Civilisation at the Cross Roads — Page 1
Civilisation at the Cross Roads rJr1he end or the Second World Wnr in Europe and Asia. . B. did not bring peace or establish security. In fact, the very means through which the S 0 urrender or Japan was enforced has since filled the hearts of men with new fears and fresh anxieties. Nothing that has happened during the intervening period has ' I. served t. q allay these fears and to Developments dur~g this period inteaaifted them. set these anxieties at ha \"e only enhanced rest. and The other day, a leading newspaper posed the question: uwm the atom pron to be a servant of man or his killer"? Perhaps the problem could be viewed in better perspective if the question asked were: "Will man prove himself master of the atom or perish as its victim"? The choice lies with man, not with the atom. The atom is only an instrument: a servant. Will man employ it for the promotion of human welfare or for his own· destruction ? What invests this problem with the gravest solemnity is, of course, its atupendous potentialities in either direction. Never before has man had placed at his disposal resources so vast, capable of · being harnessed to such varied uses in so many fields of human endeavour. Mankind stands at the threshold ot' a new era ; it is l