A Carnival of Destruction: Science, Technology, Literature, and Restraints on War and Weaponry

Abstract

The period from 1850 to 1914 saw unprecedented scientific and technological advances and unprecedented, multinational conferences attempting to control the use in war of new, and more destructive, technology. Yet World War I made a mockery of the spirit and sometimes the letter of these conferences. As Europeans asked themselves in the wake of the death and destruction wrought by World War I, how could an era of such promise – of such noble, rational declarations of peace, of astounding scientific and technological progress, ­of glittering international exhibitions – end with a descent into madness? Combining research on pre-World War I arms control, science and technology, science fiction, and ethical movements, I attempt to show how the dissonant character of the era helps to explain the relative failure to control military-technological innovations, and, thus, the failure to prevent the future war prophesied by the new military-science fiction writers.