Bernard Shaw's Remarkable Religion: A Faith That Fits the Facts

182 Bernard Shaw’s Remarkable Religion
Catholic brothers and sisters, he was sure that once freed from the humiliation
of Versailles, Germany would not seek war because there was no
longer need for war. In one important way he was right: both Germans and
Ulster Protestants paid dearly for choosing strife. Shaw believed although
his faith was forever being disappointed. And he knew it. He knew better
than most how frail a straw the human conscience is, often remarking that
few people have more than one strong point of honor and observing that
“the human conscience can subsist on very questionable food,” yet he persisted
in believing that his sisters and brothers would behave more honorably
and sensibly than they in fact ever would (Pref. Doctor’s Dilemma
3:244). That is why he was convinced that “natural” democracy would be
an effective curb to dictatorship. The final irony is that, despite entrenched
conventional wisdom, Shaw did not have too little faith in the people. He
had too much.