Albert Einstein wanted world government.

[Eclipse Now]

“In my opinion the only salvation for civilization and the human race lies in the creation of a world government, with security of nations founded upon law. As long as sovereign states continue to have separate armaments and armament secrets, new world wars will be inevitable.”

 

Albert Einstein

 

 

I've included this link to my current summary thoughts on a World Government, and I'm wondering what others think about world government?

 

(If you have time could you please read through my summary arguments on my 'rough draft' page, and comment in this thread please. I'd hate moderators to think I was trying to draw traffic away from the forum and onto my blog... just chat here.)

Reform Global Government « Eclipse Now

[BrianG]

When did Al say that? Was it before he supported the formation of the state of Israel? Why doesn't google show that quote?

[Eclipse Now]

Daily Kos says:

 

These words of Albert Einstein were in response to a reporter's question less than a month after the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by atomic bombs. Today, as we have entered the age of nuclear weapons proliferation with nations like North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan who have achieved nuclear weapons technology or are very close to achieving it, how prescient are those words? Albert Einstein spent the remainder of his life opposing the arms race and supporting the formation of an international authority to control nuclear weapons technology.

 

 

The World Citizens Association (of Australia) says he also wrote the following:

 

In my opinion the only salvation for civilization and the human race lies in the creation of a world government, with security of nations founded upon law. As long as sovereign states continue to have separate armaments and armament secrets, new world wars will be inevitable

 

There is no salvation for civilization, or even the human race, other than the creation of a world government.

 

Mankind's desire for peace can be realized only by the creation of a world government. With all my heart I believe that the world's present system of sovereign nations can only lead to barbarism, war, and inhumanity.

 

The wiki on Einstein's politics says (of American suspicion of Einstein...)

 

 

To make things worse, during the first days of McCarthyism Einstein was writing about a single world government; it was at this time that he wrote, "I do not know how the third World War will be fought, but I can tell you what they will use in the Fourth — rocks!"[26]

 

Political views of Albert Einstein - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[BrianG]

What reporter? Which new outlet? Can we pin down the date? If it was in August or September 1945 then it was before he supported the formation of the state of Israel, did he ever retract it?

 

I meant, google just returns your organization for the quote, I can't find a TRUSTED source. He said it before the formation of the state of Pakistan and North Korea, too, according to Daily Kos, another "problematic" source IMHO.

[Donk]

What reporter? Which new outlet? Can we pin down the date? If it was in August or September 1945 then it was before he supported the formation of the state of Israel, did he ever retract it?

 

I meant, google just returns your organization for the quote, I can't find a TRUSTED source.

How about Stanford U?

To secure peace, Einstein asserted, “A world government must be created which is able to solve conflicts between nations by judicial decision. This government must be based on a clear-cut constitution which is approved by the governments and nations and which gives it the sole disposition of offensive weapons” (1956, 138). Organizations such as the United World Federalists (UWF), established in 1947, called for the transformation of the United Nations into a universal federation of states with powers to control armaments. World peace required that states should give up their traditional unrestricted sovereign rights to amass weapons and wage war, and that they should submit their disputes to authoritative international institutions of adjudication and enforcement; world peace would only be achieved through the establishment of world law (Clark and Sohn 1962).

Or the National Archives? (recording of the man himself)

Description: Statement recorded by Dr. Albert Einstein at Princeton University for broadcast during the Student World Government rally at Northwestern University, Chicago. Einstein calls for world government following the necessary American rapprochement with Russia.

Or just google "einstein world government" for another 60,000-odd

[BrianG]

Just looking for the source of the quote: "“In my opinion the only salvation for civilization and the human race lies in the creation of a world government, with security of nations founded upon law. As long as sovereign states continue to have separate armaments and armament secrets, new world wars will be inevitable.” Are you sure he just didn't endorse the statement from the United World Federalists (UWF)?

 

Stanford's site has a different quote, but I thank you because I trust .edu more than daily Kos.

[Eclipse Now]

The Hindu : Education Plus Madurai : Einstein and a century of Physics

 

World government - Wikiquote

 

Einstein and Oppenheimer: The Meaning of Genius

 

More than a month after the dropping of the bomb, Einstein announced that “the only salvation for civilization and the human race lies in the creation of world government.” His final years would be animated by this political quest above all others; in fact, “his passion for advocating a unified governing structure for the globe would rival that for finding a unified field theory that could govern all the forces of nature.” Such activity, and his later opposition to McCarthyism, brought him under the continued and incompetent scrutiny of the FBI, but Einstein was largely oblivious and completely unconcerned. Unlike the Nazi threat, which caused Einstein to abandon his pacifism to resist a menace greater than militarism, the threat of nuclear annihilation confirmed Einstein's commitment to world federalism. In the face of this existential menace, all other dangers—even communist authoritarianism, which he despised—paled in comparison. Einstein famously summarized the danger: “I do not know how the Third World War will be fought, but I can tell you what they will use in the Fourth—rocks”.

 

Einstein's commitment to broader humanist principles was equaled by his commitment to the American principles of free speech and individual liberty. It was for this reason—and not because of any sympathy with the Soviets—that he opposed McCarthy and urged others to “passive resistance”. When he received a card describing “the American Creed”, which proclaimed that “It is my duty to my country to love it; to support its Constitution; to obey its laws”, Einstein poignantly “wrote on the edge, 'This is precisely what I have done'”. It is both a testament and a rebuke to the American spirit that this immigrant scientist, this recent citizen, understood the principles and freedoms on which our nation makes its foundation better than many whose sworn duty was to protect and uphold them.

