Albert Einstein’s Thoughts

 

 

Musing About Albert Einstein’s Thoughts

 

 

I have A LOT of books on my bookshelf that need to be read. What’s more, I keep adding to them with trips to used bookstores (my favorite, if I’m honest). On one of my last visits, I picked up Capitalism Vs. Freedom: The Toll Road to Serfdom, by Rob Larson (Book review to come, of course). In it, I found a quote by Albert Einstein, which I promptly looked up and have posted below:

 

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“Private capital tends to become concentrated in few hands, partly because of competition among the capitalists, and partly because technological development and the increasing division of labor encourage the formation of larger units of production at the expense of smaller ones. The result of these developments is an oligarchy of private capital the enormous power of which cannot be effectively checked even by a democratically organized political society. This is true since the members of legislative bodies are selected by political parties, largely financed or otherwise influenced by private capitalists who, for all practical purposes, separate the electorate from the legislature. The consequence is that the representatives of the people do not in fact sufficiently protect the interests of the underprivileged sections of the population. Moreover, under existing conditions, private capitalists inevitably control, directly or indirectly, the main sources of information (press, radio, education). It is thus extremely difficult, and indeed in most cases quite impossible, for the individual citizen to come to objective conclusions and to make intelligent use of his political rights.”

 

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The above quote comes from an article he wrote for Monthly Review, a Socialist magazine (which you can read his article here).

I’m not sure how I didn’t know he advocated for this. For all the talk of Albert Einstein throughout history, his economic and, in my opinion, broader view of humanity in general has been conspicuously left out of the history books. I’m not here to advocate for or challenge his views. Enough time has passed; plenty of people on both sides have already done that. I’m sure I’ll revisit his thoughts in the future, but for now, I  thought it was enough to write a short Musing about it. To make others aware of something that seems to have been buried in history – recent history, at that.

There is, however, one point I’ll make from context: Albert Einstein lived in Europe until 1933, during a period of great economic inequality in large part due to the excesses of the Industrial Revolution – something leaders were able to capitalize on and seize power.

Oh, and he wasn’t the only one, either. Peter Drucker, writing in Managing In The Next Society, offered us this:

 

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I am for the free market. Even though it doesn’t work too well, nothing else works at all. But I have serious reservations about capitalism as a system because it idolizes economics as the be-all and end-all of life. It is one-dimensional.

For example, I have often advised managers that a 20-1 salary ratio is the limit beyond which they cannot go if they don’t want resentment and falling morale to hit their companies. I worried back in the 1930s that the great inequality generated by the Industrial Revolution would result in so much despair that something like fascism would take hold. Unfortunately, I was right.

Today, I believe it is socially and morally unforgivable when managers reap huge benefits for themselves but fire workers. As societies, we will pay a heavy price for the contempt this generates among the middle managers and workers.

In short, whole dimensions of what it means to be a human being and treated as one are not incorporated into the economic calculus of capitalism. For such a myopic system to dominate other aspects of life is not good for any society.”

 

Related: Read Managing In The Next Society – Book Review

 

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The point I am making is that context is king. If you see excesses in abundance, you’re sure to speak out (unless, of course, you are one who is indulging; then you are encouraged to speak out in favor of conditions which allow you to continue). What so many are keen to do – and this is especially true of those who are ardent defenders of the current evolved form of capitalism – is to defend it blindly, never questioning the massive income inequality, social conditions, or the large swath of human beings who are left destitute.

The Stinginess of The Right Produces The Communistic Impulses Of The Left Indeed.

They largely ignore context; instead of giving ear to honest critiques, they shut down debate by labels and smears. What this does, of course, is give rise to a growing number of avid socialists and outright open communists. What’s more, they (people who blindly defend capitalism and ignore all problems and critiques) actually encourage opposing economic views by their inability to see and/or address valid concerns. Concerns like those raised by Peter Drucker. Concerns like those Albert Einstein wrote about, both of whom lived in Europe during a tumultuous time. And they had something many don’t: Context.

 

Lest I be accused – and I suspect I have already been by some – of being something I’m not, I am not a socialist. Or a communist. Or, for that matter, a rabid corporatist (which, I maintain, is what we have today). I am someone who understands intuitively what the human condition is, what it does, and what it will continue to do if left unchecked, including in economics.

 

I found this information about Albert Einstein interesting. Perhaps you will, too.