Atomic War or Peace. Offprint from: The Atlantic Monthly, November 1, 1947

EINSTEIN, Albert

Edité par Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists, Princeton, New Jersey, 1947

A propos de cet article

First edition, very rare offprint, of one of the most complete expositions of Einstein's postwar views concerning world government and disarmament. The article was based on Einstein's interview with Raymond Gram Swing, the American Broadcasting Company nightly news commentator who had advocated the need for an effective world government. Einstein's intended audience in this article was the American people, not politicians or generals. His message: "Americans may be convinced of their determination not to launch an aggressive or preventative war. So they may believe it is superfluous to announce publicly that they will not a second time be the first to use the atomic bomb." Einstein thought refusing to publicly outlaw first use of the bomb was a mistake. He advocated the creation of a world government dedicated to supranational security. "It must be a combination that by its composite nature will greatly reduce the chances of war. It will be more diverse in its interests than any single state, thus less likely to resort to aggressive or preventive war. It will be larger, hence stronger than any single nation. It will be geographically much more extensive, and thus more difficult to defeat by military means. It will be dedicated to supranational security, and thus escape the emphasis on national supremacy which is so strong a factor in war . . . Membership in a supranational security system should not, in my opinion, be based on any arbitrary democratic standards. The one requirement from all should be that the representatives to supranational organization assembly and council must be elected by the people in each member country through a secret ballot. These representatives must represent the people rather than any government which would enhance the pacific nature of the organization . . . I should wish to see all the nations forming the supranational state pool all their military forces, keeping for themselves only local police. Then I should like to see these forces commingled and distributed as were the regiments of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire . . . I should like to see the authority of the supranational regime restricted altogether to the field of security. Whether this would be possible I am not sure. Experience may point to the desirability of adding some authority over economic matters, since under modern conditions these are capable of causing national upsets that have in them the seeds of violent conflict. But I should prefer to see the function of the organization altogether limited to the tasks of security. I also should like to see this regime established through the strengthening of the United Nations, so as not to sacrifice continuity in the search for peace." Einstein noted that Russia was against the creation of such a world government, but advised that "If the Russians do not join at the outset, they must be sure of a welcome when they do decide to join", and that even if they do not join "the Russians must be free to have observers at every session of the organization, where its new laws are drafted, discussed, and adopted, and where its policies are decided". "The Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists distributed a reprint of this article separately with a plea for financial support [printed on the last page of this offprint]. Here Einstein spoke in favor of outlawing the atomic bomb and again advocated a world government for the purpose of averting wars (Calaprice, Einstein Almanac 251). OCLC lists 7 copies in US. Not on RBH. 4to (231 x 184 mm), pp. [8] (journal pagination 29-33). Self-wrappers (folded once vertically and horizontally for posting, a few tiny marginal chips and tears).

N° de réf. du vendeur ABE-1721995222646

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Atomic War or Peace. Offprint from: The Atlantic Monthly, November 1, 1947
• Éditeur: Emergency Committee of Atomic Scientists, Princeton, New Jersey
• Date de parution: 1947
• Reliure: No Binding
• Édition: 1st Edition
• État de l'article: Very Good