ABSTRACT
Industrialism, if we have been right in our previous analysis, requires for its harmonious working two things which do not exist at present, namely socialism and internationalism. In the absence of these two, the conflicting passions which it arouses are so fierce, and the means which it puts at our disposal for their gratification are so powerful, that it may be expected within the next hundred years to destroy both itself and our civilization. In that case it will be necessary to begin all over again, as after the barbarian invasion. Possibly that may be in the long run the more desirable alternative. It may be that the débris of our old civilization will require centuries to decay before there is room for anything new to grow up. It may be that civilized life has exhausted men’s vigour and initiative, in which case a long period of primitiveness and uninhibited instincts may be required to restore the energy needed for fresh construction. On such matters it would be both rash and useless to have an opinion. Our problem is a more restricted one, namely: If
internationalism and socialism are conditions for the prolonged existence of industrialism, what possibility is there of their realization? What forces leading to their establishment exist or are likely to be generated in the near future? It is this problem, as regards internationalism, that is to form the subject of the present chapter.
