In February of 1910 Ford Madox Ford made an astonishing statement: “I find myself wondering whether if the Deity were really beneficent, He would not send us a slaughter, famine or a pestilence that would sweep away all [the] … purposeless populations.” He continued, “I should like to see legislation introduced which would press hard upon, which would exterminate, all the purely parasitic classes.” A similar sentiment was expressed by D.H. Lawrence in 1912 when he concluded a tirade about the people of Britain with the comment: “God how I hate them! God curse them, funkers. God blast them, wish-wash. Exterminate them slime.” It should be obvious that at least two of the five Modernists were extraordinarily disillusioned by the majority of the population among whom they lived. Although these are the two most extreme statements any made, they do illustrate a hostility common to all five authors.

However, the Modernists did not just express their discontent. They also began to speculate on preferable political and social systems.