,,international                         
,,thought                               
,,by                              ,,john
 ,,galsworthy                           
,,cambridge                             
,w4 ,,heffer  ,,sons ,,ltd4             
#aibc            ,all profit from the   
sale of this pamphlet will be given to  
the ,league of ,nations ,union4,j4,g4   
,,price ,,sixpence ,,net4               
,,international ,,thought4              
8,the exchange of international thought 
is the only                     possible
 salvation of the world40    ,to those  
who1 until #aiad1 believed in civil     
behaviour between man and  man1 the war 
and its ensuing peace brought           
disenchantment4 ,preoccupied  with the  
humaner pursuits1 and generally         
unfamiliar with the real  struggle for  
existence1 they were caught napping4    
,the rest of mankind  have experienced  
no particular astonishmentthe doing-down
 of man by  man was part of daily life1 
and when it was done collectively they  

felt no spiritual change4 ,it was       
dreadful butin a wordnatural4  ,this may
 not be a popular view of human life in 
the mass1 but it is  true4 ,average life
 is a long fight2 this man's success is 
that man's  failure2 co-operation and   
justice are only the palliatives of a   
basic1  and ruthless1 competition4 ,the 
disenchantment of the few would not have
  mattered so much but for the fact that
 they were the nerves and voice  of the 
community4 ,their histories1 poems1     
novels1 plays1 pictures1  treatises1    
sermons1 were the expression of what we 
call civilisation4  ,and disenchanted   
philosophers1 though by so much the     
nearer to the  truths of existence1 are 
by that much1 perhaps1 the less useful  
to  human nature4 ,we need scant        
reminder of a truth always with us1 we  
need  rather perpetual assertion that   
the truth might with advantage be1 and  
may possibly with effort become1 not    
quite so unpleasant4 ,though we  ought  
to look things in the face1 a fine      

afflatus is the essence of  ethical     
philosophy4    ,it is a pity1 then1 that
 philosophy is1 or has been1            
draggle-tailingart  avoiding life1      
taking to contraptions of form and      
colour signifying  nothing2 literature  
driven in on itself1 or running riot2   
science more  hopeful of perfecting     
poison gas than of abating coal-smoke or
 curing  cancer2 that religion should   
incline to tuck its head under the wing 
of  spiritualism2 that there should be1 
in fact1 a kind of tacit abandonment  of
 the belief in life4 ,sport1 which still
 keeps a flag of idealism  flying1 is   
perhaps the most saving grace in the    
world at the moment1  with its spirit of
 rules kept1 and regard for the         
adversary1 whether the  fight is going  
for or against4 ,when1 if ever1 the     
fair-play spirit of  sport reigns over  
international affairs1 the cat force    
which rules there  now will slink away  
and human life emerge for the first time
 from  jungle4    ,looking the world in 

the face1 we see what may be called a   
precious  mess4 ,under a thin           
veneersometimes no veneerof regard for  
civilisation1 each country1 great and   
small1 is pursuing its own ends1        
struggling to rebuild its own house in  
the burnt village4 ,the dread  of       
confusion-worse-confounded1 of death    
recrowned1 and pestilence  revivified1  
alone keeps the nations to the          
compromise of peace4 ,what  chance has a
 better spirit8    8,the exchange of    
international thought is the only       
possible salvation  of the world10 are  
the words of ,thomas ,hardy1 and so true
 that it may  be well to cast an eye    
over such mediums as we have for the    
exchange  of international thought4     
8,the ,permanent ,court of              
,international  ,justice02 8,the ,league
 of ,nations02 8,the ,pan-,american     
,congress02 certain  sectional          
associations of this nation with that   
nation1 tarred somewhat  with the brush 
of self-interest2 sporadic international

