 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
Desires which are not egocentric are almost as likely as selfish desires to conflict with those of others. Suppose, for example -- to take an instance which is by no means far-fetched -- that one group of mankind wishes all the world to be communist, while another group wishes all the world to be Catholic. If, in such a case, there is to be any method except a trial of strength, it can only be by finding some other desire in which the two groups are at one -- say the desire to avoid war. If there is no such common desire, co-operation is impossible, and neither group can rise from its own good to a conception of the general good that both sides can acknowledge.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, (1954), chapter 5
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