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THE WORLD AS I SEE IT
Albert Einstein

PREFACE TO ORIGINAL EDITION
Only individuals have a sense of responsibility
...
To-day this man is being drawn,
contrary to his own intention, into the whirlpool of political passions and
contemporary history
...

To forestall this fate is the real object of this book
...

It contains work belonging to the most various dates-- the article on "The
International of Science" dates from the year 1922, the address on "The
Principles of Scientific Research" from 1923, the "Letter to an Arab" from
1930--and the most various spheres, held together by the unity of the
personality which stands behind all these utterances
...
This book is intended as a plea for this belief at a time which
compels every one of us to overhaul his mental attitude and his ideas
...
H
...
H
...
Einstein replied that it would take him
three days to give a short definition of relativity
...

To the majority of people Einstein's theory is a complete mystery
...
Einstein, therefore, is
great in the public eye partly because he has made revolutionary discoveries
which cannot be translated into the common tongue
...

There is, however, another side to his personality
...

These fragments form a mosaic portrait of Einstein the man
...
Their
combined effect is to demonstrate that the Einstein we can all understand is no
less great than the Einstein we take on trust
...
His nature is of rare simplicity
and sincerity; he always has been, and he remains, genuinely indifferent to
wealth and fame and the other prizes so dear to ambition
...
Himself familiar from early years with the handicap of poverty
and with some of the worst forms of man's inhumanity to man, he has never
spared himself in defence of the weak and the oppressed
...
History,
surely, has few parallels with this introspective mathematical genius who
laboured unceasingly as an eager champion of the rights of man
...
When he was four years old his
father, who owned an electrochemical works, moved to Munich, and two
years later the boy went to school, experiencing a rigid, almost military, type
of discipline and also the isolation of a shy and contemplative Jewish child
among Roman Catholics-- factors which made a deep and enduring
impression
...
His interest in mathematics was roused, not by his
instructors, but by a Jewish medical student, Max Talmey, who gave him a
book on geometry, and so set him upon a course of enthusiastic study which
made him, at the age of fourteen, a better mathematician than his masters
...

Business reverses led the elder Einstein to make a fresh start in Milan, thus
introducing Albert to the joys of a freer, sunnier life than had been possible in
Germany
...
It opened with an
effort, backed by a certificate of mathematical proficiency given by a teacher
in the Gymnasium at Munich, to obtain admission to the Polytechnic Academy
at Zurich
...
After five distinguished years at the Polytechnic he hoped to step
into the post of assistant professor, but found that the kindly words of the
professors who had stimulated the hope did not materialize
...

Humdrum as the work was, it had the double advantage of providing a
competence and of leaving his mind free for the mathematical speculations
which were then taking shape in the theory of relativity
...
Zurich awoke to the fact that it possessed a genius in
the form of a patent office clerk, promoted him to be a lecturer at the
University and four years later--in 1909--installed him as Professor
...
Following a brief return to Zurich, he went,
early in 1914, to Berlin as a professor in the Prussian Academy of Sciences
and director of the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Theoretical Physics
...
Later
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events brought him into the open and into many parts of the world, as an
exponent not only of pacifism but also of world-disarmament and the cause of
Jewry
...
In 1933 Einstein made his
famous declaration: "As long as I have any choice, I will stay only in a country
where political liberty, toleration, and equality of all citizens before the law are
the rule
...

The World As I See It, in its original form, includes essays by Einstein on
relativity and cognate subjects
...


4

I
The World As I See It
The Meaning of Life
What is the meaning of human life, or of organic life altogether? To answer
this question at all implies a religion
...

The World as I see it
What an extraordinary situation is that of us mortals! Each of us is here for a
brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he
feels it
...
A hundred times
every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life depend on the labours
of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in
the same measure as I have received and am still receiving
...
I regard
class differences as contrary to justice and, in the last resort, based on force
...

In human freedom in the philosophical sense I am definitely a disbeliever
...
Schopenhauer's saying, that "a man can do as he will, but
not will as he will," has been an inspiration to me since my youth up, and a
continual consolation and unfailing well-spring of patience in the face of the
hardships of life, my own and others'
...

To inquire after the meaning or object of one's own existence or of creation
generally has always seemed to me absurd from an objective point of view
...
In this sense I have never looked upon ease
and happiness as ends in themselves--such an ethical basis I call more proper
for a herd of swine
...
Without the sense of fellowship with men of like mind,
of preoccupation with the objective, the eternally unattainable in the field of art
and scientific research, life would have seemed to me empty
...

My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always
contrasted oddly with my pronounced freedom from the need for direct
contact with other human beings and human communities
...
One is sharply conscious, yet without regret,
of the limits to the possibility of mutual understanding and sympathy with one's
fellow-creatures
...

My political ideal is that of democracy
...
It is an irony of fate that I myself have been the
recipient of excessive admiration and respect from my fellows through no
fault, and no merit, of my own
...
I am quite aware
that it is necessary for the success of any complex undertaking that one man
should do the thinking and directing and in general bear the responsibility
...
An
autocratic system of coercion, in my opinion, soon degenerates
...
For this reason I have
always been passionately opposed to systems such as we see in Italy and
Russia to-day
...
I believe that in this
respect the United States of America have found the right way
...
On the other hand, what I value in
our political system is the more extensive provision that it makes for the
individual in case of illness or need
...

This topic brings me to that worst outcrop of the herd nature, the military
system, which I abhor
...
He has only been
given his big brain by mistake; a backbone was all he needed
...

Heroism by order, senseless violence, and all the pestilent nonsense that does
by the name of patriotism--how I hate them! War seems to me a mean,
contemptible thing: I would rather be hacked in pieces than take part in such
an abominable business
...

The fairest thing we can experience is the mysterious
...
He who
knows it not and can no longer wonder, no longer feel amazement, is as good
as dead, a snuffed-out candle
...
A knowledge of the existence of
something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest
reason and the most radiant beauty, which are only accessible to our reason in
their most elementary forms--it is this knowledge and this emotion that
constitute the truly religious attitude; in this sense, and in this alone, I am a
deeply religious man
...

An individual who should survive his physical death is also beyond my
comprehension, nor do I wish it otherwise; such notions are for the fears or
absurd egoism of feeble souls
...

The Liberty of Doctrine--à propos of the Guntbel Case
Academic chairs are many, but wise and noble teachers are few;
lecture-rooms are numerous and large, but the number of young people who
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genuinely thirst after truth and justice is small
...

We all know that, so why complain? Was it not ever thus and will it not ever
thus remain? Certainly, and one must take what Nature gives as one finds it
...
Each of us has to do his little
bit towards transforming this spirit of the times
...
They had faith in the amelioration of
human society, respect for every honest opinion, the tolerance for which our
classics had lived and fought
...
It was the students and the
teachers at the universities who kept these ideals alive
...
But the students at our universities have ceased as completely as their
teachers to enshrine the hopes and ideals of the nation
...

We are assembled to-day to take stock of ourselves
...
This apostle of justice has written about
unexpiated political crimes with devoted industry, high courage, and
exemplary fairness, and has done the community a signal service by his
books
...

Political passion cannot be allowed to go to such lengths
...
Men like him are needed if we are ever
to build up a healthy political society
...

If that happens, this Gumbel case, after an unedifying beginning, may still do
good
...
But, if one goes on to
ask who they are, one finds oneself in no inconsiderable difficulties
...
Hence I most seriously believe
that one does people the best service by giving them some elevating work to
do and thus indirectly elevating them
...
To be sure, it is not the fruits
of scientific research that elevate a man and enrich his nature, but the urge to
understand, the intellectual work, creative or receptive
...

The true value of a human being is determined primarily by the measure
and the sense in which he has attained to liberation from the self
...
We see that our whole nature resembles that of the social
animals
...
The greater part of our knowledge
and beliefs has been communicated to us by other people through the medium
of a language which others have created
...
The individual, if left alone from
birth would remain primitive and beast-like in his thoughts and feelings to a
degree that we can hardly conceive
...

A man's value to the community depends primarily on how far his feelings,
thoughts, and actions are directed towards promoting the good of his fellows
...
It looks at
first sight as if our estimate of a man depended entirely on his social qualities
...
It is clear that all the valuable
things, material, spiritual, and moral, which we receive from society can be
traced back through countless generations to certain creative individuals
...

Only the individual can think, and thereby create new values for society--nay,
even set up new moral standards to which the life of the community conforms
...

The health of society thus depends quite as much on the independence of the
individuals composing it as on their close political cohesion
...

Let us now consider the times in which we live
...
But the number of great men has
decreased out of all proportion
...
Organization has
to some extent taken the place of the great man, particularly in the technical
sphere, but also to a very perceptible extent in the scientific
...

Painting and music have definitely degenerated and largely lost their popular
appeal
...
The
democratic, parliamentarian regime, which is based on such independence,
has in many places been shaken, dictatorships have sprung up and are
tolerated, because men's sense of the dignity and the rights of the individual is
no longer strong enough
...
Compulsory military service seems to me the
most disgraceful symptom of that deficiency in personal dignity from which
civilized mankind is suffering to-day
...
I am not one of these
pessimists; I believe that better times are coming
...

