‘A city that we shall never find’? The search for a community of fellow progressive spirits in the uk between the wars

Abstract

Between the wars in the UK there were a number of endeavours to bring together a broadly-based movement of like-minded progressive people. These were significantly influenced by H. G. Wells’s vision of an ‘Open Conspiracy’, a self-selecting elite of creative, scientific and managerial individuals dedicated to bringing about a peaceful and rational global society. This article considers the desire of individuals inspired by Wells to find like minds to associate and work with, and the formation of organisations to advance this vision, in particular the Federation of Progressive Societies and Individuals, and Cosmopolis, both founded in the early 1930s. While these bodies may not have had any immediate practical impact, it is argued that they provided a source of community and of support for individuals striving in a range of other causes to bring about a new kind of social order.