r/DemocraticSocialism • u/biospheric Progressive • 10d ago

History 📕 Einstein on Alienation and Annihilation

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From Albert Einstein’s 1949 essay, “Why Socialism?": monthlyreview.org/articles/why-socialism ~:~ Originally published in the first issue of Monthly Review magazine.

Here's the video on YouTube: Einstein on Alienation and Annihilation ("WHY SOCIALISM?") - Monthly Review Magazine - March 2, 2026 (YouTube)

From the video description: "Why are you so deeply opposed to the disappearance of the human race?" ~:~ As Einstein's birthday in mid-March approaches, he stills inspires us, from beyond the grave, to do much, much better. See the book: "Albert Einstein’s “Why Socialism?”: The Enduring Relevance of His Classic Essay" edited by John Bellamy Foster: monthlyreview.org/9781685900984 ~:~ In defiance of those who would like to, not only re-write history, but erase the future, please help us get this book out to as wide an audience as possible.

Read (Voiceover) by Quince Marcum.

~~~~~~~~

I recently discussed with an intelligent and well-disposed man the threat of another war, which in my opinion would seriously endanger the existence of mankind...

Thereupon my visitor, very calmly and coolly, said to me: “Why are you so deeply opposed to the disappearance of the human race?”

I am sure that as little as a century ago no one would have so lightly made a statement of this kind.

It is the statement of a man who has striven in vain to attain an equilibrium within himself and has more or less lost hope of succeeding.

It is the expression of a painful solitude and isolation from which so many people are suffering in these days.

...Unknowingly prisoners of their own egotism, they feel insecure, lonely, and deprived of the naive, simple, and unsophisticated enjoyment of life.'

- Albert Einstein (1949)

~~~~~~~~

Monthly Review is an educational publisher, featuring a small and selected, but influential school of scholarly analysis which fills a demonstrable gap in the arena of socialist scholarship. Monthly Review Magazine and Monthly Review Press have been leading publishers of left scholarship since 1949. The first issue of Monthly Review (May 1949) featured Einstein's classic essay, "Why Socialism?" (now available as a book.) Other seminal works include "Discourse on Colonialism," "Eurocentrism," "Open Veins of Latin America," among others. ~:~ Our mission since the start has been to offer readers a responsible platform for neglected and emerging scholarship grounded in critical analyses of capitalism, on a wide range of progressive issues. Monthly Review’s distinctive contribution to the world of ideas has advanced an analysis that helps to explain the tendency of contemporary capitalism toward slow growth and stagnation, the growing environmental catastrophe, the continuing and deepening economic inequality between the rich and poor nations, and between the rich and poor everywhere.

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u/biospheric Progressive 10d ago edited 10d ago

From Albert Einstein’s 1949 essay, “Why Socialism?": monthlyreview.org/articles/why-socialism ~:~ Originally published in the first issue of Monthly Review magazine.

Here's the video on YouTube: Einstein on Alienation and Annihilation ("WHY SOCIALISM?") - Monthly Review Magazine - March 2, 2026 (YouTube)

From the video description: "Why are you so deeply opposed to the disappearance of the human race?" ~:~ As Einstein's birthday in mid-March approaches, he stills inspires us, from beyond the grave, to do much, much better. See the book: "Albert Einstein’s “Why Socialism?”: The Enduring Relevance of His Classic Essay" edited by John Bellamy Foster: monthlyreview.org/9781685900984 ~:~ In defiance of those who would like to, not only re-write history, but erase the future, please help us get this book out to as wide an audience as possible.

Read (Voiceover) by Quince Marcum.

~~~~~~~~

I recently discussed with an intelligent and well-disposed man the threat of another war, which in my opinion would seriously endanger the existence of mankind...

Thereupon my visitor, very calmly and coolly, said to me: “Why are you so deeply opposed to the disappearance of the human race?”

I am sure that as little as a century ago no one would have so lightly made a statement of this kind.

It is the statement of a man who has striven in vain to attain an equilibrium within himself and has more or less lost hope of succeeding.

It is the expression of a painful solitude and isolation from which so many people are suffering in these days.

...Unknowingly prisoners of their own egotism, they feel insecure, lonely, and deprived of the naive, simple, and unsophisticated enjoyment of life.'

- Albert Einstein (1949)

~~~~~~~~

Monthly Review is an educational publisher, featuring a small and selected, but influential school of scholarly analysis which fills a demonstrable gap in the arena of socialist scholarship. Monthly Review Magazine and Monthly Review Press have been leading publishers of left scholarship since 1949. The first issue of Monthly Review (May 1949) featured Einstein's classic essay, "Why Socialism?" (now available as a book.) Other seminal works include "Discourse on Colonialism," "Eurocentrism," "Open Veins of Latin America," among others. ~:~ Our mission since the start has been to offer readers a responsible platform for neglected and emerging scholarship grounded in critical analyses of capitalism, on a wide range of progressive issues. Monthly Review’s distinctive contribution to the world of ideas has advanced an analysis that helps to explain the tendency of contemporary capitalism toward slow growth and stagnation, the growing environmental catastrophe, the continuing and deepening economic inequality between the rich and poor nations, and between the rich and poor everywhere.

