In the preface of his play "Back to Methuselah," George Bernard Shaw discusses the issues of poverty and ineffective government in Europe after World War I. He suggests that the solution to these problems is for humans to live much longer, as those with experience to govern a complex society fall into senility and die before they can make lasting...More
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote more than sixty plays. With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Dublin, Shaw moved to London in 1876, where he struggled to establish himself as a writer and novelist, and embarked on a rigorous process of self-education. By the mid-1880s he had become a respected theatre and music critic. Following a political...More
George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence simply as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 1880s to his death and beyond. He wrote more than sixty plays. With a range incorporating both contemporary satire and historical allegory, Shaw became the leading dramatist of his generation, and in 1925 was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. Born in Dublin, Shaw moved to London in 1876, where he struggled to establish himself as a writer and novelist, and embarked on a rigorous process of self-education. By the mid-1880s he had become a respected theatre and music critic. Following a political awakening, he joined the gradualist Fabian Society and became its most prominent pamphleteer. Shaw had been writing plays for years before his first public success, Arms and the Man in 1894. Influenced by Henrik Ibsen, he sought to introduce a new realism into English-language drama, using his plays as vehicles to disseminate his political, social and religious ideas.
Book Summary
In the preface of his play "Back to Methuselah," George Bernard Shaw discusses the issues of poverty and ineffective government in Europe after World War I. He suggests that the solution to these problems is for humans to live much longer, as those with experience to govern a complex society fall into senility and die before they can make lasting change. Shaw proposes that enhanced longevity will come through Creative Evolution and the Life Force, which he defines as the need or want for change rather than natural selection. He also advocates for a "homeopathic" method of education in which students are taught through lies until they are able to see through them and argue with their teachers.
George Bernard shaw
