War—What For?

A searing examination of war’s hidden agenda, this pamphlet pulls back the curtain on industrial despotism that masquerades as freedom for wage earners. Written on the brink of the First World War, it speaks directly to the laboring masses, describing how their blood, labor, and lives become the raw material of conflict. The author blends sharp satire, historical references, and stark statistics to show that war is less a clash of nations than a tool of class oppression.

Organized into a preface on justice and a dozen terse chapters, the work moves from defining war to exposing its financial toll, the psychological hell of the trenches, and the role of lawmakers who dress exploitation in patriotic rhetoric. Vivid epigraphs from Hugo, Shakespeare, and folk proverbs pepper the text, while stark illustrations depict soldiers as disposable cogs and citizens as unwilling conscripts. The final sections pose urgent questions about collective resistance and suggest further reading, inviting listeners to rethink the myths that bind them to endless battles.