Uncle Ponderevo gets busted, but there are thousands like him to carry forward the inane good work of the consumer society. George (whose overseas exploits are a perfect little parable of imperialism) gets away with everything. The last we see of him he is designing warships.
Wells is best known for his science fiction. This- his most carefully crafted novel, perhaps his best- is also in its way- a prophecy, even though it never trespasses out of its own time. We still live in the world of the Ponderevos: the one exploiting our weaknesses at home, the other stealing- and killing- abroad.
