"Four years of world war, at a cost in human suffering which our minds are mercifully too limited to imagine, led to the very clear realization that international anarchy must be abandoned if civilization was to survive"
About this Quote
The phrase “international anarchy” is the real target. Henderson isn’t lamenting chaos in the abstract; he’s indicting the pre-1914 system of rival empires, secret treaties, and balance-of-power brinkmanship that made catastrophe feel like a mechanical outcome rather than a political choice. Calling it “anarchy” reframes sovereign independence not as dignity but as negligence - a refusal to accept rules where the stakes are existential.
The context matters: Henderson was a British Labour politician and peace advocate who lived through the First World War’s mass casualties and the postwar scramble to prevent a repeat. His wording carries the era’s urgent faith in institutions, especially the idea that a League of Nations-style order could civilize conflict by making aggression illegitimate and cooperation enforceable.
The subtext is a warning with a sales pitch embedded in it: abandon the romance of nations acting alone, or accept that “civilization” itself is conditional. It’s not utopian language; it’s survival language, aimed at turning grief into governance.
Quote Details
| Topic | Peace |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite | Cite this Quote |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Henderson, Arthur. (n.d.). Four years of world war, at a cost in human suffering which our minds are mercifully too limited to imagine, led to the very clear realization that international anarchy must be abandoned if civilization was to survive. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/four-years-of-world-war-at-a-cost-in-human-140270/
Chicago Style
Henderson, Arthur. "Four years of world war, at a cost in human suffering which our minds are mercifully too limited to imagine, led to the very clear realization that international anarchy must be abandoned if civilization was to survive." FixQuotes. Accessed February 3, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/four-years-of-world-war-at-a-cost-in-human-140270/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Four years of world war, at a cost in human suffering which our minds are mercifully too limited to imagine, led to the very clear realization that international anarchy must be abandoned if civilization was to survive." FixQuotes, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/four-years-of-world-war-at-a-cost-in-human-140270/. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