In my opinion, the present symptoms of decadence are explained by the fact
that the development of industry and machinery has made the struggle for
existence very much more severe, greatly to the detriment of the free
development of the individual
...
A planned division of labour is becoming more and more
of a crying necessity, and this division will lead to the material security of the
individual
...
In this way the
community may regain its health, and we will hope that future historians will
explain the morbid symptoms of present-day society as the childhood ailments
of an aspiring humanity, due entirely to the excessive speed at which
civilization was advancing
...
A
...
His genius was the torch which lighted the way from the
teachings of Clerk Maxwell to the achievements of contemporary physics, to
the fabric of which he contributed valuable materials and methods
...
His
never-failing kindness and magnanimity and his sense of justice, coupled with
an intuitive understanding of people and things, made him a leader in any
sphere he entered
...
His work and his example
will live on as an inspiration and guide to future generations
...
A
...
politics
...
I have met no one who combined all these qualities in himself so
perfectly as H
...
Lorentz
...
But, when
Lorentz is in the presidential chair, an atmosphere of happy co-operation is
invariably created, however much those present may differ in their aims and
habits of thought
...
Nothing disarms the recalcitrant so much as this
...
Particularly noteworthy
among these were the Solvay Congresses, the first two of which were held at
Brussels in 1909 and 1912
...
Even before the war was over, and still more after its end, Lorentz
devoted himself to the work of reconciliation
...
An outsider can hardly
conceive what uphill work this is
...
Hence Lorentz's efforts resemble those of a doctor
with a recalcitrant patient who refuses to take the medicines carefully
prepared for his benefit
...
The moment the war was over, he joined the governing body
of the "Conseil de recherche," which was founded by the savants of the
victorious countries, and from which the savants and learned societies of the
Central Powers were excluded
...
He and other right-minded men succeeded, after repeated
efforts, in securing the removal of the offensive exclusion-clause from the
statutes of the "Conseil
...
Now, however, there are good grounds for
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hoping that the ice will soon be broken, thanks to the tactful efforts of
Lorentz, prompted by pure enthusiasm for the good cause
...
For the last year
Lorentz has presided over the Commission, which, with the active support of
its subordinate, the Paris Institute, is to act as a go-between in the domain of
intellectual and artistic work among the various spheres of culture
...

May his example contribute to the triumph of that spirit !
In Honour of Arnold Berliner's Seventieth Birthday
(Arnold Berliner is the editor of the periodical Die
Naturrvissenschaften
...
It has to be done
here because it is one's only chance of getting such things said; since our
training in objectivity has led to a taboo on everything personal, which we
mortals may transgress only on quite exceptional occasions such as the
present one
...

But the assimilative power of the human intellect is and remains strictly limited
...
Worse still, as
a result of this specialization, it is becoming increasingly difficult for even a
rough general grasp of science as a whole, without which the true spirit of
research is inevitably handicapped, to keep pace with progress
...
Every serious scientific worker is painfully
conscious of this involuntary relegation to an ever-narrowing sphere of
knowledge, which is threatening to deprive the investigator of his broad
horizon and degrade him to the level of a mechanic
...

But Berliner has come to the rescue, as far as the German-speaking world is
concerned, in the most admirable way: He saw that the existing popular
periodicals were sufficient to instruct and stimulate the layman; but he also
saw that a first-class, well-edited organ was needed for the guidance of the
scientific worker who desired to be put sufficiently au courant of
developments in scientific problems, methods, and results to be able to form a
judgment of his own
...

It was necessary for him to secure the co-operation of successful scientific
writers and induce them to say what they had to say in a form as far as
possible intelligible to non-specialists
...
* Berliner's achievement would have
been impossible but for the peculiar intensity of his longing for a clear,
comprehensive view of the largest possible area of scientific country
...
"
Berliner's fight for clarity and comprehensiveness of outlook has done a great
deal to bring the problems, methods, and results of science home to many
people's minds
...
It is just as important to make knowledge live and to keep it alive
as to solve specific problems
...

*Do not be angry with me for this indiscretion, my dear Berliner
...

Popper-Lynhaus was more than a brilliant engineer and writer
...
He has drummed it into us that society is responsible for the fate
of every individual and shown us a way to translate the consequent obligation
of the community into fact
...


14

Obituary of the Surgeon, M
...
For more than ten years I spent my leisure
hours during the summer months with him, mostly on his delightful yacht
...
We
both felt that this friendship was not only a blessing because each understood
the other, was enriched by him, and found ins him that responsive echo so
essential to anybody who is truly alive; it also helped to make both of us more
independent of external experience, to objectivize it more easily
...
If, as was
invariably the case, he had performed some dangerous operations in the
morning, he would ring up on the telephone, immediately before we got into
the boat, to enquire after the condition of the patients about whom he was
worried; I could see how deeply concerned he was for the lives entrusted to
his care
...
He never became the typical conscientious North German,
whom the Italians in the days of their freedom used to call bestia seriosa
...

How he found time and energy for them was always a mystery to me; but the
passion for scientific enquiry is not to be crushed by any burdens
...

There were two types of problems that engaged his attention
...
Thus he was always thinking
out new ways of inducing healthy muscles to take the place of lost ones, by
ingenious transplantation of tendons
...
How happy he was when he had succeeded in making
somebody fit for normal life by putting right the muscular system of his face,
foot, or arm! And the same when he avoided an operation, even in cases
which had been sent to him by physicians for surgical treatment in cases of
gastric ulcer by neutralizing the pepsin
...
In talking of it he often lamented
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the fact that this method of treatment was not endorsed by his colleagues
...
He believed that he was here on
the track of a general biological principle of widest application, whose
implications he followed out with admirable boldness and persistence
...
In this way he succeeded in explaining hitherto inexplicable cases of
wounds ailing to heal, and in bringing about a cure
...
Experiments on animals and
a systematic investigation of the growth of tissues in a nutrient fluid were
carried out side by side
...
He also had the pleasure of inspiring his own son to
become his intelligent and independent fellow-worker, and of exciting the
warm interest and co-operation of Sauerbruch just in the last years of his life,
so that he was able to die with the consoling thought that his life's work would
not perish, but would be vigorously continued on the lines he had laid down
...

Congratulations to Dr
...
Solf, the heartiest congratulations,
the congratulations of Lessing College, of which you have become an
indispensable pillar, and the congratulations of all who are convinced of the
need for close contact between science and art and the public which is hungry
for spiritual nourishment
...
Exaggerated respect for athletics,
an excess of coarse impressions which the complications of life through the
technical discoveries of recent years has brought with it, the increased severity
16

of the struggle for existence due to the economic crisis, the brutalization of
political life--all these factors are hostile to the ripening of the character and
the desire for real culture, and stamp our age as barbarous, materialistic, and
superficial
...

But contact between the intellectual and the masses must not be lost
...
For this reason you, Herr Solf, have devoted a portion of your
energies to Lessing College, and we are grateful to you for doing so
...

Of Wealth
I am absolutely convinced that no wealth in the world can help humanity
forward, even in the hands of the most devoted worker in this cause
...
Money only appeals to selfishness and always tempts
its owners irresistibly to abuse it
...

Dear Miss _____,
I have read about sixteen pages of your manuscript and it made
me--smile
...
I
suffered exactly the same treatment at the hands of my teachers,
who disliked me for my independence and passed me over
when they wanted assistants (I must admit that I was somewhat
less of a model student than you)
...
Besides, one always cuts a poor figure if one
17

complains about others who are struggling for their place in the
sun too after their own fashion
...

Incidentally I am only coming to Princeton to research, not to
teach
...
The only rational way of educating is to be an
example--of what to avoid, if one can't be the other sort
...

To the Schoolchildren of Japan
In sending this greeting to you Japanese schoolchildren, I can lay claim to a
special right to do so
...
A big fat book full of coloured
drawings by Japanese children lies always on my table
...
May the
spirit of brotherly understanding gain ground more and more among them
...

Teachers and Pupils
An address to children
(The principal art of the teacher is to awaken the joy in creation
and knowledge
...


18

Bear in mind that the wonderful things you learn in your schools are the work
of many generations, produced by enthusiastic effort and infinite labour in
every country of the world
...
Thus do we mortals achieve immortality in the
permanent things which we create in common
...

Paradise Lost
As late as the seventeenth century the savants and artists of all Europe were
so closely united by the bond of a common ideal that co-operation between
them was scarcely affected by political events
...

