AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
2min chapter
Britain Should Not Have Fought in the First World War
Intelligence Squared
The First World War: A Moral Crusade for Freedom and Democracy
The Kaiser's Germany had the biggest socialist party in Europe, its strongest trade unions and its most developed welfare state. In 1900, 22% of German men were entitled to vote and in Britain, 18%. So it's a very strange claim that we were fighting for democracy against a country that was actually more democratic than we were. And when you look closely at our allies, the idea of the First World War as a moral crusade evaporates completely. How on earth could we have been fighting a crusade for freedom and democracy, shoulder to shoulder with Tsarist Russia?
00:00
Transcript
Episode notes
Get the Snipd
podcast app
Unlock the knowledge in podcasts with the podcast player of the future.
AI-powered
Discover
highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Save any
moment
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Share
& Export
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Discover
highlights
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode