13 August

'A time will come when a politician who has willfully made war and promoted international dissension will be as sure of the dock and much surer of the noose than a private homicide. It is not reasonable that those who gamble with men's lives should not stake their own.' H G Wells

August 13, 2009 · 1 min read

Science fiction writer, historian, vegetarian, anti-vivisectionist and socialist, H G Wells died today in 1946. Wells stood as a socialist candidate for London University and was once a member of the Fabian Society but left after a failed attempt to take it over, using his experience as the basis of his novel The New Machiavelli (1911).

‘That Anarchist world, I admit, is our dream; we do believe – well, I, at any rate, believe this present world, this planet, will some day bear a race beyond our most exalted and temerarious dreams, a race begotten of our wills and the substance of our bodies, a race, so I have said it, ‘who will stand upon the earth as one stands upon a footstool, and laugh and reach out their hands amidst the stars,’ but the way to that is through education and discipline and law. Socialism is the preparation for that higher Anarchism … Socialism is the schoolroom of true and noble Anarchism, wherein by training and restraint we shall make free men.

‘_ H G Wells, New Worlds for Old (1908)

Share this article  
  share on facebook     share on twitter  

Reversing the flow

To undo prison culture, we need to reverse exclusionary, utilitarian, capitalist culture. This includes dismantling the school to prison pipeline, argues Ewa Jasiewicz

One million hours of solitude

Simon Hedges shares his tips on surviving lockdown and government ineptitude

Review – Steal as Much as You Can by Nathalie Olah

Anna Clayton reviews Natalie Olah's book, which explores how upper middle-class pop culture has affected British politics

No solutions, no justice: Covid-19 and BAME communities

Apsana Begum MP asks why no action has been taken to protect BAME communities from Covid-19, despite the Government report revealing disproportionate impact

The nationalist unconscious

To fully grasp the rise of the new authoritarians, we must engage with psychoanalysis as well as economics, writes Richard Seymour

Lockdown live: ‘Race Today’

Join Red Pepper editor K Biswas and guests Paul Gilroy, Lola Olufemi, Ciaran Thapar and Joy White to discuss marginality, inequality, creativity and belonging in Britain

Enjoying this article? Grateful for the lack of ads?
Donate any amount to Red Pepper and support radical media with an independent editorial line, strict ethical advertising policy, and no-paywall promise.