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Imagination!, v. 1, issue 9, whole 9, June 1938
Page 8
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8 IN DEFENSE OF PROGRESS By Donald A. Wollheim I am sorry that humanity is not perfect. In fact let me extend my humble apologys to Mr Erick Freyor that this is so. Humanity is a vast mass of beings, having many characteristics. One characteristic is that each individual is different. Another is that mankind is an animal that, like the sheep, clusters together & moves together. Our moving is often incoherant, but, as far as we can see, usually manages to gain us certain advances. it's slow and it's tough, but we have somehow managed to continue to advance our control over brute nature & to add continually to our collection of knowledge. Ofcourse our knowledge is not very much--some would say it's hardly anything--but it seems pretty desirable to the mass of us. We like to hang on to what we've got & we usually keep what new findings we make. Of course the vast bulk of humanity is awful slow to "catch on", & so often discoverys are denounced or denyd which yrs or centurys later are generally accepted. Never, it seems, universally--there are lots of people in jungles & a few in our very midst who maintain the earth is flat. The rest of us don't think so any more. In fact we don't think so to a point where we positively don't believe it. Ocourse we have no right to be absolute, but, in view of the lack of evidence to the contrary, after several centurys mankind thinks the earth is round. Erick Freyer thinks there is no god. Why does he waste his time thinking so? Obviously he will never convince everybody. In fact, these days most folks would say Mr Freyer was being quite irrational. But I fancy he is convinced of the basic truth of what he thinks-- & also likes to hope that if mankind continues its advance, eventually the majority will think as he does. (Mankind is an imitative beast.) When that occurs it can be said that mankind has "advanced", at least in its own opinion. The average 1938 man will tell you that in his opinion mankind would have degenerated. It's all in the Point of View... But as far as present-day standards are concerned we believe that we have advanced. A couple 100 yrs ago people who advocated a republic were mostly a small group of crackpots. "Ultra-lofts", who would not be satisfyd with a king & nobility, who hold wild notions of doing away with all that & leaving govt to the majority without the fancy trimmings. Well it seems these nuts were able, by dint of writing & talking & agitating (despite fierce & bitter opposition, relentless red-baiting &c) & because of the fact that economic & political conditions were changing to a point where the old style govts simply faild to function..those nuts had their way. Republics became the order of the day. With the installation of the new system progress was able to perk up again & recommence its growth. You see, Erick, progress is a slow & painful process. it goes by spasms & always against the beliefs of the majority. We may thank whatever gods we hold that this is so, for it is only being forced to prove our positions over & over again that we can be certain they are right. Well, Erick, it seems today that mankind has again got itself into a predicament. The old ways (that is, the revolutionary noways[[?]] of 200 yrs ago) apparently are no longer able to fulfill their dutys. It looks to a lot of us as if they had, in their turn, broken down. The time is ripe for another change in the economic & govt'al systems. If the change is not made, progress stops. THE WORLD IS NOT STATIC --if mankind stops going forward, it will go backward. & it will go backward far faster than it went forward. Thus, the world situation today...where it is becoming more & more obvious to an ever-growing percentage of mankind that we face today the 2 alternatives that Yorke outlined & those 2 only: Either war & destruction or change in our methods to permit of a world-organization based on co-operative scientific methods instead of individual anarchistic enterprise.
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8 IN DEFENSE OF PROGRESS By Donald A. Wollheim I am sorry that humanity is not perfect. In fact let me extend my humble apologys to Mr Erick Freyor that this is so. Humanity is a vast mass of beings, having many characteristics. One characteristic is that each individual is different. Another is that mankind is an animal that, like the sheep, clusters together & moves together. Our moving is often incoherant, but, as far as we can see, usually manages to gain us certain advances. it's slow and it's tough, but we have somehow managed to continue to advance our control over brute nature & to add continually to our collection of knowledge. Ofcourse our knowledge is not very much--some would say it's hardly anything--but it seems pretty desirable to the mass of us. We like to hang on to what we've got & we usually keep what new findings we make. Of course the vast bulk of humanity is awful slow to "catch on", & so often discoverys are denounced or denyd which yrs or centurys later are generally accepted. Never, it seems, universally--there are lots of people in jungles & a few in our very midst who maintain the earth is flat. The rest of us don't think so any more. In fact we don't think so to a point where we positively don't believe it. Ocourse we have no right to be absolute, but, in view of the lack of evidence to the contrary, after several centurys mankind thinks the earth is round. Erick Freyer thinks there is no god. Why does he waste his time thinking so? Obviously he will never convince everybody. In fact, these days most folks would say Mr Freyer was being quite irrational. But I fancy he is convinced of the basic truth of what he thinks-- & also likes to hope that if mankind continues its advance, eventually the majority will think as he does. (Mankind is an imitative beast.) When that occurs it can be said that mankind has "advanced", at least in its own opinion. The average 1938 man will tell you that in his opinion mankind would have degenerated. It's all in the Point of View... But as far as present-day standards are concerned we believe that we have advanced. A couple 100 yrs ago people who advocated a republic were mostly a small group of crackpots. "Ultra-lofts", who would not be satisfyd with a king & nobility, who hold wild notions of doing away with all that & leaving govt to the majority without the fancy trimmings. Well it seems these nuts were able, by dint of writing & talking & agitating (despite fierce & bitter opposition, relentless red-baiting &c) & because of the fact that economic & political conditions were changing to a point where the old style govts simply faild to function..those nuts had their way. Republics became the order of the day. With the installation of the new system progress was able to perk up again & recommence its growth. You see, Erick, progress is a slow & painful process. it goes by spasms & always against the beliefs of the majority. We may thank whatever gods we hold that this is so, for it is only being forced to prove our positions over & over again that we can be certain they are right. Well, Erick, it seems today that mankind has again got itself into a predicament. The old ways (that is, the revolutionary noways[[?]] of 200 yrs ago) apparently are no longer able to fulfill their dutys. It looks to a lot of us as if they had, in their turn, broken down. The time is ripe for another change in the economic & govt'al systems. If the change is not made, progress stops. THE WORLD IS NOT STATIC --if mankind stops going forward, it will go backward. & it will go backward far faster than it went forward. Thus, the world situation today...where it is becoming more & more obvious to an ever-growing percentage of mankind that we face today the 2 alternatives that Yorke outlined & those 2 only: Either war & destruction or change in our methods to permit of a world-organization based on co-operative scientific methods instead of individual anarchistic enterprise.
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