In his introduction to the book Einstein on Peace, economist Otto Nathan mentioned that Einstein:
“…had affixed the last signature of his life to a statement of nine scientists, in which the world was warned it would run the risk of universal annihilation unless the institution of war was abolished in the near future.”
Obviously, since this was the first I’ve heard of that document, I wanted to find it, and a quick online search revealed the Russell-Einstein Manifesto to be the document in question, essentially described thusly:
“Two of the twentieth century’s most famous intellectuals—philosopher Bertrand Russell and physicist Albert Einstein (who unfortunately passed away a few months before the text was released)—issued the manifesto in London on July 9, 1955 to warn the world about the consequences of a nuclear war.”
And Einstein not only warned the world of the consequences of war involving weapons of mass destruction, but advocated the total abolition of war. According to Otto Nathan:
“Einstein fought for the abolition of war not merely because he hated brutality and considered it unconscionable to seek solutions to international conflicts through killing of human beings; he was convince that, as long as war existed as an accepted institution, the intellectual freedom of the individual—which he considered to be the foundation of human society—could not be realized. The existence of military institutions, the training of youth to serve as unthinking tools for the most flagrantly asocial purposes, the demoralizing effect of war preparations upon civilian life—Einstein considered all this incompatible with the dignity of free men.”
So I decided to publish the doctrine in its entirety here (below), as well as offer a PDF version, which can be downloaded for free here.
The Russell-Einstein Manifesto
In the tragic situation which confronts humanity, we feel that scientists should assemble in conference to appraise the perils that have arisen as a result of the development of weapons of mass destruction, and to discuss a resolution in the spirit of the appended draft.
We are speaking on this occasion, not as members of this or that nation, continent, or creed, but as human beings, members of the species Man, whose continued existence is in doubt. The world is full of conflicts; and, overshadowing all minor conflicts, the titanic struggle between Communism and anti-Communism.
Almost everybody who is politically conscious has strong feelings about one or more of these issues; but we want you, if you can, to set aside such feelings and consider yourselves only as members of a biological species which has had a remarkable history, and whose disappearance none of us can desire.
We shall try to say no single word which should appeal to one group rather than to another. All, equally, are in peril, and, if the peril is understood, there is hope that they may collectively avert it.
We have to learn to think in a new way. We have to learn to ask ourselves, not what steps can be taken to give military victory to whatever group we prefer, for there no longer are such steps; the question we have to ask ourselves is: what steps can be taken to prevent a military contest of which the issue must be disastrous to all parties?
The general public, and even many men in positions of authority, have not realized what would be involved in a war with nuclear bombs. The general public still thinks in terms of the obliteration of cities. It is understood that the new bombs are more powerful than the old, and that, while one A-bomb could obliterate Hiroshima, one H-bomb could obliterate the largest cities, such as London, New York, and Moscow.
No doubt, in an H-bomb war, great cities would be obliterated. But this is one of the minor disasters that would have to be faced. If everybody in London, New York, and Moscow were exterminated, the world might, in the course of a few centuries, recover from the blow. But we now know, especially since the Bikini test, that nuclear bombs can gradually spread destruction over a very much wider area than had been supposed.
It is stated on very good authority that a bomb can now be manufactured which will be 2,500 times as powerful as that which destroyed Hiroshima. Such a bomb, if exploded near the ground or under water, sends radio-active particles into the upper air. They sink gradually and reach the surface of the earth in the form of a deadly dust or rain. It was this dust which infected the Japanese fishermen and their catch of fish. No one knows how widely such lethal radio-active particles might be diffused, but the best authorities are unanimous in saying that a war with H-bombs might possibly put an end to the human race. It is feared that if many H-bombs are used there will be universal death, sudden only for a minority, but for the majority a slow torture of disease and disintegration.
Many warnings have been uttered by eminent men of science and by authorities in military strategy. None of them will say that the worst results are certain. What they do say is that these results are possible, and no one can be sure that they will not be realized. We have not yet found that the views of experts on this question depend in any degree upon their politics or prejudices. They depend only, so far as our researches have revealed, upon the extent of the particular expert’s knowledge. We have found that the men who know most are the most gloomy.
Here, then, is the problem which we present to you, stark and dreadful and inescapable:
Subscriber-Exclusive Content
Newsletter subscribers can read the full text here
(access password is provided in the welcome email upon subscribing)
Unique Typology Mugs Exclusively From Lifeology Store: | ||
 |  |  |
All 16 Profiles Available, Each with Unique Stats & Traits Listed on the Back! |  LifeologyStore.com | Available in Multiple Colors, Plus LH or RH Orientation! |
Check Out Lifeology Store • Browse Lifeology Bookshop
Subscriber-exlusive content is restricted via password protection, the password being provided in the welcome email upon subscribing to the Lifeology Blog newsletter. And besides, if you found this article (or any of the others, for that matter) interesting, informative, entertaining, etc., you should consider subscribing anyway: simply enter your email into the form in the sidebar—or, if you prefer, just use this simple quick sign-up form.
↓↓↓ Also, please hit the "Like" (thumbs up) button below. Thanks! ~ Rand
