August 1914 was a turning point in the evolution of capitalist society - a moment when the whole of civilisation that humanity had laboriously constructed over the millennia seemed to be seized with a collective madness that plunged the world into a massacre the likes of which had never been seen. What can we learn from this and what does it imply for our understanding of the perspectives for social revolution today? What are the general laws that govern the development of human society - that is what this series explores.