To-day we look back at this state of affairs as at a lost paradise
...
The men of learning
have become the chief mouthpieces of national tradition and lost their sense of
an intellectual commonwealth
...
It is they
who have created the League of Nations
...
One has to keep this
constantly in mind if one wishes to understand spiritual movements and their
development
...
Now what are the feelings and needs that have led men to
religious thought and belief in the widest sense of the words? A little
consideration will suffice to show us that the most varying emotions preside
over the birth of religious thought and experience
...
Since at this stage of existence understanding of causal
connexions is usually poorly developed, the human mind creates for itself
more or less analogous beings on whose wills and actions these fearful
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happenings depend
...
I am speaking now of the religion of fear
...
In many cases the
leader or ruler whose position depends on other factors, or a privileged class,
combines priestly functions with its secular authority in order to make the
latter more secure; or the political rulers and the priestly caste make common
cause in their own interests
...
Fathers
and mothers and the leaders of larger human communities are mortal and
fallible
...
This is the God of Providence who
protects, disposes, rewards, and punishes, the God who, according to the
width of the believer's outlook, loves and cherishes the life of the tribe or of
the human race, or even life as such, the comforter in sorrow and unsatisfied
longing, who preserves the souls of the dead
...

The Jewish scriptures admirably illustrate the development from the religion of
fear to moral religion, which is continued in the New Testament
...
The development from a religion of fear to moral religion is a
great step in a nation's life
...
The truth is that they are all intermediate
types, with this reservation, that on the higher levels of social life the religion of
morality predominates
...
Only individuals of exceptional endowments and
exceptionally high-minded communities, as a general rule, get in any real sense
beyond this level
...
It is very difficult to explain this feeling to
anyone who is entirely without it, especially as there is no anthropomorphic
conception of God corresponding to it
...
He looks upon individual existence as a sort of prison
and wants to experience the universe as a single significant whole
...
g
...
Buddhism, as we have learnt from the wonderful writings of
Schopenhauer especially, contains a much stronger element of it
...
Hence it is precisely among the heretics of every age that we find men who
were filled with the highest kind of religious feeling and were in many cases
regarded by their contemporaries as Atheists, sometimes also as saints
...

How can cosmic religious feeling be communicated from one person to
another, if it can give rise to no definite notion of a God and no theology? In
my view, it is the most important function of art and science to awaken this
feeling and keep it alive in those who are capable of it
...
When one views the matter historically one is
inclined to look upon science and religion as irreconcilable antagonists, and
for a very obvious reason
...
He has no use for the religion of fear
and equally little for social or moral religion
...
Hence science has been charged with undermining
morality, but the charge is unjust
...
Man would indeed be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by
fear and punishment and hope of reward after death
...
On the other hand, I maintain that cosmic religious
feeling is the strongest and noblest incitement to scientific research
...
What a deep conviction of the rationality of the universe and
what a yearning to understand, were it but a feeble reflection of the mind
revealed in this world, Kepler and Newton must have had to enable them to
spend years of solitary labour in disentangling the principles of celestial
mechanics! Those whose acquaintance with scientific research is derived
chiefly from its practical results easily develop a completely false notion of the
mentality of the men who, surrounded by a sceptical world, have shown the
way to those like-minded with themselves, scattered through the earth and the
centuries
...
It is cosmic religious
feeling that gives a man strength of this sort
...

The Religiousness of Science
You will hardly find one among the profounder sort of scientific minds without
a peculiar religious feeling of his own
...
For the latter God is a being from whose care one hopes to benefit
and whose punishment one fears; a sublimation of a feeling similar to that of a
child for its father, a being to whom one stands to some extent in a personal
relation, however deeply it may be tinged with awe
...
The future,
to him, is every whit as necessary and determined as the past
...
His religious feeling takes the
form of a rapturous amazement at the harmony of natural law, which reveals
an intelligence of such superiority that, compared with it, all the systematic
thinking and acting of human beings is an utterly insignificant reflection
...
It is beyond question
closely akin to that which has possessed the religious geniuses of all ages
...
The
economic stress which political events bring in their train does not hit
everybody equally hard
...
To this
category belong the scientific institutions and workers on whose work not
22

merely the well-being of science but also the position occupied by Germany
and Austria in the scale of culture very largely depends
...
In times of crisis people are generally blind to
everything outside their immediate necessities
...
But science, if it is to flourish, must
have no practical end in view
...
Neglect of science leads
to a subsequent dearth of intellectual workers able, in virtue of their
independent outlook and judgment, to blaze new trails for industry or adapt
themselves to new situations
...
This is what we have to prevent
...

Far-sighted men with a clear understanding of the situation have set up
institutions by which scientific work of every sort is to be kept going in
Germany and Austria
...
In my
teaching work I see with admiration that economic troubles have not yet
succeeded in stifling the will and the enthusiasm for scientific research
...
Everywhere people are working with burning
enthusiasm in the most difficult circumstances
...

Fascism and Science
A letter to Signor Rocco, Minister of State, Rome
...
I refer to a form of oath in which fidelity
to the Fascist system is to be promised
...

However much our political convictions may differ, I know that
we agree on one point: in the progressive achievements of the
European mind both of us see and love our highest good
...
It was this basis alone that
enabled our civilization to take its rise in Greece and to celebrate
its rebirth in Italy at the Renaissance
...

Far be it from me to argue with you about what inroads on
human liberty may be justified by reasons of State
...
This is also undoubtedly
in the interests of the Italian State and its prestige in the eyes of
the world
...

A
...

Interviewers
To be called to account publicly for everything one has said, even in jest, an
excess of high spirits, or momentary anger, fatal as it must be in the end, is yet
up to a point reasonable and natural
...
"But who suffers such a dreadful fate?" you will
ask
...
You smile incredulously, but I have had plenty of direct
experience and will tell you about it
...
One morning a reporter comes to you and
asks you in a friendly way to tell him something about your friend N
...
But
you soon discover that there is no escape
...
's supposedly best friends about him
...
This in itself enables the reader to draw the
24

inevitable conclusions
...
N
...
He can find a bright side to any situation
...
He is devoted
to his family and lays everything he possesses at his wife's feet
...
N
...
He is so completely a slave to his job that he has no
time for the considerations of any non-personal subject or for any mental
activity outside it
...
"
A real reporter would make it much more spicy, but I expect this will be
enough for you and your friend N
...
The injury done to him
gives you untold pain, especially as you are really fond of him
...

Thanks to America
Mr
...
For
this gathering is an outward and visible sign that the world is no longer prone
to regard material power and wealth as the highest goods
...

In the wonderful two months which I have been privileged to spend in your
midst in this fortunate land, I have had many opportunities of observing what a
high value men of action and of practical life attach to the efforts of science; a
good few of them have placed a considerable proportion of their fortunes and
their energies at the service of scientific enterprises and thereby contributed to
the prosperity and prestige of this country
...

25

Scientific enterprises all over the civilized world rejoice in the liberal support
of American institutions and individuals--a fact which is, I am sure, a source of
pride and gratification to all of you
...
I may be permitted to express the
hope that this internationalism of the American nation, which proceeds from a
high sense of responsibility, will very soon extend itself to the sphere of
politics
...

I thank you most heartily for this magnificent reception and, in particular, the
men of learning in this country for the cordial and friendly welcome I have
received from them
...

The University Course at Davos
Senalores boni viri, senatus autem bestia
...
Communities tend to be less guided than individuals by
conscience and a sense of responsibility
...

And yet nothing truly valuable can be achieved except by the unselfish
co-operation of many individuals
...

Such pure joy was mine when I heard about the university courses at Davos
...
Many a young man goes to this valley
with his hopes fixed on the healing power of its sunny mountains and regains
his bodily health
...
He becomes a sort of
hot-house plant and, when his body is cured, often finds it difficult to get back
26

to normal life
...

Yet, as a general rule, intellectual work in moderation, so far from retarding
cure, indirectly helps it forward, just as moderate physical work does
...
They are to provide work, training, and
hygiene in the sphere of the mind
...
The effects of the new institution in this
direction are likely to be all the more advantageous from the fact that the
circumstances of its birth rule out every sort of political purpose
...

>From all these points of view I rejoice that the energy and intelligence of the
founders of the university courses at Davos have already attained such a
measure of success that the enterprise has outgrown the troubles of infancy
...
Bernard Shaw
There are few enough people with sufficient independence to see the
weaknesses and follies of their contemporaries and remain themselves
untouched by them
...
Only to a tiny minority is it given to fascinate their generation by
subtle humour and grace and to hold the mirror up to it by the impersonal
agency of art
...


27

Some Notes on my American Impressions
I must redeem my promise to say something about my impressions of this
country
...
For it is not easy to take up the
attitude of an impartial observer when one is received with such kindness and
undeserved respect as I have been in America
...

The cult of individual personalities is always, in my view, unjustified
...
But there are
plenty of the well-endowed ones too, thank God, and I am firmly convinced
that most of them live quiet, unregarded lives
...
This has been my fate,
and the contrast between the popular estimate of my powers and
achievements and the reality is simply grotesque
...
This proves that knowledge and justice are
ranked above wealth and power by a large section of the human race
...
After
this digression I come to my proper theme, in the hope that no more weight
will be attached to my modest remarks than they deserve
...
Objects of everyday use are more
solid than in Europe, houses infinitely more convenient in arrangement
...
Labour is expensive, because
the country is sparsely inhabited in comparison with its natural resources
...
The opposite
extreme is illustrated by over-populated China or India, where the low price
of labour has stood in the way of the development of machinery
...
Once the machine is sufficiently highly developed it
becomes cheaper in the end than the cheapest labour
...
The anxious
care with which the United States keep out foreign goods by means of
prohibitive tariffs certainly contrasts oddly with this notion
...

