ABSTRACT
TO-DAY we are face to face with one alternative only. The post-war world must be systematically planned, now and on a large scale, or we shall be overwhelmed by the turmoil of events which will inevitably follow the cessation of hostilities. There is no other choice, and those who believe in the possibility of a muddling through would be dangerous counsellors if we listened to them. Planning demands systematic and conscious direction from the top in order to produce decentralised achievements through regional and local activities. And this means that a preconceived long-term policy must be kept in view at every stage of the National Plan of Great Britain which is the embodiment of the will to reshape our environment and to adjust it to the rapidly changing conditions of the future. What matters is that we master the situation and not that the situation masters us. Planning is a continuous process. It needs a continuous readjustment; and it needs a solid and integrated substructure upon which a new Britain can be built. The foundation stone of this work is a Creative Demobilisation. On this stone the words are engraved: To Generations To Come.
