“Get a bicycle. You will not regret it if you live.” ~Mark Twain, "Taming the Bicycle"

“When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race.” ~H.G. Wells[1]

Sam Clemens and H.G. Wells’ trod upon the planet for 44-years in common. I have found no evidence that they ever met. In addition to time on Earth, they shared a good deal in terms of common temperament. Their cares for mankind, for animals, for fairness and for kindness have all come together as I have read their immortal works.

Here is a glimpse at what both great men thought about fairness, and how they both employed the subject of footwear as a vehicle to express their visions about the human condition.

From Mark Twain’s Letters from the Earth, “Many poor people have to go barefoot, because they cannot afford shoes.”[2] This section sheds light on a couple of conditions—namely why poor people are more likely than the rich to succumb to hookworm—and how the ensuing fatigue caused by the parasite has led to generations of prejudice against the “lazy” people who were, in truth, merely victims of a parasite that attacks those unfortunate souls with unshod feet.

Perhaps H.G Wells did read Letters from the Earth. Or, with his well-documented sympathies, his vision about “a pair of boots” may have arisen independently of Twain’s influence. Wells asked us to think—how would our world change if every laborer had at least one sturdy pair of boots? Think of it! Think of the increase in human productivity! If only from the reduction in parasite attacks, the output from a well-shod worker will clearly surpass his bare-foot counterpart many times over. And with swelling productivity, incomes will also rise. With that small and just investment, both consumer spending and company profits go up. The reduction in illness and improving circumstances make the whole enterprise worthwhile. Providing necessities for those in need is a good idea—in Wells’ day, in Twain’s time—and now.

In Bentari, well-armed 20th Century soldiers are in Africa to rob the people who are Iron-Age hold-overs—bare-footed warriors, armed only with spears and bows in defense of an age-old treasure.

What does a population do with a tremendous tranche of wealth? How did they acquire it? How do they protect it? How do they apportion it! Why do they do what they do?

Images: Mark Twain late in life and H.G. Wells studying in 1890

[1] See: http://www.quotegarden.com/bicycling.html

[2] See: http://www.online-literature.com/twain/letters-from-the-earth/ Letters from the Earth (1909)