The second thing that strikes a visitor is the joyous, positive attitude to life
...
He is friendly, confident, optimistic,
and--without envy
...

Compared with the American, the European is more critical, more
self-conscious, less goodhearted and helpful, more isolated, more fastidious in
his amusements and his reading, generally more or less of a pessimist
...
The American lives for
ambition, the future, more than the European
...
In this respect he is even further removed from the Russian and
the Asiatic than the European is
...

More emphasis is laid on the "we" than the "I
...
This fact is chiefly responsible for America's economic
superiority over Europe
...
This social sense may be
partly due to the English tradition
...
The European is
surprised to find the telegraph, the telephone, the railways, and the schools
predominantly in private hands
...
Another consequence
of this attitude is that the extremely unequal distribution of property leads to
no intolerable hardships
...
He considers himself obliged as a matter of
course to place a large portion of his wealth, and often of his own energies
too, at the disposal of the community, and public opinion, that all-powerful
force, imperiously demands it of him
...

The prestige of government has undoubtedly been lowered considerably by
the Prohibition laws
...
It is an open secret that the dangerous increase of crime in this
country is closely connected with this
...
The public-house is a place which gives people a
chance to exchange views and ideas on public affairs
...

The over-estimation of money is still greater in this country than in Europe, but
appears to me to be on the decrease
...

As regards artistic matters, I have been genuinely impressed by the good taste
displayed in the modern buildings and in articles of common use; on the other
hand, the visual arts and music have little place in the life of the nation as
compared with Europe
...
We are unjust in attempting to ascribe the increasing
superiority of American research-work exclusively to superior wealth; zeal,
patience, a spirit of comradeship, and a talent for co-operation play an
important part in its successes
...
The
United States is the most powerful technically advanced country in the world
to-day
...
But America is a large country and its people have so far not
shown much interest in great international problems, among which the
problem of disarmament occupies first place today
...
The last war has shown that
there are no longer any barriers between the continents and that the destinies
of all countries are closely interwoven
...
The
part of passive spectator is unworthy of this country and is bound in the end
to lead to disaster all round
...
They received the following answer
...

But are they not quite right, these watchful citizenesses? Why should one open
one's doors to a person who devours hard-boiled capitalists with as much
appetite and gusto as the Cretan Minotaur in days gone by devoured luscious
Greek maidens, and on top of that is low-down enough to reject every sort of
war, except the unavoidable war with one's own wife? Therefore give heed to
your clever and patriotic women-folk and remember that the Capitol of
mighty Rome was once saved by the cackling of its faithful geese
...
But the technical advances of our times have
turned this ethical postulate into a matter of life and death for civilized mankind
to-day, and made the taking of an active part in the solution of the problem of
peace a moral duty which no conscientious man can shirk
...
In these days of democratic government the fate of the nations hangs
on themselves; each individual must always bear that in mind
...
The course of events in the last few years has once
more shown us how little we are justified in leaving the struggle against
armaments and against the war spirit to the Governments
...
In my opinion, the best method in this case is
the violent one of conscientious objection, with the aid of organizations for
giving moral and material support to the courageous conscientious objectors
in each country
...
It is an
illegal struggle, but a struggle for people's real rights against their governments
in so far as the latter demand criminal acts of the citizen
...
Such people are not to be relied on in the hour
of crisis, as the World War amply proved
...

Address to the Students' Disarmament Meeting
Preceding generations have presented us, in a highly developed science and
mechanical knowledge, with a most valuable gift which carries with it
possibilities of making our life free and beautiful such as no previous
generation has enjoyed
...

The destiny of civilized humanity depends more than ever on the moral forces
it is capable of generating
...

The foodstuffs and other goods which the world needs can be produced in far
fewer hours of work than formerly
...

We all feel that the free play of economic forces, the unregulated and
unrestrained pursuit of wealth and power by the individual, no longer leads
automatically to a tolerable solution of these problems
...
If
unrestricted sacro egoismo leads to disastrous consequences in economic
life, it is a still worse guide in international relations
...
The
importance of this object is only equalled by the inadequacy of the attempts
hitherto made to attain it
...
But war is not like a parlour-game in which the
players loyally stick to the rules
...
Only the absolute repudiation of all war is of any
use here
...

There must be treaties guaranteeing that the decisions of this court shall be
made effective by all the nations acting in concert
...

Suppose, for example, that the American, English, German, and French
Governments insisted on the Japanese Government's putting an immediate
stop to their warlike operations in China, under pain of a complete economic
boycott
...

That is why I began by telling you that the fate of the human race was more
than ever dependent on its moral strength to-day
...

Where can the strength for such a process come from? Only from those who
have had the chance in their early years to fortify their minds and broaden
their outlook through study
...

To Sigmund Freud
Dear Professor Freud,
It is admirable the way the longing to perceive the truth has
overcome every other desire in you
...
At the same time a deep yearning for that
great consummation, the internal and external liberation of
33

mankind from war, shines out from the ruthless logic of your
expositions
...
Is it not significant that such
men have been universally accepted as leaders, in spite of the
fact that their efforts to mould the course of human affairs were
attended with but small success?
I am convinced that the great men--those whose achievements,
even though in a restricted sphere, set them above their
fellows--are animated to an overwhelming extent by the same
ideals
...
It almost looks as if this domain, on which the fate of
nations depends, had inevitably to be given over to violence and
irresponsibility
...
They cannot be regarded as
representative of the best elements, morally and intellectually, in
their respective nations
...
Don't you think that a change might
be brought about in this respect by a free association of people
whose work and achievements up to date constitute a guarantee
of their ability and purity of aim? This international association,
whose members would need to keep in touch with each other by
a constant interchange of opinions, might, by defining its attitude
in the Press--responsibility always resting with the signatories on
any given occasion--acquire a considerable and salutary moral
influence over the settlement of political questions
...

But should not an effort in this direction be risked in spite of this?
I look upon the attempt as nothing less than an imperative duty
...
It
would give countenance to many whose good intentions are
paralysed to-day by a melancholy resignation
...

I had rather put these proposals to you than to anyone else in the
world, because you are least of all men the dupe of your desires
and because your critical judgment is supported by a most
earnest sense of responsibility
...
This would be better for France than to have
to permit compulsory service in Germany
...

Moreover, it would be much easier for two countries which had agreed to
compulsory arbitration for the settlement of all disputes arising out of their
mutual relations to combine their military establishments of mercenaries into a
single organization with a mixed staff
...
Such a process of amalgamation might
extend to larger and larger combinations, and finally lead to an "international
police," which would be bound gradually to degenerate as international
security increased
...
But I
do think it essential that we should come forward with a positive programme;
a merely negative policy is unlikely to produce any practical results
...
But
should France frame demands in accordance with this, such a step would
35

certainly be taken very ill in Germany
...
Let
the German Government of its own free will propose to the French that they
should jointly make representations to the League of Nations that it should
suggest to all member States to bind themselves to the following:-(1) To submit to every decision of the international court of arbitration
...

Arbitration
Systematic disarmament within a short period
...

Unconditional obligation of all countries not merely to accept the decisions of
the court of arbitration but also to give effect to them
...
A joint court of arbitration for
questions involving issues that cannot be settled within the limits of any one of
these three regions
...
"
The really great scientists have always known this and felt it passionately, even
though in times of political confusion they may have remained isolated among
their colleagues of inferior calibre
...
The international society of the academies
was broken up
...
Political considerations, advanced
with much solemnity, prevent the triumph of purely objective ways of thinking
without which our great aims must necessarily be frustrated
...
The psychological obstacles to the restoration of the
international associations of scientific workers are still too formidable to be
overcome by the minority whose ideas and feelings are of a more
comprehensive kind
...
Success on a large scale will take time, but it will
undoubtedly come
...

The disposition of the individual is everywhere better than the official
pronouncements
...

If I am full of confident hope concerning the progress of international
organization in general, that feeling is based not so much on my confidence in
the intelligence and high-mindedness of my fellows, but rather on the
irresistible pressure of economic developments
...

The Institute for Intellectual Co-operation
During this year the leading politicians of Europe have for the first time drawn
the logical conclusion from the truth that our portion of the globe can only
regain its prosperity if the underground struggle between the traditional
political units ceases
...
This great
end cannot be achieved by treaties alone
...
We must try gradually to awaken in them a sense of solidarity
which does not, as hitherto, stop at frontiers
...
This Commission is to be an absolutely international and
entirely nonpolitical authority, whose business it is to put the intellectuals of all
the nations, who were isolated by the war, into touch with each other
...

37

Hitherto this Commission has met twice a year
...
It is a generous act on the part of the French nation and deserves the
thanks of all
...
But honesty alone can help our work
forward, so I will not shrink from combining criticism with this greeting to the
new-born child
...
Everything must be done to strengthen that confidence and
everything avoided that might harm it
...
This
impression is further strengthened by the fact that so far a Frenchman has also
been chairman of the Commission itself
...

