Einstein and socialism (another perspective)

[Nie Trink Wasser]

I've read about Einstein's interest in socialism elsewhere and in doing so it helps refine my idea that one can be a genius in certain areas, but seriously lacking in other areas.

I was doing some research on gulags and came acroos another quote by Einstein that doesn't praise the philosophy of the socialist republic. Since most quotes about Einstein and socialism are selective only to portray his fondness of it, I wanted to post this here to possibly stir discussion of another dimension of his thoughts on it.

of course, this thread will be given one star simply because I posted it and there will be much trolling in order to avoid discussion of the topic........but I wanted to at least try anyway.

Some letters about labour camps and their prisoners were smuggled out of the Soviet Union and were published as early as in 1925. Letters from Russian Prisons contains over hundred letters and the testimony of political prisoners from the Soviet Union. The authors of this testimony were members of "persecuted revolutionary parties" - Social Democrats, Social Revolutionaries, and Anarchists. The book also includes the first printed maps of the GULAG, excerpts from Soviet legal documents, and material evidence such as GPU forms, labor camp tags, etc.

Before publishing the book, its compilers sent the manuscript
to a group of "celebrated intellectuals". Their responses, which follow,
were published in it.

Albert Einstein: "They [the Soviet authorities] will lose the last shred of sympathy they now enjoy if they are not able to demonstrate through the great and courageous act of liberation that they do not require this bloody terror in order to put their political ideas in force"

Karl Chapek:"You say that the world’s bourgeoisie is against you; but a greater force than that is opposed to you, the conscience of the world is against you."

http://www.osa.ceu.hu/gulag/e.htm

 

[Nasarius]

And what exactly does Einstein's condemnation of the communist Soviet government's atrocities ("bloody terror") have to do with his opinion on socialism?

1) Communism != socialism
2) In this quote, Einstein offers no opinion on communism or socialism.

 

[Cain]

How many times has this smear been addressed? Most socialists -- in all likelihood the overwhelming majority -- deny any connection between the Soviet Union and their political philosophy. Red Russia also called itself a democracy -- indeed, the people's democracy -- but nobody took them seriously. The communist/socialist label, however, worked to the advantage of the two major propaganda systems. The United States could crack down on the godless subversives questioning authoritarian institutions, and the Soviet Union could exploit the inherent moral appeal of socialism to put in a place a murderous tyrannical regime with few counterparts in history .

Einstein originally published his famous essay "Why Socialism" in the inaugural issue of the left journal Monthly Review.

www.monthlyreview.org/

 

[a_unique_person]

And George Orwell was a supporter of Ronnie Raygun.

 

[Malachi151]

"Communism" in Russia was an implimentation of Bolshevism, nothing more. The majority of Communsits at the time even opposed Bolshevism. Einstein supported Communist and Socialist ideology, he didn't support Stalins anti-Communist practices.

You may as well say that the abolitionists in America were anti-Capitalist because they opposed the use of slave labor that was used to promote the capitlaists system in America.