 conferences  concerned with sectional  
interests2 and the recently founded     
,p4,e4,n4  ,club1 an international      
association of writers with friendly    
aims1  but no political intentions4     
,these are about all1 and they are taken
  none too seriously by the peoples of  
the earth4 ,the salvation of a  world in
 which we all live1 however1 would seem 
to have a certain  importance4 ,why1    
then1 is not more attention paid to the 
only existing  means of salvation8 ,the 
argument for neglect is much as follows3
 ,force  has always ruled human lifeand 
always will4 ,competition is basic4     
,co-operation and justice succeed1      
indeed1 in definite communities  so far 
as to minimise the grosser forms of     
crime1 but only because  general opinion
 within the ring fence of a definite    
community gives  them an underlying     
force which the individual offender     
cannot  withstand4 ,there is no such    
ring-fence round nations1 therefore no  
general opinion1 and no underlying force

 to ensure the abstention of  individual
 nations from crimeif1 indeed1          
transgression of laws which  are not    
fixed can be called crime4    ,this is  
the average hard-headed view at the     
moment4 ,if it is to remain  dominant1  
there is no salvation in store for the  
world4 8,why not80  replies the         
hard-head3 8,it always has been the     
view1 and the world has  gone on80      
,quite true6 ,but the last few years    
have brought a startling  change in the 
conditions of existencea change that has
 not yet  been fully realised4          
,destructive science has gone ahead out 
of all  proportion4 ,it is developing so
 fast that each irresponsible assertion 
of national rights or interests brings  
the world appreciably nearer to  ruin4  
,without any doubt whatever1 the powers 
of destruction are gaining  fast on the 
powers of creation and construction4 ,in
 old days a thirty  years' war was      
needed to exhaust a nation2 it will soon
 be 7if it is  not already7 possible to 

exhaust a nation in a week by the       
destruction  of its big towns from the  
air4 ,the conquest of the air1 so       
jubilantly  hailed by the unthinking1   
may turn out the most sinister event    
that  ever befell us1 simply because it 
came before we were fit for itfit  to   
act reasonably under the temptation of  
its fearful possibilities4  ,the use    
made of it in the last war showed that2 
and the sheep-like  refusal of the      
startled nations to face the new        
situation1 and  unanimously ban chemical
 warfare and the use of flying for      
destructive  purposes1 shows it still   
more clearly4 ,no one denies that the   
conquest  of the air was a greata       
wonderfulachievement2 no one denies that
 it  could be a beneficent achievement  
if the nations would let it be4 ,but    
mankind has not yet1 apparently1 reached
 a pitch of decency sufficient  to be   
trusted with such an inviting and       
terribly destructive weapon4  ,we are   
all familiar with the argument3 ,make   

war dreadful enough1 and  there will be 
no war4 ,and we none of us believe in   
it4 ,the last war  disproved it utterly4
 ,competition in armaments has already  
begun1  among men who think1 to mean    
competition in the air4 ,nothing else   
will  count in a few years' time4 ,we   
have made by our science a monster  that
 will devour us yet1 unless by          
exchanging international thought1  we   
can create a general opinion against the
 new powers of destruction  so strong   
and so unanimous that no nation will    
care to face the force  which underlies 
it4    ,a well-known advocate of the    
,league of ,nations said the other day3 
8,i  do not believe it necessary that   
the ,league should have a definite      
force at its disposal4 ,it could not    
maintain a force that would keep  any   
first-rate power from breaking the      
peace4 ,its strength lies in the  use of
 publicity2 in its being able to voice  
universal disapproval with  all the     
latent potentiality of universal        

action40    ,certainly1 the genuine     
publication of all military movements   
and  developments throughout the world1 
the unfathoming and broadcasting  of    
destructive inventions and devices1     
would bring us nearer to  salvation than
 any covenant can do4 ,if the world's   
chemists and the  world's engineers     
would hold annual meetings in a friendly
 spirit1  for the salvation of mankind6 
,if they could agree together that to   
exercise their ingenuity on the         
perfecting of destructive agents for    
the use of governments was a crime2 to  
take money for it a betrayal  of their  
species6 ,if we could have such exchange
 of international  thought as that1 then
 indeed we might hear the rustle of     
salvation's  wings4 ,andafter allwhy    
not8 ,the answer to the question3 ,is   
there  to be happiness or misery1 growth
 or ruin for the human species1 does    
not now lie with governments4           
,governments are competitive trustees   
for competitive sections of mankind4    