Dixi et salvavi animam naeam
...

A Farewell
A letter to the German Secretary of the League of Nations
Dear Herr Dufour-Feronce,
Your kind letter must not go unanswered, otherwise you may get
a mistaken notion of my attitude
...
It looks to me far
more like an embodiment of the principle ut aliquid fieri
videatur
...

It is precisely because I desire to work with all my might for the
establishment of an international arbitrating and regulative
authority superior to the State, and because I have this object
so very much at heart, that I feel compelled to leave the
Commission
...
It has thereby deliberately
abandoned its function of giving moral support to the national
minorities in their struggle against cultural oppression
...

The Commission has invariably failed to give moral support to
those individuals and associations who have thrown themselves
without reserve into the business of working for an international
order and against the military system
...

I will not worry you with any further arguments, since you will
understand my resolve yell enough from these few hints
...
If I nourished any hope whatever I should act
differently--of that you may be sure
...
Most
objects are gained by gradual steps: for example, the supersession of absolute
monarchy by democracy
...

As long as the possibility of war remains, nations will insist on being as
perfectly prepared militarily as they can, in order to emerge triumphant from
the next war
...
To arm is to
give one's voice and make one's preparations not for peace but for war
...

The accomplishment of such a far-reaching change in the life of nations
presupposes a mighty moral effort, a deliberate departure from deeply
ingrained tradition
...
It is a case of all or nothing
...

Disarmament and security are only to be had in combination
...

We stand, therefore, at the parting of the ways
...
On the one side the freedom of the
individual and the security of society beckon to us, on the other slavery for the
individual and the annihilation of our civilization threaten us
...

The Disarmament Conference of 1932
I
May I begin with an article of political faith? It runs as follows: The State is
made for man, not man for the State
...
These are old sayings, coined by men for whom human personality
40

was the highest human good
...
I regard it as the chief duty of the State to
protect the individual and give him the opportunity to develop into a creative
personality
...
The State
transgresses this commandment when it compels us by force to engage in
military and war service, the more so since the object and the effect of this
slavish service is to kill people belonging to other countries or interfere with
their freedom of development
...
To any
American all this may be a platitude, but not to any European
...

And now for the Disarmament Conference
...
The constant danger to life there is felt as
a serious handicap which makes all healthy development impossible
...
After years of preparation the magistrate determines to
compromise and raises the question, how long and how sharp the dagger is
allowed to be which anyone may carry in his belt when he goes out
...
A definition of the length
and sharpness of the permitted dagger will help only the strongest and most
turbulent and leave the weaker at their mercy
...
It is true that we have a League of Nations and a
Court of Arbitration
...
These institutions
provide no security for any country in case of an attack on it
...

Unless we can agree to limit the sovereignty of the individual State by all
binding ourselves to take joint action against any country which openly or
secretly resists a judgment of the Court of Arbitration, we shall never get out
of a state of universal anarchy and terror
...

Will it need new disasters to induce the countries to undertake to enforce
every decision of the recognized international court? The progress of events
so far scarcely justifies us in hoping for anything better in the near future
...

It will be urged against this notion, not without a certain justification, that it
over-estimates the efficacy of machinery, and neglects the psychological, or
rather the moral, factor
...
They say further, and truly, that the greatest obstacle to
international order is that monstrously exaggerated spirit of nationalism which
also goes by the fair-sounding but misused name of patriotism
...

To estimate this objection at its proper worth, one must realize that a
reciprocal relation exists between external machinery and internal states of
mind
...

The present deplorably high development of nationalism everywhere is, in my
opinion, intimately connected with the institution of compulsory military service
or, to call it by its less offensive name, national armies
...
Along with this religion it has to hold up its instrument, brute
force, to the admiration of the youth in its schools
...
This curse, along
with great social blessings, started with the French Revolution, and before
long dragged all the other nations in its train
...
Is
the severe persecution to which conscientious objectors to military service are
subjected to-day a whit less disgraceful to the community than those to which
the martyrs of religion were exposed in former centuries? Can you, as the
Kellogg Pact does, condemn war and at the same time leave the individual to
the tender mercies of the war machine in each country?
If, in view of the Disarmament Conference, we are not to restrict ourselves to
the technical problems of organization involved but also to tackle the
42

psychological question more directly from educational motives, we must try
on international lines to invent some legal way by which the individual can
refuse to serve in the army
...

This is my position in a nutshell: Mere agreements to limit armaments furnish
no sort of security
...

Compulsory service, as the bulwark of unhealthy nationalism, must be
combated; most important of all, conscientious objectors must be protected
on an international basis
...

II
The benefits that the inventive genius of man has conferred on us in the last
hundred years could make life happy and care-free if organization had been
able to keep pace with technical progress
...
The possession of marvellous means of production has brought
care and hunger instead of freedom
...
More dreadful even
than the destruction, in my opinion, is the humiliating slavery into which war
plunges the individual
...

There is one ray of hope
...
The resistance to this essential
step forward comes from those unfortunate national traditions which are
handed on like a hereditary disease from generation to generation through the
workings of the educational system
...
Without disarmament
43

there can be no lasting peace
...

That is why the Disarmament Conference of 1932 will decide the fate of this
generation and the next
...
Only if the statesmen have behind them the will to peace of a
decisive majority in their own countries can they attain their great end, and for
the formation of this public opinion each one of us is responsible in every
word and deed
...
This seems to be generally realized
...
This seems to me a very
happy device, for two men or groups of men can usually discuss things
together most reasonably, honestly, and dispassionately when there is no third
person present in front of whom they think they must be careful what they say
...

In these great matters success is not a matter of cleverness, still less of
cunning, but of honesty and confidence
...
He must serve the cause by all means in his
power
...

America and the Disarmasnent Conference
The Americans of to-day are filled with the cares arising out of economic
conditions in their own country
...
The sense
of being involved in the destiny of the rest of the world, and in particular of the
mother country of Europe, is even less strong than in normal times
...
Regulative measures by the community are needed to bring
about a sound distribution of labour and consumption-goods among mankind;
44

without them even the people of the richest country suffocate
...
Deliberate regulation and organization are
becoming necessary to make the results of technical progress beneficial to all
...
But they are not logical enough to
make vigorous efforts on behalf of the measures which might prevent war, that
savage and unworthy relic of the age of barbarism
...

Anybody who really wants to abolish war must resolutely declare himself in
favour of his own country's resigning a portion of its sovereignty in favour of
international institutions: he must be ready to make his own country amenable,
in case of a dispute, to the award of an international court
...

No event of the last few years reflects such disgrace on the leading civilized
countries of the world as the failure of all disarmament conferences so far; for
this failure is due not only to the intrigues of ambitious and unscrupulous
politicians, but also to the indifference and slackness of the public in all
countries
...

I believe that the American nation is only imperfectly aware of the
responsibility which rests with it in this matter
...
The good seed of our
Wilson has produced a mighty poor crop in the stony ground of Europe
...
"
Such an attitude is at once base and shortsighted
...
By ruthlessly pressing her claims she is hastening
the economic and therewith the moral collapse of Europe; she has helped to
45

Balkanize Europe, and therefore shares the responsibility for the breakdown
of political morality and the growth of that spirit of revenge which feeds on
despair
...
Look around, and look forward
...
And it is on you, as the strongest and comparatively soundest
among us, that the eyes and hopes of all are focused
...
To all concerned in it I feel impelled to call out in the
name of men of good will with a care for the future: "In this hour of opened
eyes and awakening conscience we feel ourselves united with you by the
deepest ties
...
And those who have an interest
in keeping the machinery of war going are a very powerful body; they will
stop at nothing to make public opinion subservient to their murderous ends
...
But the ceaseless piling-up of armaments shows only too
clearly that they are unequal to coping with the hostile forces which are
preparing for war
...
If they wish to avoid the degrading slavery of war-service, they
must declare with no uncertain voice for complete disarmament
...
A pacifism which does not
actually try to prevent the nations from arming is and must remain impotent
...
Small is the number of them that see with their own eyes and feel with
46

their own hearts
...

O that the nations might see, before it is too late, how much of their
self-determination they have got to sacrifice in order to avoid the struggle of
all against all! The power of conscience and the international spirit has proved
itself inadequate
...
There is a kind of conciliation which is a
crime against humanity, and it passes for political wisdom
...
And it
is a comfort that there still exist individuals like yourself, whom one knows to
be alive and undismayed
...
What you must fight for is liberation from universal
military service
...
Let your efforts in this struggle be unceasing
...
If
France clings to universal military service, it will be impossible in
the long run to prevent its introduction into Germany
...

