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The World Beyond Hitler - Reconstructed Lecture

davidsholz.com · 3,213 words · saved by 2 readers

I must begin with a confession. When I wrote Last and First Men, I completely missed Hitler. I imagined many futures for humanity, but I did not foresee that particular eruption. Let this be a warning: there are always surprises ahead. Yet now that we are in the midst of this war, I believe it represents a far bigger turning point than the last. After the Great War, we could still muddle along more or less as before—the same power politics, the same unplanned economy, the same assumptions about civilization. After this war, that will no longer be possible. We face either genuine change or catastrophic regression. Why? Because mechanization has advanced so far, because the world has grown so much smaller and more tightly interconnected, that the old muddling-through is no longer sustainable. The forces we have unleashed demand a new kind of response. Hitler is not a freakish phenomenon, some inexplicable aberration of history. Given the circumstances, something like Hitler was almost in

The World Beyond Hitler - Reconstructed Lecture Original Notes Reconstructed Lecture Introductory I missed Hitler (in L & FM) Surprises ahead This war a bigger turning point than the last after the last, we could still muddle along as before power politics unplanned economy after this war — change or regression ∴ mechanization has gone further the world is smaller & more close knit. Introductory I must begin with a confession. When I wrote Last and First Men , I completely missed Hitler. I imagined many futures for humanity, but I did not foresee that particular eruption. Let this be a warning

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