Einstein on socialism [was: Re: Dyson (Was: Paths to Uploading)

Dick.Gray@bull.com
Fri, 8 Jan 1999 10:56:49 -0700

On Thu, 7 Jan 1999 13:30:28 -0800, Hal Finney <hal@rain.org> wrote:

>"I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these grave evils,
>namely through the establishment of a socialist economy, accompanied by
>an educational system which would be oriented toward social goals."
>Albert Einstein, "Why Socialism?". Widely available on the net; try
>http://www.scruz.net/~kangaroo/Einstein.htm.

Being an admirer of the late Prof. Einstein, I paid this link a visit, hoping to find a thoughtful, or at least fresh, perspective by an incomparable intellect. Alas, I was gravely disappointed. He does little more than repeat the standard litany of groundless assertions that had already been discredited when he wrote the piece. The flaws are so transparent, it's obvious to me that he never gave any real thought to the subject.

All this article proves is that Einstein was no economist, had learned little from political history, and was uninterested in critically examining the assumptions he acquired from his upbringing and academic background. I expected better from such an otherwise brilliant thinker.

As has been pointed out, whatever his stated ethical standards may have been, he in fact favored institutionalized thuggery.

Dick