Only if we succeed in abolishing compulsory service altogether
will it be possible to educate the youth in the spirit of
reconciliation, joy in life, and love towards all living creatures
...
The individual can accomplish
little here, nor can one wish to see the best among us devoted to
destruction through the machinery behind which stand the three
47

great powers of stupidity, fear, and greed
...
The armament industry is, as you say, one of the
greatest dangers that beset mankind
...
…
Possibly something might be gained by nationalization
...
Should the aircraft industry? And how much of the
metal industry and the chemical industry?
As regards the munitions industry and the export of war material,
the League of Nations has busied itself for years with efforts to
get this horrible traffic controlled--with what little success, we all
know
...
"Our commercial interests are too strong,"
was the answer
...
But if I direct my efforts towards
objects which do not suit them, they immediately turn to abuse
and calumny in defence of their interests
...
" You may be sure
that I shall do everything in my power along the lines you
indicate, but nothing can be achieved as directly as you think
...
It would at least be a novelty in this dreary sphere of
infinite confusion, and besides--why should not such heroic feelings on the
part of the fair sex find a more picturesque outlet than in attacks on a
defenceless civilian?
48

Thoughts on the World Economic Crisis
If there is one thing that can give a layman in the sphere of economics the
courage to express an opinion on the nature of the alarming economic
difficulties of the present day, it is the hopeless confusion of opinions among
the experts
...
If in
what follows I write as if I were clear about certain things and sure of the truth
of what I am saying, this is done merely for the sake of an easier mode of
expression; it does not proceed from unwarranted self-confidence or a belief
in the infallibility of my somewhat simple intellectual conception of problems
which are in reality uncommonly complex
...
Only a fraction of the available human labour in the world is
needed for the production of the total amount of consumption-goods
necessary to life
...
For reasons which I do not propose to analyse
here, the majority of people are compelled to work for the minimum wage on
which life can be supported
...
e
...
From this it follows inevitably that, with
methods of production what they are to-day, only a portion of the available
labour can be used
...
This
leads to a fall in sales and profits
...

The crisis has also been attributed to other causes which we will now
consider
...
We have to distinguish between two things here--real
over-production and apparent over-production
...
This m4y perhaps
apply to motor-cars and wheat in the United States at the present moment,
49

although even that is doubtful
...
This condition of things I call apparent
over-production
...
Such apparent over-production is only another
word for a crisis, and therefore cannot serve as an explanation of the latter;
hence people who try to make over-production responsible for the crisis are
merely juggling with words
...
The obligation to pay reparations lies heavy on the debtor
nations and their industries, compels them to go in for dumping, and so harms
the creditor nations too This is beyond dispute
...
The shortage
of gold in the debtor countries due to reparations can at most serve as an
argument for putting an end to these payments; it cannot be dragged in as an
explanation of the world crisis
...
Increase in the unproductive burden of
armaments
...
All these things
add considerably to the troubles of Europe, but do not materially affect
America
...

(4) The dropping-out of the two Powers, China and Russia
...

(5) The economic rise of the lower classes since the War
...

I will not weary the reader by enumerating further contentions which do not
seem to me to get to the heart of the matter
...
Hence there are those who would in all seriousness forbid the
introduction of technical improvements
...
But how can
we find a more rational way out of our dilemma?
If we could somehow manage to prevent the purchasing-power of the
masses, measured in terms of goods, from sinking below a certain minimum,
50

stoppages in the industrial cycle such as we are experiencing to-day would be
rendered impossible
...
That, in essentials, is what is being attempted in
Russia to-day
...
To hazard a prophecy here would be presumption
...

My personal opinion is that those methods are preferable which respect
existing traditions and habits so far as that is in any way compatible with the
end in view
...

There are, however, two respects in which this economic freedom ought to be
limited
...

At the same time minimum wages must be fixed in such a way that the
purchasing power of the workers keeps pace with production
...

In this way it might perhaps be possible to establish a proper balance between
production and consumption without too great a limitation of free enterprise,
and at the same time to stop the intolerable tyranny of the owners of the
means of production (land, machinery) over the wage-earners, in the widest
sense of the term
...
For it
to blossom there is needed, first of all, a certain degree of prosperity, which
enables a fraction of the population to work at things not directly necessary to
the maintenance of life; secondly, a moral tradition of respect for cultural
values and achievements, in virtue of which this class is provided with the
means of living by the other classes, those who provide the immediate
necessities of life
...
The prosperity was, taken as a whole, modest but
sufficient; the tradition of respect for culture vigorous
...
The tradition, in the main, still stands;
the prosperity is gone
...
The surplus necessary to support
the intellectual worker has suddenly ceased to exist
...

The human race, in so far as it sets a value on culture, has an interest in
preventing such impoverishment
...
It will then procure for every nation
conditions of work under which it can exist and under which it can bring forth
fruits of culture
...
Moreover the trouble in Germany seems to me to
be not hypertrophy of the machinery of production but deficient purchasing
power in a large section of the population, which has been cast out of the
productive process through rationalization
...
The natural remedies for our
troubles are, in my opinion, as follows:-(1) A statutory reduction of working hours, graduated for each department of
industry, in order to get rid of unemployment, combined with the fixing of
minimum wages for the purpose of adjusting the purchasing-power of the
masses to the amount of goods available
...

(3) Statutory limitation of prices for such articles as have been practically
withdrawn from free competition by monopolies or the formation of cartels
...
Having myself given so much thought to this subject I
feel that it is right that I should give you my perfectly frank
opinion on them
...
To satisfy the needs of
the world to-day nothing like all the available labour is wanted
...

I know Liberal economists maintain that every economy in
labour is counterbalanced by an increase in demand
...

I also share your conviction that steps absolutely must be taken
53

to make it possible and necessary for the younger people to take
part in the productive process
...

I too am in favour of abolishing large cities, but not of settling
people of a particular type--e
...
, old people--in particular
towns
...
I am also of
opinion that fluctuations in the value of money must be avoided,
by substituting for the gold standard a standard based on certain
classes of goods selected according to the conditions of
consumption--as Keynes, if I am not mistaken, long ago
proposed
...

The weaknesses of your plan lie, so it seems to me, in the sphere
of psychology, or rather, in your neglect of it
...
Egoism and competition are,
alas, stronger forces than public spirit and sense of duty
...
…Perhaps I am over-pessimistic concerning State
and other forms of communal enterprise, but I expect little good
from them
...
I have
seen and experienced too many dreadful warnings, even in
comparatively model Switzerland
...
It must see to it that
competition among the workers is kept within healthy limits, that
all children are given a chance to develop soundly, and that
wages are high enough for the goods produced to be consumed
...

I would like to write to you at greater length, but cannot find the
time
...
The tragedy of
such a fate lies not merely in the unfair treatment to which these minorities are
automatically subjected in social and economic matters, but also in the fact
that under the suggestive influence of the majority most of the victims
themselves succumb to the same prejudice and regard their brethren as
inferior beings
...

The efforts of the American negroes in this direction are deserving of all
commendation and assistance
...
development has
failed, both materially and intellectually, to keep pace with economic
necessity, which has changed its character in a comparatively short time
...
The struggle for this new orientation of political thought and
feeling is a severe one, because it has the tradition of centuries against it
...
It is my firm conviction
that once the psychological impediments are overcome the solution of the real
problems will not be such a terribly difficult matter
...
May our united efforts succeed in building a bridge of mutual trust
between the nations!
The Heirs of the Ages
Previous generations were able to look upon intellectual and cultural progress
as simply the inherited fruits of their forebears' labours, which made life easier
and more beautiful for them
...

We see now that the greatest efforts are needed if this legacy of humanity's is
to prove a blessing and not a curse
...
Only if he reaches those heights can he contribute
towards improving the lot of humanity
...
The agreement between Holland and Belgium, which is the only bright
spot in European affairs during the last few years, encourages one to hope
that the small nations will play a leading part in the attempt to liberate the
world from the degrading yoke of militarism through the renunciation of the
individual country's unlimited right of self-determination
...

Political liberty implies liberty to express one's political views orally and in
writing, toleration, respect for any and every individual opinion
...
Those who
have done most for the cause of international understanding, among them
some of the leading artists, are being persecuted there
...
Nations usually survive these
distempers
...

March, 1933
...
The version published in German
newspapers was for the most part incorrect, important sentences being
56

omitted
...

The Prussian Academy of Sciences heard with indignation from the
newspapers of Albert Einstein's participation in atrocity-mongering in France
and America
...
In the meantime
Einstein has announced his withdrawal from the Academy, giving as his reason
that he cannot continue to serve the Prussian State under its present
Government
...

The Prussian Academy of Sciences is particularly distressed by Einstein's
activities as an agitator in foreign countries, as it and its members have always
felt themselves bound by the closest ties to the Prussian State and, while
abstaining strictly from all political partisanship, have alwa58 stressed and
remained faithful to the national idea
...

Prof
...
Ernst Heymann,
Perpetual Secretary
...
"
I hereby declare that I have never taken any part in
atrocity-mongering, and I must add that I have seen nothing of
any such mongering anywhere
...

The statements I have issued to the Press were concerned with
my intention to resign my position in the Academy and renounce
my Prussian citizenship; I gave as my reason for these steps that
I did not wish to live in a country where the individual does not
57

enjoy equality before the law and freedom to say and teach what
he likes
...

