. I knew him in his Pimlico days (via UK human rights activist Leah Levin). I found him a most intriguing person. I hope that there will a be a biography written about him.

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  5. Sorry - I should have left my name: Keith Suter
    keith.suter@bigpond.com

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    1. He was certainly remarkable and a biography would be fascinating!

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  6. I have just been giving an interview for an immersive play about the Brixton Uprising of 1981 . So bizarre that I too inspired by meetings and talking with Dr Richard Hauser in previous years and meeting Hephzibar . At the time a free schooler and involved in the Bermondsey Lamp Post Liverpool Free School and the Free School movement as well as the Feminist Movement Anti Apartheid and class struggle. My diary for 1981 April 2nd Dr Hauser back from Geneva . The weekend of the Brixton Uprising 1981 Sunday 12th April 8.30am Breakfast Dr Richard Hauser …. I lived very near Brixton …. Would love to be in touch with people involved in those 60/70/80s struggles actions and grassroots activism Loïs Acton Lois@urbanunlimited.com

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  7. I have just been giving an interview for an immersive play about the Brixton Uprising of 1981 . So bizarre that I too inspired by meetings and talking with Dr Richard Hauser in previous years and meeting Hephzibar . At the time a free schooler and involved in the Bermondsey Lamp Post Liverpool Free School and tge Free School movement as well as the Feminist Movement Anti Apartheid and class struggle. My diary for 1981 April 2nd Dr Hauser back from Geneva . The weekend of the Brixton Uprising Sunday 12th April 8.30am Breakfast Dr Richard Hauser …. I lived very near Brixton …. Would love to be in touch with people involved in those 60/70/80s struggles actions and grassroots activism Loïs Acton Lois@urbanunlimited.com

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  8. My Father, Bill Richardson, ( 1920 - 2014) before he set up the Notting Hill People's Association in the Sixties, worked with Richard Hauser in London on various projects. Notably, they worked together with prisoners at Wandsworth Prison, discussing the concept of S.Q. ( Social Quotient ) rather than I.Q. S.Q., Hauser and my father thought, represented conscience, a determination not to do harm to others, kindness, community feeling, humane values including honesty and so on. They challenged prisoners to evaluate their own S.Q. as a means of stimulating insights into the effects of their crimes on victims. My Dad was very inspired by this project, spoke of it often, and remained friends with Hauser and his wife Hepsibah Menuhin for many years afterwards. Might I ask - I came across your very interesting blog having discovered to my amazement that Wikipedia does not have an entry on Richard Hauser ! - How might I see your blog regularly ? I would be most interested to read more.

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