The following post by Curtiss Priest leaves me in some uncertainty over whose views on H.G. Wells I am reading, since I do not seem to have received the interim message attributed to Vic Bridger. Regardless of their provenance, however, I select the following statements for comment:
HG Wells was not "a socialist." Wells was a "humanist"…and a writer of political science. He was never an "economist"…. Wells "stood for the common man" against both a seemy [sic], political world, against poverty, and against the negative consequences of technology. I doubt Wells ever viewed himself as 'a Christian.' However, Wells' wish that mankind could rise above its beastial [sic] nature, was certainly Christian in spirit. First comment: I find it surprising that the author of “The Work,Wealth and Happiness of Mankind” and its preceding “Science of Life” should be described as “never an economist”. To the contrary, his work seems to me to fit beautifully with the Cultural Inheritance notion that has been introduced here. I detect considerable resonance between these works and various speeches and essays by Douglas I have read. To exclude Wells from the ranks of economists is to embrace a very restrictive definition of the subject. Main comment: The collection of characteristics quoted above portray Wells very clearly as a writer of utopist literature. That descriptor embraces his humanism, his ethical impulse, his philosophic scope and his acute interest in technology. So also Major Douglas. I believe that to characterize Social Credit as utopian will be found to resolve several problems that have been raised here, including and perhaps especially its designation as a Christian philosophy. To assist in the further consideration of this possibility I am attaching a couple of pages from the paper I referenced in an earlier posting. Note especially the short quotation by “Davis”. Keith ************************************ Vic Bridger wrote: [in reply to my note to him to "set the record straight" about HG Wells.] Based on Mr. Bridger's posting of Sat, 22 Feb 2003 17:52:57, I wish to say this about Wells: HG Wells was not "a socialist." Wells was a "humanist"…and a writer of political science. He was never an "economist," Wells "stood for the common man" against both a seemy, political world, against poverty, and against the negative consequences of technology. I doubt Wells ever viewed himself as 'a Christian.' However, Wells' wish that mankind could rise above its beastial [sic] nature, was certainly Christian in spirit. Wells was a "humanist," a writer of "science fiction," and a writer of political science. He was never an "economist," but he, at the least, was never much of a fan of greed driven enterprises. His most economy oriented novel was Tono Bungay, a delightful, critical book about the adventures of selling an alcohol-based elixir for "well-being." *** Having read many autobiographies and having a library of over 1000 novels (yes, with duplicates), I can earnestly say that Wells "stood for the common man" against both a seemy, political world, against poverty, and against the negative consequences of technology. Witness that Wells in the 'Time Machine' struggled with a society -- the Eloe -- that let their books turn to dust. Witness that Wells in the 'Island of Dr. Moreau' struggled with the possible, surgical combinations of beasts and mankind. Witness in the 'First Men in the Moon,' the discovery of 'Selenites' who inhabited the interior of the moon, and which, when they realized man's "war-like" tendencies, cut off the radio transmission of the scientist left on the moon. And, understand, Wells wrote ALL these and many more, before 1900. *** >From the perspective of Christianity, Wells embodied many Christian virtues, though I doubt Wells ever viewed himself as 'a Christian.' However, Wells' wish that mankind could rise above its beastial nature, was certainly Christian in spirit. Regards, Curtiss Priest ===== Please address return mail to me at: [EMAIL PROTECTED] __________________________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - forms, calculators, tips, more http://taxes.yahoo.com/ ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?a84IaC.bcVIgP.YXJjaGl2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] TOPICA - Start your own email discussion group. FREE! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/create/index2.html ==^================================================================
Cleansing the image of utopias.doc
Description: Cleansing the image of utopias.doc
