The Great Flood. The Great War and the Restructuring of the World Order 1916-1931

Marx saw the key to human nature in wealth, Freud in sex, and Bertrand Russell in power. Power, he argues, is the ultimate goal of man and, in its various forms, the most important element in the development of any society. In the late 1930s, when Europe was torn apart by extremist ideologies and the world stood on the brink of war, Russell decided to establish a «new science» to make sense of the traumatic events of that time and explain those that would follow. Thus, «Power» (1938) was born, a remarkable book that Russell considered one of the most important in his long career. Opposing the totalitarian drive for domination, he shows how political enlightenment and human understanding can lead to peace. His book is a passionate call for the independence of reason and a celebration of the instinctive joy of human life.