International: Einstein on Politics

Dr. Albert Einstein had his say about the atomic bomb last week. He was heard with respect: his classic E=mc² formula, announced in 1905, was the foundation of atomic research; a letter from him to President Roosevelt in 1939 helped set the atomic thunders rolling. Last week, in an Atlantic Monthly article ghost-written by Raymond Swing, the sage of modern science spoke:

“As long as there are sovereign nations possessing great power, war is inevitable. . . .

“I do not believe that the secret of the bomb should be given to the United Nations Organization [or] the Soviet Union.

“The secret of the bomb should be committed to a World Government, and the United States should immediately announce its readiness [to do so]. . . . This Government should be founded by the United States, the Soviet Union and Great Britain. . . . All three of them should commit to this World Government all of their military strength. . . .

“Since the United States and Great Britain have the secret of the atomic bomb and the Soviet Union does not, they should invite the Soviet Union to prepare and present the first draft of a constitution. … It would be wise if [it] were to be negotiated by a single American, a single Britisher, and a single Russian. . . . The World Government would have power over all military matters. . . .” Scientist Einstein had no hope of a gradual transition toward world government: “The trouble about taking little steps … is that while they are being taken we continue to keep the bomb secret with out making our reason convincing to those who do not have the secret.”

Other scientists, perhaps a little closer to earth than Dr. Einstein, had pretty well demonstrated that the only “secret”‘ was the manufacturing process, and that it could not be kept very long. Having worked so hard to destroy the fallacy, they took a poor view of the master’s repeated reference to “the secret.” On his suggestion that a committee of three settle everything, practical internationalists maintained a polite silence.