Unfortunately, the progress of invention, by enlarging the scope and speed of communication and facilitating the acquiring of superficial knowledge, has put into the hands of men possessing merely the natural gift of eloquence the power to influence large numbers of people, without possessing knowledge or skill in statesmanship. It has facilitated demagoguery:--and herein lies the root of the danger to the Machine; for without the demagogue, the bolshevist and the pacifist would be unable to get their civilization-destroying doctrines presented attractively to the people. Fortunately, the Great War, though it caused tremendous suffering, broke up many visionary notions that were crystallizing into beliefs, and brought the world face to face again with realities. And although the violent disturbance of society's always unstable equilibrium is still evident in the world-wide unrest among the poorer classes, yet the unrest seems gradually to be dying down, with the realization that better conditions of living will be theirs in future. And as every nation that is not wholly degenerate, possesses the power within itself to save itself, and as the great nations of the earth are very far indeed from being degenerate, we are warranted in assuming that each nation will take the necessary steps, not only to guard the Machine of Civilization, but to increase its power and excellence. CHAPTER XVI THE FUTURE The fact that invention has not only been increasing during the past one hundred years, but that its speed of increase has been increasing and is still increasing, is well recognized. There seems to be a constant force behind invention that imparts to it an acceleration, comparable to that of gravity in accelerating the descent of a falling stone. Such a phenomenon would be thoroughly conformable to modern theories; and that there is a force, impelling people to invent, must be a fact; for otherwise, they would not invent. If that force be constant, the acceleration imparted to invention will be constant. If the force be variable, the acceleration imparted to invention will be variable. In other words, the future speed of invention, like that of every moving body, must be governed by the force behind it and the resistances opposed. At the present moment, the resistance to invention is being gradually lessened because the benefits coming from invention are being realized. Simultaneously, the facilities for inventing are being increased.