 

The Man Who Made Our World — The American, A Magazine of Ideas

[pamela]

I do not find it amusing to have to edit posts on a science forum where the rules have been clearly stated and members have chosen to disregard them. Take the time to read and apply accordingly hence forward.

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[Eclipse Now]

Pamela,

I agree with the moderation for tone, as a bit too much acid has broken out between BrianG and myself.

 

However, I've tried in good faith to source this quote... I thought it was so well known that I didn't need to!

 

The irony is that in another thread right now BrianG is constantly stating opinions without backing them up at all and it is driving me nuts.

 

Yet I'm stomped on for this one quote, which is everywhere, as if I'm somehow not abiding forum rules?

 

Am I being held to a higher state of verification of sources than BrianG, especially when dozens of other quotes support the overall contention that Einstein liked the idea of a world Federation?

[pamela]

Pamela,

I agree with the moderation for tone, as a bit too much acid has broken out between BrianG and myself.

We must simply have discourse without inciting a feud needlessly.

However, I've tried in good faith to source this quote... I thought it was so well known that I didn't need to!

My post was directed at ALL involved and was not intended as a direct result of your source, otherwise, I would have quoted you.

The irony is that in another thread right now BrianG is constantly stating opinions without backing them up at all and it is driving me nuts.

the irony is that you have failed to read the above and are now crossposting which is in violation

Yet I'm stomped on for this one quote, which is everywhere, as if I'm somehow not abiding forum rules?

again, My post was directed at all members to abide by our rules and did not single out a particular member.

Am I being held to a higher state of verification of sources than BrianG, especially when dozens of other quotes support the overall contention that Einstein liked the idea of a world Federation?

All members are treated equally here and that includes receiving infractions and warnings for not complying with the rules. All members will provide verifible and legitimate sources as a back up to their claim

[TheBigDog]

Just looking for the source of the quote: "“In my opinion the only salvation for civilization and the human race lies in the creation of a world government, with security of nations founded upon law. As long as sovereign states continue to have separate armaments and armament secrets, new world wars will be inevitable.” Are you sure he just didn't endorse the statement from the United World Federalists (UWF)?

 

Stanford's site has a different quote, but I thank you because I trust .edu more than daily Kos.

 

GUARD #2: It could be carried by an African swallow!

GUARD #1: Oh, yeah, an African swallow maybe, but not a European swallow, that's my point.

GUARD #2: Oh, yeah, I agree with that...

GUARD #1: But then of course African swallows are not migratory.

GUARD #2: Oh, yeah...

GUARD #1: So they couldn't bring a coconut back anyway...

GUARD #2: Wait a minute -- supposing two swallows carried it together?

GUARD #1: No, they'd have to have it on a line.

GUARD #2: Well, simple! They'd just use a standard creeper!

GUARD #1: What, held under the dorsal guiding feathers?

GUARD #2: Well, why not?

So what if the source of a quote that is supported by similar statements does not have pristine documentation? It is a man's opinion; it is not intended to be scientifically factual. It is a referencing statement to introduce discussion of world government. It does not need any more backup than has been presented.

 

Bill

[BrianG]

So what if the source of a quote that is supported by similar statements does not have pristine documentation? It is a man's opinion; it is not intended to be scientifically factual. It is a referencing statement to introduce discussion of world government. It does not need any more backup than has been presented.

 

Bill

 

Sorry, Albert Einstein is one of my heroes, so I want to learn everything I can about what he said and did. If he spoke "These words of Albert Einstein were in response to a reporter's question less than a month after the destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by atomic bombs." then I'd like to know which reporter, which news outlet, where this occurred and pin the date down. If he didn't speak those words, attributing the quote to Einstein is a falsehood. A quote is either correct or not, I can't make up something that you might have said based on your beliefs, and attribute it as your quote.

 

I understand the quote is not central to the argument for world government, but false quotes are bad reporting.

[sanctus]

Eclipse, I also think a world government (with a world army, instead of national armies) is a solution (or a big step forward) to have a peace in the world. But the problem is how to define the laws of the world government?

Imagine to start with a world army (which would be sooo much cheaper), how could be decided if to go into a region of trouble? Every former state a vote? Accept decisions if more than 50%? Or 75%?

There are many problems like that, but I tend to think if done well, it would solve many problems.

[BrianG]

I would only support a world government that protects individual rights. If a world government could ensure my freedoms, and even help protect me from my own government's abuse, I would support it. So far, the UN has done a tragic job protecting Sudanese, Congolese, North Korean and so many others oppressed and murdered by tyrants. The EU government doesn't seem to interested protecting individual rights. We'll have to find something better.

[sanctus]

Brian, that is part of the problems I alluded to. A world government organize like the UN would not work, since a reason that the UN often can't act is due to the Veto-right...

[modest]

Indeed, it's difficult to imagine a wold government whose states would be as heterogeneous as they currently are. Civil war in a world government may be just as likely, or even more likely, as world war with autonomous governments.

 

~modest

[BrianG]

We need a strong constitution, an explicit list of individual rights. One of the arguments against the US bill of rights is, whatever isn't permitted in the Constitution is prohibited by government. The first congress didn't buy that, and we shouldn't either. We need an explicit list of our freedoms.

 

I propose, the right to assembly.

The right to free speech

The right to protect our freedoms.

The right to association and contract.

 

(Help me out here...)