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Shall We All Commit Suicide?

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Churchill in the 1920s (or end of 1910s), painted by James Guthrie soon after World War I.

"Shall We All Commit Suicide?" is an essay about the inexorable development of technology written by Winston Churchill. It was originally published in The Pall Mall Magazine on 24 September 1924.

In the essay, Churchill says that technology was advancing faster than humans could learn to protect themselves from its use for war and domination. With World War I having ended a few years before, he focuses on the potential damage in a future war, speculating on technological advancements that might result in "a bomb no bigger than an orange" that could "blast a township at a stroke".

His reference to a future atomic bomb may have been inspired by the science-fiction writings of H. G. Wells.

Related works

He published two other essays on broad societal themes around the same time. The essay "Mass Effects in Modern Life" decried the connection between mass production and Bolshevism. The essay "Fifty Years Hence" predicted the rise of totalitarian fascist states that valued power more than intelligence and intelligence far more than morality.

See also

References

  1. Kimball, R. (2022). Highways to Utopia. New Criterion, 40(10), 4–12.
  2. "International Relations". The Nation. J.H. Richards. 1924. p. 608. Archived from the original on 16 February 2024.
  3. Sheffield, G. (2013). Death from the skies. New Statesman, 142(5179), 42–43.
  4. Harper, Tyler Austin (26 January 2024). "The 100-Year Extinction Panic Is Back, Right on Schedule". The New York Times.
  5. Fuller, Steve (October 2013). "The Secret Life of Science in the Second World War". New Scientist. 220 (2938): 48–49. Bibcode:2013NewSc.220...48F. doi:10.1016/S0262-4079(13)62442-2.
  6. ^ Winnie. (1940). TIME Magazine, 36(19), 82.

External links

  • Thoughts and Adventures at Faded Page (Canada). Chapter 18: "Shall We All Commit Suicide? ". Chapter 19: "Mass Effects in Modern Life". Chapter 20: "Fifty Years Hence".
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