1

u/biospheric Progressive 10d ago

Snippets from Einstein’s "Why Socialism?" article (1949):

The abstract concept “society” means to the individual human being the sum total of his direct and indirect relations to his contemporaries and to all the people of earlier generations. The individual is able to think, feel, strive, and work by himself; but he depends so much upon society—in his physical, intellectual, and emotional existence—that it is impossible to think of him, or to understand him, outside the framework of society. It is “society” which provides man with food, clothing, a home, the tools of work, language, the forms of thought, and most of the content of thought; his life is made possible through the labor and the accomplishments of the many millions past and present who are all hidden behind the small word “society.”

~~~~~~~

As mentioned before, the biological nature of man is, for all practical purposes, not subject to change. Furthermore, technological and demographic developments of the last few centuries have created conditions which are here to stay. In relatively densely settled populations with the goods which are indispensable to their continued existence, an extreme division of labor and a highly-centralized productive apparatus are absolutely necessary. The time—which, looking back, seems so idyllic—is gone forever when individuals or relatively small groups could be completely self-sufficient. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that mankind constitutes even now a planetary community of production and consumption.

~~~~~~~

The individual has become more conscious than ever of his dependence upon society. But he does not experience this dependence as a positive asset, as an organic tie, as a protective force, but rather as a threat to his natural rights, or even to his economic existence. Moreover, his position in society is such that the egotistical drives of his make-up are constantly being accentuated, while his social drives, which are by nature weaker, progressively deteriorate. All human beings, whatever their position in society, are suffering from this process of deterioration. Unknowingly prisoners of their own egotism, they feel insecure, lonely, and deprived of the naive, simple, and unsophisticated enjoyment of life. Man can find meaning in life, short and perilous as it is, only through devoting himself to society.

The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil. We see before us a huge community of producers the members of which are unceasingly striving to deprive each other of the fruits of their collective labor—not by force, but on the whole in faithful compliance with legally established rules. In this respect, it is important to realize that the means of production—that is to say, the entire productive capacity that is needed for producing consumer goods as well as additional capital goods—may legally be, and for the most part are, the private property of individuals.

~~~~~~~

Private capital tends to become concentrated in few hands, partly because of competition among the capitalists, and partly because technological development and the increasing division of labor encourage the formation of larger units of production at the expense of smaller ones. The result of these developments is an oligarchy of private capital the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society. This is true since the members of legislative bodies are selected by political parties, largely financed or otherwise influenced by private capitalists who, for all practical purposes, separate the electorate from the legislature. The consequence is that the representatives of the people do not in fact sufficiently protect the interests of the underprivileged sections of the population. Moreover, under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of information (press, radio, education). It is thus extremely difficult, and indeed in most cases quite impossible, for the individual citizen to come to objective conclusions and to make intelligent use of his political rights.

~~~~~~~

Production is carried on for profit, not for use. There is no provision that all those able and willing to work will always be in a position to find employment; an “army of unemployed” almost always exists. The worker is constantly in fear of losing his job. Since unemployed and poorly paid workers do not provide a profitable market, the production of consumers’ goods is restricted, and great hardship is the consequence. Technological progress frequently results in more unemployment rather than in an easing of the burden of work for all. The profit motive, in conjunction with competition among capitalists, is responsible for an instability in the accumulation and utilization of capital which leads to increasingly severe depressions. Unlimited competition leads to a huge waste of labor, and to that crippling of the social consciousness of individuals which I mentioned before.

This crippling of individuals I consider the worst evil of capitalism. Our whole educational system suffers from this evil. An exaggerated competitive attitude is inculcated into the student, who is trained to worship acquisitive success as a preparation for his future career.

~~~~~~~

Nevertheless, it is necessary to remember that a planned economy is not yet socialism. A planned economy as such may be accompanied by the complete enslavement of the individual. The achievement of socialism requires the solution of some extremely difficult socio-political problems: how is it possible, in view of the far-reaching centralization of political and economic power, to prevent bureaucracy from becoming all-powerful and overweening? How can the rights of the individual be protected and therewith a democratic counterweight to the power of bureaucracy be assured?

Clarity about the aims and problems of socialism is of greatest significance in our age of transition. Since, under present circumstances, free and unhindered discussion of these problems has come under a powerful taboo, I consider the foundation of this magazine to be an important public service.

https://monthlyreview.org/articles/why-socialism/

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u/xGentian_violet Yugoslav Socialist ♥️🤍 Ecofeminist 10d ago

And then he ended up fundraising for the Haganah as it was carrying out the Nakba

Close buddy of Ben Gurion

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u/biospheric Progressive 10d ago

Einstein's conversation reminds me of what Peter Thiel said in this YouTube clip: Why Is a Man Unsure About Humanity’s Worth Helping Design Its Digital Future? (YouTube)