From: David A. Kekich (kekich@twd.net)
Date: Fri Jan 08 1999 - 11:02:17 MST
Dick.Gray@bull.com wrote:
>
> 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
Maybe he came to his conclusions because he never really profited from
his grand discoveries, while lesser mortals got rich selling widgets and
hitting home runs. A purely capitalistic economy would have enriched
him. Then he probably would have been a capitalist. The inequality of
the system might have simply pushed him towards socialism. Maybe he
never gave it as much thought as most assume.
Dave
Dave
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