In a written document which I allowed the International League
for combating Anti-Semitism to make use of for the purpose of
enlisting support, and which was not intended for the Press at all,
I also called upon all sensible people, who are still faithful to the
ideals of a civilization in peril, to do their utmost to prevent this
mass-psychosis, which is exhibiting itself in such terrible
symptoms in Germany to-day, from spreading further
...
The German Press has
reproduced a deliberately distorted version of my words, as
indeed was only to be expected with the Press muzzled as it is
to-day
...
In return, I
expect the Academy to communicate this statement of mine to
its members and also to the German public before which I have
been slandered, especially as it has itself had a hand in slandering
me before that public
...
was based not merely on German but principally on
foreign, particularly French and Belgian, newspaper reports
which Herr Einstein has not contradicted; in addition, it had
before it his much-canvassed statement to the League for
combating anti-Semitism, in which he deplores Germany's
relapse into the barbarism of long-passed ages
...
Instead of that Herr Einstein
has made statements, and in foreign countries at that, such as,
58

coming from a man of world-wide reputation, were bound to be
exploited and abused by the enemies not merely of the present
German Government but of the whole German people
...
von Ficker,
E
...

Berlin, April 7, 1933
The Prussian Academy of Sciences
...
Ehrenfest, Witte Rosenstr
...
The Academy took cognizance of your
resignation in its plenary session of March 30, 1933
...
We had confidently expected
that one who had belonged to our Academy for so long would
have ranged himself, irrespective of his own political sympathies,
on the side of the defenders of our nation against the flood of lies
which has been let loose upon it
...
Instead of which your testimony
has served as a handle to the enemies not merely of the present
Government but of the German people
...

Yours faithfully,
(signed) von Ficker
...

I have received your communication of the seventh instant and
deeply deplore the mental attitude displayed in it
...
I have already, in my last letter, characterized this
accusation as slanderous
...
To
this I must reply that such a testimony as you suggest would have
been equivalent to a repudiation of all those notions of justice
and liberty for which I have all my life stood
...
By giving such a testimony in the present
circumstances I should have been contributing, even if only
indirectly, to the barbarization of manners and the destruction of
all existing cultural values
...

Munich, Aril 8, 1933
From the Bavarian Academy of Sciences to Professor Albert Einstein
...
The Bavarian Academy of Sciences, which
some years ago elected you a corresponding member, is also a
German Academy, closely allied to the Prussian and other
German Academies; hence your withdrawal from the Prussian
Acadeiny of Sciences is bound to affect your relations with our
Academy
...

The President of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences
...

I have given it as the reason for my resignation from the Prussian
Academy that in the present circumstances I have no wish either
to be a German citizen or to remain in a position of
quasi-dependence on the Prussian Ministry of Education
...
If I nevertheless desire
my name to be removed from the list of members, it is for a
different reason
...
The learned societies of Germany
have, however--to the best of knowledge--stood by and said
nothing while a not inconsiderable proportion of German savants
and students, and also of professional men of university
education, have been deprived of all chance of getting
employment or earning their livings in Germany
...

A Reply
The following lines are Einstein's answer to an invitation to associate
himself with a French manifesto against Anti-Semitism in Germany
...
As a
result I have come to the conclusion that I cannot take a personal part in this
extremely important affair, for two reasons:-In the first place I am, after all, still a German citizen, and in the second I am a
Jew
...

However deeply I may regret the things that are being done there, however
strongly I am bound to condemn the terrible mistakes that are being made
with the approval of the Government; it is impossible for me to take part
personally in an enterprise set on foot by responsible members of a foreign
Government
...
Even if you fully admitted that the protest was amply warranted by
the facts, you would still, I expect, regard the behaviour of your fellow-citizen
as an act of treachery
...
He would have confined himself to--blushing for his
countrymen
...
For him, an injustice done to the Jews is the same as an injustice
done to himself
...

These are my reasons
...

IV
The Jews
Jewish Ideals
The pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, an almost fanatical love of justice,
and the desire for personal independence--these are the features of the Jewish
tradition which make me thank my stars that I belong to it
...
History has given us a difficult row to hoe; but
so long as we remain devoted servants of truth, justice, and liberty, we shall
continue not merely to survive as the oldest of living peoples, but by creative
work to bring forth fruits which contribute to the ennoblement of the human
race, as heretofore
...
Judaism seems to me to be concerned almost exclusively with the
moral attitude in life and to life
...
To me, the Thora and
the Talmud are merely the most important evidence for the manner in which
the Jewish conception of life held sway in earlier times
...
The life of the individual has meaning only in so far as it
aids in making the life of every living thing nobler and more beautiful
...
The hallowing of the supra-individual life brings in its train a
reverence for everything spiritual--a particularly characteristic feature of the
Jewish tradition
...
It is also an attempt to base the moral law
on fear, a regrettable and discreditable attempt
...
It is clear also that "serving God" was equated with
"serving the living
...

Judaism is thus no transcendental religion; it is concerned with life as we live it
and can up to a point grasp it, and nothing else
...

But the Jewish tradition also contains something else, something which finds
splendid expression in many of the Psalms--namely, a sort of intoxicated joy
63

and amazement at the beauty and grandeur of this world, of which, man can
just form a faint notion
...
To tack this on to the idea of God seems mere childish
absurdity
...

Yet Judaism seems to me one of its purest and most vigorous manifestations
...

It is characteristic that the animals were expressly included in the command to
keep holy the Sabbath day, so strong was the feeling that the ideal demands
the solidarity of all living things
...

How strongly developed this sense of the sanctity of life is in the Jewish
people is admirably illustrated by a little remark which Walter Rathenau once
made to me in conversation: "When a Jew says that he's going hunting to
amuse himself, he lies
...

Jewish Youth
An Answer to a Questionnaire
It is important that the young should be induced to take an interest in Jewish
questions and difficulties, and you deserve gratitude for devoting yourself to
this task in your paper
...

Here, since the days of the Prophets, one of the fairest fields of activity has
lain open to our nation, scattered as it is over the earth and united only by a
common tradition
...
To-day
we can look back on these ten years with joy; for in that time the united
energies of the Jewish people have accomplished a splendid piece of
successful constructive work in Palestine, which certainly exceeds anything
that we dared to hope then
...
Ceaseless work, supported by a noble purpose,
is leading slowly but surely to success
...

But we must never forget what this crisis has taught us--namely, that the
establishment of satisfactory relations between the Jews and the Arabs is not
England's affair but ours
...
A just solution of this problem and one
worthy of both nations is an end no less important and no less worthy of our
efforts than the promotion of the work of construction itself
...

Much remains to be done, but one at least of Herzl's aims has already been
realized: its task in Palestine has given the Jewish people an astonishing degree
of solidarity and the optimism without which no organism can lead a healthy
life
...

II
We are assembled to-day for the purpose of calling to mind our age-old
community, its destiny, and its problems
...
In all ages it
has produced men who embodied the conscience of the Western world,
defenders of human dignity and justice
...
A decade or two ago a group of far-sighted men, among whom
Herzl of immortal memory stood out above the rest, came to the conclusion
that we needed a spiritual centre in crder to preserve our sense of solidarity in
difficult times
...

I have had the privilege of seeing, to my great joy and satisfaction, how much
this achievement has contributed to the recovery of the Jewish people, which
is exposed, as a minority among the nations, not merely to external dangers,
but also to internal ones of a psychological nature
...
But the most
recent reports show that the world, and especially the British Government, is
disposed to recognize the great things which lie behind our struggle for the
Zionist ideal
...

The difficulties we have been through have also brought some good in their
train
...
The crisis has also purified our
attitude to the question of Palestine, purged it of the dross of nationalism
...
That being so, it is for us to solve
the problem of living side by side with our brother the Arab in an open,
generous, and worthy manner
...
If we choose the
right path we shall succeed and give the rest of the world a fine example
...

III
I am delighted to have the opportunity of addressing a few words to the youth
of this country which is faithful to the common aims of Jewry
...
Such things
serve to test the will to live of our community
...
We must not, however, leave it at that but learn by
experience
...
By cultivating
these carefully we shall be able in future to prevent things from becoming so
dangerously strained that people can take advantage of them to provoke acts
of hostility
...

In this way we shall be able to avoid getting ourselves quite so often into the
position, disagreeable for Jews and Arabs alike, of having to call in the
mandatory Power as arbitrator
...

For that community is not, and must never become, a political one; this is the
only permanent source whence it can draw new strength and the only ground
on which its existence can be justified
...
Scattered over the wide world, our nation
possessed nothing in common except its carefully guarded tradition
...

Now all that is changed
...
Eminent members of our
race are already at work with all their might on the realization of this aim
...
We nurse the hope of erecting in
Palestine a home of our own national culture which shall help to awaken the
near East to new economic and spiritual life
...
The community in Palestine must approach the social
ideal of our forefathers as it is laid down in the Bible, and at the same time
become a seat of modern intellectual life, a spiritual centre for the Jews of the
whole world
...