,put destruction in their hands  and    
they will use it to further the         
interests of those for whom they  are   
trustees2 just as they will use and even
 inspire the spiritual  poison gas of   
pressmen4 ,the real key to the future is
 in the hands of  those who provide the 
means of destruction4 ,are scientists   
7chemists1  inventors1 engineers7 to be 
,americans1 ,englishmen1 ,frenchmen1    
,germans1  ,japanese1 ,russians1 before 
they are men1 in this matter of the     
making  of destruction8 ,are they to be 
more concerned with the interests of    
their own countries1 or with the        
interests of the human species8 ,that   
has become the question they have to    
answer now that they have for the  first
 time the future of the human race      
within their grasp4 ,modern  invention  
has taken such a vast stride forward    
that the incidence of  responsibility is
 changed4 ,it rests on ,science as it   
never did before2  on ,science1 and     
on,finance4 ,there again the exchange of

 international  thought has become      
terrifically important4 ,the financiers 
of the world1  for instance1 in the     
light of their knowledge1 under the     
pressure of  their difficulties1 out of 
the motive of mutual aid1 could         
certainly  devise some real and lasting 
economic betterment of the present      
ruination1 if only they would set to    
work steadily1 not spasmodically1  to   
exchange international thought4    ,the 
hard-head's answer to such suggestions  
is3 8,nonsense6 ,inventors1  chemists1  
engineers1 financiers1 all have to make 
their living1 and  are just as disposed 
to believe in their own countries as    
other men4  ,their pockets and the      
countries who guarantee those pockets1  
have first  call on them40 ,well6 ,that 
has become the point4 ,if neither       
,science nor  ,finance will agree to    
think internationally1 there is probably
 nothing  for it but to kennel-up in    
disenchantment1 and wait for an end     
which  can't be very long in comingnot a

 complete end1 of course1 saya  general 
condition of affairs similar to that in 
the famine provinces of  ,russia4    ,it
 is easy to be pessimistic1 and easy to 
indulge in cheap optimism2  to steer    
between the two is hard4 ,we still have 
a chance of saving  and improving such  
civilisation as we have2 but this chance
 depends  on how far we succeed in      
exchanging international thought in the 
next  few years4 ,to some the word      
international has a socialistic1 even   
communistic1 significance4 ,but1 as here
 used1 it has nothing whatever  to do   
with economic theories1 class divisions1
 or political aims4 ,the  exchange of   
international thought which alone can   
save us1 is the  exchange of thought    
between craftsmenbetween the statesmen  
of the  different countries2 the lawyers
 of the different countries2 the        
scientists1 the financiers1 the writers 
of the different countries4  ,we have   
the mediums of exchange 7however        
inadequately made use of7  for the      

statesmen and the lawyers2 but the      
scientists 7inventors1  chemists1       
engineers7 and the financiers1 the two  
sets of craftsmen  in whose hands the   
future of the world chiefly lies1 at    
present lack  adequate machinery for the
 exchange of international thought1 and 
adequate conception of the extent to    
which world responsibility now  falls on
 them4 ,if they could once realise the  
supreme nature of that  responsibility1 
the battle of salvation should be half  
won4    ,coming to the exchange of      
international thought in my own craft1  
there  seem three ways in which writers1
 as such1 can help to ease the future   
of the world4 ,they can be friendly and 
hospitable to the writers of  other     
countriesand for this purpose exists the
 international ,p4,e4,n4  ,club1 with   
its many and increasing branches4 ,they 
can recognise and  maintain the         
principle that works of the imagination1
 indeed all works  of art1 are the      
property of mankind at large1 and not   

merely of the  country of their origin2 
that to discontinue 7for example7 during
 a  war with ,germany the reading of    
,german poetry1 the listening to ,german
  music1 the looking at ,german         
pictures1 was a harmful absurdity which 
should never be repeated4 ,any real work
 of art1 however individual and  racial 
in root and fibre1 is impersonal and    
universal in its appeal4  ,art is one of
 the great natural links 7perhaps the   
only great natural  link7 between the   
various breeds of men1 and to scotch its
 gentling  influence in time of war is  
to confess ourselves still apes and     
tigers4  ,only writers can spread this  
creed1 only writers can keep the door   
open  for art during national feuds2 and
 it is their plain duty to do this      
service to mankind4    ,the third and   
greatest way in which the writer can    
ease the future is  simply stated in the
 words3 ,fair ,play4 ,the power of the  
,press is a good  third to the powers of
 ,science and ,finance4 ,if the ,press1 

