ABSTRACT
In every civilised country, all persons capable of apprehending plain facts are agreed that the next great war will, in all likelihood, bring the end of civilisation. This is in no sense a party question; it has nothing to do with economics or theology or any of the other issues that divide man. It has to do solely with the perfection of war technique, especially of the technique of attack. Aeroplanes and poison gas have made the attack much stronger than the defence and have made it easy to attack civilian populations behind the lines. If there should be a war (say) between England and France, it is to be expected that, within a few hours of its outbreak, practically all the inhabitants of London and Paris would be dead. Within a few days, all the main centres of industry would be destroyed and most of the railways would be paralysed. The population, maddened with terror, would fight with each other for stores of food, and those who were most successful would retire into lonely places, where they would shoot all who approached them. Probably within a week, the population of both countries would be halved, and the institutions which are the vehicles of their culture would be destroyed for ever.
