The Salvaging of CivilizationWells, H. G. (Herbert George)
Philosophy
The Salvaging of Civilization
Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)
Civilization, Modern -- 20th century; Education
We need, therefore, before all other sorts of organization, educational
organizations; we need, before any other sort of work, work of education
and enlightenment; we need everywhere active societies pressing for a
better, more efficient conduct of public schooling, for a wider, more
enlightening school curriculum, for a world-wide linking-up of
educational systems, for a ruthless subordination of naval, military and
court expenditure to educational needs, and for a systematic
discouragement of mischief-making between nation and nation and race and
race and class and class. I could wish to see Educational Societies,
organized as such, springing up everywhere, watching local bodies in
order to divert economies from the educational starvation of a district
to other less harmful saving; watching for obscurantism and reaction and
mischievous nationalist teaching in the local schools and colleges and
in the local press; watching members of parliament and congressmen for
evidences of educational good-will or malignity; watching and getting
control of the administration of public libraries; assisting, when
necessary, in the supply of sound literature in their districts; raising
funds for invigorating educational propaganda in poor countries like
China and in atrociously educated countries like Ireland, and
corresponding with kindred societies throughout the world. I believe
such societies would speedily become much more influential than the
ordinary political party clubs and associations that now use up so much
human energy in the western communities. Subordinating all vulgar
political considerations to educational development as the supreme need
in the world's affairs, even quite small societies could exercise a
powerful decisive voice in a great number of political contests. And an
educational movement is more tenacious than any other sort of social or
political movement whatever. It trains its adherents. What it wins it
holds.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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