The Salvaging of CivilizationWells, H. G. (Herbert George)
Philosophy
The Salvaging of Civilization
Wells, H. G. (Herbert George)
Civilization, Modern -- 20th century; Education
Is it not almost inevitable that some of us should get together and
begin a propaganda upon modern lines of this organized world peace,
without which our race must perish? The world perishes for the want of a
common political idea. It is still quite possible to give the world this
common political idea, the idea of a federal world state. We cannot help
but set about doing it.
So I put it to you that the most important work before men and women
to-day is the preaching and teaching, the elaboration and then at last
the realization of this Project of the World State. We have to create a
vision of it, to make it seem first a possibility and then an
approaching reality. This is a task that demands the work and thought of
thousands of minds. We have to spread the idea of a Federal World State,
as an approaching reality, throughout the world. We can do this nowadays
through a hundred various channels. We can do it through the press,
through all sorts of literary expression, in our schools, colleges, and
universities, through political mouthpieces, by special organizations,
and last, but not least, through the teaching of the churches. For
remember that all the great religions of the world are in theory
universalist; they may tolerate the divisions of men but they cannot
sanction them. We propose no religious revolution, but at most a
religious revival. We can spread ideas and suggestions now with a
hundred times the utmost rapidity of a century ago.
This movement need not at once intervene in politics. It is a
prospective movement, and its special concern will be with young and
still growing minds. But as it spreads it will inevitably change
politics. The nations, states, and kingdoms of to-day, which fight and
scheme against each other as though they had to go on fighting and
scheming for ever, will become more and more openly and manifestly
merely guardian governments, governments playing a waiting part in the
world, while the world state comes of age. For this World State, for
which the world is waiting, must necessarily be a fusion of all
governments, and heir to all the empires.
So far I have been occupied by establishing a case for the World State.
It has been, I fear, rather an abstract discussion. I have kept closely
to the bare hard logic of the present human situation.
But now let me attempt very briefly, in the barest outline, some
concrete realization of what a World State would mean. Let us try and
conceive for ourselves the form a World State would take. I do not care
to leave this discussion with nothing to it but a phrase which is really
hardly more than a negative phrase until we put some body to it. As it
stands World State means simply a politically undivided world. Let us
try and carry that over to the idea of a unified organized state
throughout the world.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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