‘The scale and range and power of human activities have been altered by a complicated development of inventions and discoveries, and this has made it imperative to adjust the methods of human association and government to new requirements’. Wells (1936:4)

H G Wells wrote this in his introduction to the part work ‘World War’ published in November 1936.

On 22nd August just two weeks into the ‘Great War’ he had remarked that it would be ‘the war to end war’.

Wishful thinking.

The son of a domestic servant, the housekeeper in a grand house in Kent (a single mother by all accounts), he was largely self-educated and driven. His mind got the better of him. He had a voice and found an education.

Why do we listen to commentators such as H G Wells?

Why do we wheel out the likes of Will Self? Why do we even ask the likes of Boy George for an opinion on world affairs? Can we not make up our own minds? Must we refer to commentators, to those with an opinion, people who have a point of view regarding breaking news?
‘The Great War … the opening phase of a process of convulsive adjustment which will ultimately abolish war’. Wells (1936:5)
Further wishful thinking on Wells’ count. He hasn’t understand human psychology, nor how the fight to survive, to press home a point of view, or to protect it, ‘man’ will fight to the death. We’re an odd lot. Whatever advances we have made in computing in the last decade, imagine the swift advances that would be achieved during war giving the track record of the First and Second Wars to advance aeronautics, tanks, communications …

Not that I wish it upon us at all

I’m dwelling on all of this as we approach the centenary of the First War, the ‘Great War’ while reading a publication from that era, ‘World War’.

The opportunity to use the period of the centenary to ‘educate’ through museums, events, publications, online, on TV, through films and games is immense. But what impact will it have? As long as people consider violence to be the answer to their problems there will be war.