Bertrand Russell

"In former days, men sold themselves to the Devil to acquire magical powers. Nowadays they acquire those powers from science, and find themselves compelled to become devils. There is no hope for the world unless power can be tamed, and brought into the service, not of this or that group of fanatical tyrants, but of the whole human race, white and yellow and black, fascist and communist and democrat; for science has made it inevitable that all must live or all must die."

7 likes

Source: Power: A New Social Analysis. Book by Bertrand Russell, Ch. 2: Leaders and Followers, 1938.

About the author

Bertrand Russell

Bertrand Russell

Philosopher, Mathematician

Bertrand Russell was a British philosopher, logician, and social critic known for his work in analytical philosophy and advocacy for peace.

All quotes by Bertrand Russell →

Same author

More quotes by Bertrand Russell

See all →
Bertrand Russell Philosopher, Mathematician

"The first step in a fascist movement is the combination under an energetic leader of a number of men who possess more than the average share of leisure, brutality, and stupidity. The next step is to fascinate fools and muzzle the intelligent, by emotional excitement on the one hand and terrorism on the other."

Read quote
Bertrand Russell Philosopher, Mathematician

"Religion is based ... mainly upon fear ... fear of the mysterious, fear of defeat, fear of death. Fear is the parent of cruelty, and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand. My own view on religion is that of Lucretius. I regard it as a disease born of fear and as a source of untold misery to the human race."

Read quote
Bertrand Russell Philosopher, Mathematician

"Love is wise; hatred is foolish. In this world, which is getting more and more closely interconnected, we have to learn to tolerate each other, we have to learn to put up with the fact that some people say things that we don't like. We can only live together in that way. But if we are to live together, and not die together, we must learn a kind of charity and a kind of tolerance, which is absolutely vital to the continuation of human life on this planet."

Read quote