Paul was the younger son of the publisher Charles Kegan Paul,[3] and Margaret Colvile. His mother was one of 12 daughters born to Andrew Wedderburn-Colvile (1779–1856) and the Hon. Mary Louisa Eden, fifth daughter of William Eden, 1st Baron Auckland.

He travelled with the Japanese army as a Times correspondent during the First Sino-Japanese War of 1895. Between 1895 and 1912, he practised medicine in Japan, China, Perak, Singapore, Alderney and England. He was the founder and editor of the Nagasaki Press, 1897–99.[11]

By 1903, the family had moved to Alderney, where his wife later established a private nursing home; however, the couple separated about this time.[10] From 1907 to 1919, he was a member of the ILP where he promoted eugenics,[12] and worked for the French Socialist Party from 1912 to 1914. He later joined the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB). He remained active in the CPGB at least until 1928.[13]

I don't trust obscure ideological framing from a eugenicist aristocrat. It's like they're recreating socialism for pampered piggies in the same way that Grimes proposed space-based video game communism. We already have words for these things which serve the communities we organise. I just don't see the need to reinvent the wheel.