During the last few months I have been to America in order to help to raise
the material basis for this university there
...
Thanks to the untiring energy and splendid self-sacrificing spirit
of the Jewish doctors in America, we have succeeded in collecting enough
money for the creation of a medical faculty, and the preliminary work isbeing
started at once
...
The medical faculty is first of all to
be developed as a research institute and to concentrate on making the country
healthy, a most important item in the work of development
...
As a number of highly
competent scientific workers have already signified their readiness to take up
appointments at the university, the establishment of a medical faculty seems to
be placed beyond all doubt
...
For the latter considerable sums have been collected during
these months in America, thanks to the indefatigable labours of Professor
Weizmann and other Zionist leaders, chiefly through the self-sacrificing spirit
of the middle classes
...
This is not a matter of charity, but
an enterprise which concerns all Jews and the success of which promises to
be a source of the highest satisfaction to all
...
Palestine is not primarily
a place of refuge for the Jews of Eastern Europe, but the embodiment of the
re-awakening corporate spirit of the whole Jewish nation
...
"
Let us just cast our eyes over the history of the Jews in Germany during the
past hundred years
...
They were poor, without political rights, separated from the
Gentiles by a barrier of religious traditions, habits of life, and legal restrictions;
their intellectual development was restricted to their own literature, and they
had remained almost unaffected by the mighty advance of the European
intellect which dates from the Renaissance
...
Our forefathers in those
days were pretty poor specimens intellectually and physically, but socially
speaking they enjoyed an enviable spiritual equilibrium
...
Some few rapidly made a position for
themselves in the higher walks of business and social life
...
They joined in the process with burning enthusiasm,
themselves making contributions of lasting value
...
It seemed as though they were completely losing their
identity in the superior numbers and more highly organized culture of the
nations among whom they lived, so that in a few generations there would be
no trace of them left
...

But events turned out otherwise
...
However much the Jews adapted
themselves, in language, manners, and to a great extent even in the forms of
religion, to the European peoples among whom they lived, the feeling of
strangeness between the Jews and their hosts never disappeared
...
Nationalities want to pursue
their own path, not to blend
...

The first step in that direction is that we Jews should once more become
conscious of our existence as a nationality and regain the self-respect that is
necessary to a healthy existence
...
It
is not enough for us to play a part as individuals in the cultural development of
the human race, we must also tackle tasks which only nations as a whole can
perform
...

It is from this point of view that I would have you look at the Zionist
movement
...
Enthusiasts,
men of brilliant gifts, have cleared the way, and many excellent members of
69

our race are prepared to devote themselves heart and soul to the cause
...
But I could not remain deaf to the appeal of the O
...
T
...
Z
...
societies*; for in responding to it I am responding, as it were, to the
appeal of our sorely oppressed Jewish nation
...
For what surer index of political morality and respect for
justice can there be than the attitude of the nations towards a defenceless
minority, whose peculiarity lies in their preservation of an ancient cultural
tradition?
*Jewish charitable associations
...
But it is this very lowness that confirms me in the
conviction that it is our duty to preserve and consolidate our community
...
In modern times this tradition has produced Spinoza and Karl Marx
...
The O
...
E
...

In Eastern Europe it is working day and night to help our people there, on
whom the economic depression has fallen particularly heavily, to keep body
and soul together; while the O
...
T
...
Because we were then excluded from all directly productive
occupations, we were forced into the purely commercial ones
...
This is the grave
problem which the O
...
T
...

It is to you English fellow-Jews that we now appeal to help us in this great
70

enterprise which splendid men have set on foot
...
Do not gird at fate, but rather look on these events as a
reason for remaining true to the cause of the Jewish commonwealth
...

Remember that difficulties and obstacles are a valuable source of health and
strength to any society
...

But we have a still fairer consolation
...

We are happy and fortunate to have such men from the Gentile world among
us to-night; their presence lends an added solemnity to this memorable
evening
...
G
...

You, Mr
...
You have not merely preached moral sermons to your
fellows; you have actually mocked at things which many of them held sacred
...
From your magic box you
have produced innumerable little figures which, while resembling human
beings, are compact not of flesh and blood, but of brains, wit, and charm
...
You make
these charming little figures dance in a miniature world in front of which the
Graces stand sentinel and permit no bitterness to enter
...
By
thus holding the mirror up to us all you have had a liberating effect on us such
as hardly any other of our contemporaries has done and have relieved life of
something of its earth-bound heaviness
...
I personally am also grateful to you for
the unforgettable words which you have addressed to my mythical namesake
who makes life so difficult for me, although he is really, for all his clumsy,
formidable size, quite a harmless fellow
...
In the service of life sacrifice
becomes grace
...
These workers are a selection, made on a voluntary basis,
from the whole Jewish nation, an élite composed of strong, confident, and
unselfish people
...
By lightening their heavy lot as far as
we can we shall be saving the most valuable sort of human life; for the first
settlers' struggle on ground not yet made habitable is a difficult and dangerous
business involving a heavy personal sacrifice
...
Anyone who helps to improve the
equipment of these men is helping on the good work at a crucial point
...
Administrations come and go; but it is human relations that finally
turn the scale in the lives of nations
...

Jewish Recovery
I gladly accede to your paper's request that I should address an appeal to the
Jews of Hungary on behalf of Keren Hajessod
...

The best in man can flourish only when he loses himself in a community
...
Only too often a
contemptible and joyless egoism has resulted from such circumstances
...
But this very bitterness has done us good
...
Through the operation of a newly awakened sense of solidarity among
the Jews, the scheme of colonizing Palestine launched by a handful of devoted
and judicious leaders in the face of apparently insuperable difficulties, has
already prospered so far that I feel no doubt about its permanent success
...
Palestine
will be a centre of culture for all Jews, a refuge for the most grievously
oppressed, a field of action for the best among us, a unifying ideal, and a
means of attaining inward health for the Jews of the whole world
...
With emancipation the position changed, particularly
for those Jews who turned to the intellectual professions
...

Driven by the suggestive influence of this psychological superiority rather than
by utilitarian considerations, he turns his back on his people and his traditions,
and considers himself as belonging entirely to the others while he tries in vain
to conceal from himself and them the fact that the relation is not reciprocal
...
In most cases it is not pushfulness and lack of character that have
made him what he is, but, as I have said, the suggestive power of an
environment superior in numbers and influence
...
We must be conscious of our alien race and
draw the logical conclusions from it
...
Rather must we
emancipate ourselves socially and supply our social needs, in the main,
73

ourselves
...
And let us live after our own
fashion there and not ape duelling and drinking customs which are foreign to
our nature
...
If we
remember this and act accordingly, the problem of anti-Semitism, in so far as
it is of a social nature, is solved for us
...
Hellpach, Minister of State
Dear Herr Hellpach,
I have read your article on Zionism and the Zurich Congress and
feel, as a strong devotee of the Zionist idea, that I must answer
you, even if it is only shortly
...
When I came to
Germany fifteen years ago I discovered for the first time that I
was a Jew, and I owe this discovery more to Gentiles than Jews
...
The result is a want of solid foundations in the
individual which amounts in its extremer forms to moral
instability
...

I saw worthy Jews basely caricatured, and the sight made my
heart bleed
...

Then I realized that only a common enterprise dear to the hearts
of Jews all over the world could restore this people to health
...

All this you call nationalism, and there is something in the
accusation
...
In any case it is a nationalism whose aim is not
power but dignity and health
...

The objection that we Jews cannot be proper citizens of the
German State, for example, if we want to be a "nation," is based
on a misunderstanding of the nature of the State which springs
from the intolerance of national majorities
...

I have put all this with brutal frankness for the sake of brevity,
but I know from your writings that you are a man who attends to
the sense, not the form
...
It shows me that there is good will
available on your side too for solving the present difficulties in a manner
worthy of both our nations
...

What makes the present position so bad is the fact that Jews and Arabs
confront each other as opponents before the mandatory power
...

I will now tell you how I think that the present difficulties might be remedied;
at the same time I must add that this is only my personal opinion, which I have
discussed with nobody
...
You will, I am sure, be able to get some Jewish
friend of conciliation to translate it
...

Each group to be composed as follows:-A doctor, elected by the Medical Association;
A lawyer, elected by the lawyers;
A working men's representative, elected by the trade unions;
An ecclesiastic, elected by the ecclesiastics
...
They undertake not to espouse
the sectional interests of their profession or nation but conscientiously and to
the best of their power to aim at the welfare of the whole population of the
country
...
When a decision has been
reached on any subject in which not less than three members on each side
concur, it may be published, but only in the name of the whole Council
...
If one of the elective bodies above
specified is dissatisfied with a resolution of the Council, it may repiace its
representative by another
...

Christianity and Judaism
If one purges the Judaism of the Prophets and Christianity as Jesus Christ
taught it of all subsequent additions, especially those of the priests, one is left
with a teaching which is capable of curing all the social ills of humanity
...
If
he makes an honest attempt in this direction without being crushed and
trampled under foot by his contemporaries, he may consider himself and the
community to which he belongs lucky

---