"Albert Einstein. The world as I see it (англ.)" - читать интересную книгу автора

The present deplorably high development of nationalism everywhere is,
in my opinion, intimately connected with the institution of compulsory
military service or, to call it by its less offensive name, national armies.
A country which demands military service of its inhabitants is compelled to
cultivate a nationalistic spirit in them, which provides the psychological
foundation of military efficiency. Along with this religion it has to hold
up its instrument, brute force, to the admiration of the youth in its
schools.

The introduction of compulsory service is therefore, to my mind, the
prime cause of the moral collapse of the white race, which seriously
threatens not merely the survival of our civilization but our very
existence. This curse, along with great social blessings, started with the
French Revolution, and before long dragged all the other nations in its
train.

Therefore those who desire to encourage the growth of an international
spirit and to combat chauvinism must take their stand against compulsory
service. Is the severe persecution to which conscientious objectors to
military service are subjected to-day a whit less disgraceful to the
community than those to which the martyrs of religion were exposed in former
centuries? Can you, as the Kellogg Pact does, condemn war and at the same
time leave the individual to the tender mercies of the war machine in each
country?

If, in view of the Disarmament Conference, we are not to restrict
ourselves to the technical problems of organization involved but also to
tackle the psychological question more directly from educational motives, we
must try on international lines to invent some legal way by which the
individual can refuse to serve in the army. Such a regulation would
undoubtedly produce a great moral effect.

This is my position in a nutshell: Mere agreements to limit armaments
furnish no sort of security. Compulsory arbitration must be supported by an
executive force, guaranteed by all the participating countries, which is
ready to proceed against the disturber of the peace with economic and
military sanctions. Compulsory service, as the bulwark of unhealthy
nationalism, must be combated; most important of all, conscientious
objectors must be protected on an international basis.


Finally, I would draw your attention to a book, War again To-morrow, by
Ludwig Bauer, which discusses the issues here involved in an acute and
unprejudiced manner and with great psychological insight.

II


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