as a whole1  never diverged from fair   
report2 if it refused to give unmeasured
  service to party or patriotic passion2
 if it played the game as ,sport  plays 
itwhat a clearance of the air6 ,at      
present1 with1 of course1  many and     
distinguished exceptions1 the ,press in 
every country plays the  game according 
to rules of its own which have too      
little acquaintance  with those of      
sport4    ,the ,press is manned by a    
great crew of writers1 the vast majority
 of  whom have in private life a higher 
standard of fair play than that         
followed by the ,press ship they man4   
,they would1 ,i believe1 be the  first  
to confess that4 ,improvement in ,press 
standards of international  and         
political fair play can only come from  
the individual writers who  make up the 
,press4 ,and such reform will not come  
until editors and  journalists acquire  
the habit of exchanging thought         
internationally1  of broadening their   
minds and hearts with other points of   

view1 of  recognising that they must    
treat as they would themselves be       
treated4  ,only1 in short1 when they do 
as they would1 most of them1            
individually  choose to do1 will a sort 
of word-miasma cease to breed           
international  agues and fever4 ,we do  
not commonly hold1 in private life1 that
 ends  justify means4 ,why should they  
be held to justify means in ,press      
lifewhy should report so often be       
accepted without due examination  when  
it is favourable to one's views2        
rejected without due examination  when  
it is unfavourable2 why should the other
 side's view so often be  burked2 and so
 on1 and so on8 ,the ,press has great   
power and professes  high ideals2 it has
 much virtue2 it does great service2 but
 it does  greater harm when1 for        
whatever reason1 it diverges from truth1
 or from  the principles of fair play4  
,to sum up1 ,governments and ,peoples   
are no longer in charge4 ,our fate is   
really in the hands of the three great  

,powers,science1 ,finance and the       
,press4 ,underneath the showy political 
surface of things1 those three  great   
,powers are secretly determining the    
march of the nations2 and  there is     
little hope for the future unless they  
can mellow and develop  on international
 lines4 ,in each of these departments of
 life there  must be men who feel this1 
as strongly as the writer of these      
words4  ,the world's hope lies with     
them2 in the possibility of their being 
able to institute a sort of craftsman's 
trusteeship for mankinda  new triple    
alliance1 of ,science1 ,finance and the 
,press1 in service  to a new idealism4  
,nations1 in block1 will never join     
hands1 never  have much in common1 never
 be able to see each others' points of  
view4  ,the outstanding craftsmen of the
 nations have a far better chance of    
seeing eye to eye2 they have the common 
ground of their craft1 and a  livelier  
vision4 ,what divides them at present is
 a too narrow sense  of patriotism1     

andto speak crudelymoney4 ,inventors    
must exist2  financiers live2 and papers
 pay4 ,and1 here1 ,irony smiles4 ,though
  ,science1 ,finance and the ,press at  
present seem to doubt it1 there is1     
still1 more money to be made out of the 
salvation of mankind than out  of its   
destruction2 a better and a more        
enduring livelihood for these  three    
,estates4 ,and yet without the free     
exchange of international  thought1 we  
may be fairly certain that the present  
purely national  basis of their         
livelihoods will persist1 and if it does
 the human race  will not1 or at least  
so meagrely that it will be true to say 
of it1 as  of ,anatole ,france's old    
woman3 #8,it lives but so little6'      
,printed by ,w4 ,heffer  ,sons ,ltd41   
,cambridge1 ,england4                   
,transcriber's ,notes3     ,text in     
italics is enclosed by underscores      
7italics74     ,archaic and variable    
spelling has been preserved4            
,variations in hyphenation and compound 

words have been preserved4