J.B Priestley

• as a young boy he was surrounded by socialism and socialist ideologies - father was a passionate socialist, leading to these views being absorbed from a young age
• priestley fought in ww1 yet was openly scathing of the institutions - he said 'the british army specialised in throwing men away for nothing' - uncensored political voice evident in play
• his contribution in ww1 lead to realisation of vast inequalities that plagued society
• in 1945 he was a co-founder of commonwealth party - socialist party that favoured equality, morality and common ownership (less should be privately owned, more owned by public)
• commonwealth party helped galvanise support for labour parties landslide victory in 1945
• link to play

  priestley's strong socialist ideologies are personified through inspector - acts as moral compass for birlings aiming to guide them away from dehumanising capitalist worldwide views by introducing them to socialism. priestley vilifies capitalists particularly through mr and mrs birling to make socialism seem a more favourable societal approach