In The Fourth Year

by H.G. Wells

H G Wells Herbert George Wells, an English writer, was born on 21st 1866 and died on 13 Aug 1946. He was renowned for his works of science fiction especially 'The Time Machine'. He is also referred as 'The Father of Science Fiction'

Genres: Nonfiction, Classics, Amazon

66 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1918

About the author

Herbert George Wells was born to a working class family in Kent, England. Young Wells received a spotty education, interrupted by several illnesses and family difficulties, and became a draper's apprentice as a teenager. The headmaster of Midhurst Grammar School, where he had spent a year, arranged for him to return as an "usher," or student teacher. Wells earned a government scholarship in 1884, to study biology under Thomas Henry Huxley at the Normal School of Science. Wells earned his bachelor of science and doctor of science degrees at the University of London. After marrying his cousin, Isabel, Wells began to supplement his teaching salary with short stories and freelance articles, then books, including The Time Machine (1895), The Island of Dr. Moreau (1896), The Invisible Man (1897), and The War of the Worlds (1898).

Wells created a mild scandal when he divorced his cousin to marry one of his best students, Amy Catherine Robbins. Although his second marriage was lasting and produced two sons, Wells was an unabashed advocate of free (as opposed to "indiscriminate") love. He continued to openly have extra-marital liaisons, most famously with Margaret Sanger, and a ten-year relationship with the author Rebecca West, who had one of his two out-of-wedlock children. A one-time member of the Fabian Society, Wells sought active change. His 100 books included many novels, as well as nonfiction, such as A Modern Utopia (1905), The Outline of History (1920), A Short History of the World (1922), The Shape of Things to Come (1933), and The Work, Wealth and Happiness of Mankind (1932). One of his booklets was Crux Ansata, An Indictment of the Roman Catholic Church. Although Wells toyed briefly with the idea of a "divine will" in his book, God the Invisible King (1917), it was a temporary aberration. Wells used his international fame to promote his favorite causes, including the prevention of war, and was received by government officials around the world. He is best-remembered as an early writer of science fiction and futurism.

He was also an outspoken socialist. Wells and Jules Verne are each sometimes referred to as "The Fathers of Science Fiction". D. 1946.

More: http://philosopedia.org/index.php/H._...

http://www.online-literature.com/well...

http://www.hgwellsusa.50megs.com/

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/t...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H._G._Wells

Reviews

[Perry Whitford · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eleven related essays from 1918 subtitled 'Anticipations of a World Peace', written very much from the standpoint of a layman committed to the idea of a League of Free Nations, which in his preface Wells terms 'the most creative and hopeful of political ideas that has ever dawned upon the consciousness of mankind.'

Well Mr. Wells, we all know how that turned out now, how a League of Nations did indeed come about, how it singularly failed to prevent another war after 'the war to end all wars', then how it morphed into the United Nations we all know, should be thankful for yet despair about today.

Wells's general ideas are these:

- by neccesity the League of Free Nations must be headed by the strongest military nations of the day, which includes Germany
- its representatives must be democratically elected by their peoples, not merely put forward by a court or sovereign
- it must have an effective army, stronger than any sovereign army
- it 'must do no less than supersede empire'
- it must have the mandate to listen to appeals from racial minorities within a nation, as well as settle disputes between nations

All eminently sensible, all desirable, all still a dream.

Wells is particularly harsh on the 'double-minded' approach of his own British statesmen with regards to the approach to their War Aim.

This should have been to stimulate a revolution in Germany leading to a democratic state, yet it fell short of that, for this would have called into question the legitimacy of their own imperialism.

Says Wells: 'I think myself we have been, and are still, fatally and disastrously not lucid.'

And what of the terms of peace? In an article called 'A Reasonable Man's Peace', Wells warns the victors that they should enforce 'no conquests, no domination of recalcitrant populations, no bitter insistence upon vindictive penalties'.

What actually happened?

The Weimar Republic, Reparations and WWII.

Elsewhere Wells has some equally sensible comments to make about monarchy (the British crown could survive if it were 'a little more like a hat and a little less like a crown'), democracy, and Proportional Representation via the single transferable vote, which has still yet to be established in Britain a hundred years later.

More's the pity.

H.G. Wells - one of the greatest Prime Ministers Britain never had.

[Metaphorosis · Rating 3 out of 5]

reviews.metaphorosis.com

3.5 stars

In the Fourth Year: Anticipations of a World Peace was written in 1918, when the end of World War I was visible, but had not yet arrived.  In it, Wells displays a strongly leftist, idealistic view of the world's capacity for peace, and especially of the potential of the League of Nations.  The argument is very much a product of its time, yet it holds remarkable interest as a measure of the way the future was then - what has come true, and how much more has not. The book is marred by an idolatrous reverence for Woodrow Wilson ("almost divine"), and by a much more troubling racism (I urge you to skip the chapter on Africa).  Wells was also outspoken against racism, so the import of the section is uncertain.

Wells is on firmer ground with a sophisticated argument for the single transferable vote (STV).  The STV is an idea whose time has seemingly not yet come, but which is still actively discussed in the international electoral community.  It was a surprise to me find out such a promising idea had been around so long with so little success.  The core idea is straightforward - rather than voting for one candidate or party, you mark your choices in order of preference.  Any votes above the minimum needed to win get transferred to voters' second choices.  Similarly, if your candidate can't win, your second choice gets your vote.  And so on, until all votes are apportioned.  While the STV has some drawbacks, it does deal nicely with the problem of third-party spoilers that gets so much attention in US politics.

In any case, Wells' presentation is interesting, inspirational, troubling, and funny in turn, and well worth a read.

[Bernie4444 · Rating 5 out of 5]

1918 HG's speculation on the makeup of a League of Nations.

H.G. Wells acknowledges that there are many other people that have ideas on what the "League of Nations" should be in makeup and purpose. This is his take on the subject.

He goes through recent history (1914) and speculates on the near future (1918) of nation-states. Interspersed with this are his ideas on politics and what would make a perfect world. He also spends quite some time defining Democracy. He also covers numerous other items as to what makes for an efficient war.

H.G. does have a unique view of things that makes this book a must even for his sci-fi readers.