Chapter V
THE PLANNED SOCIETY
BEFORE the World War only Fabians talked about a
planned society. During the War all the belligerent
societies were planned, and (considering the rapidity with
which the work was done) planned very effectively, for
the purpose of carrying on the hostilities. Immediately
after the War there was a reaction, natural enough in the
circumstance, against planning. The depression produced
a reaction against that reaction, and since 1929 the idea of
planning has achieved an almost universal popularity.
Meanwhile planning has been undertaken, systematically
and on a large scale in the totalitarian states, piecemeal in
. the democratic countries.' A flood of literature on social
planning pours continuously from the presses. Every
* advanced' thinker has his favourite scheme, and even
quite ordinary people have caught the infection. Planning
is now in fashion. Not without justification. Our world
is in a bad way, and it looks as though it would be im-
possible to rescue it from its present plight, much less
improve it, except by deliberate planning. Admittedly
this is only an opinion; but theife is every reason to
suppose that it is well founded. Meanwhile, however, it
is quite certain, because observably a fact, that in the pro-
cess of trying to save our world or part of it from its
present confusion, we run the risk of planning it into the
likeness of hell and ultimately into complete destruction.
There are cures which are worse than disease.
Some kind of deliberate planning is necessary. But which
kind and how much? We cannot answer these questions,
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