 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
I thought it would only be necessary to make the danger (of nuclear weapon) known and that, when this had been done, men of all parties would unite to restore previous safety. I found that this was a mistake. There is a motive which is stronger than self-preservation : it is the desire to get the better of the other fellow.
Source： The Autobiography of Bertrand Russell, v.3, chap. 4:The Foundation, 1969
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Of course, Russell himself believes that the desire for self-preservation is stronger in any given person than any other desire. What Russell is saying is that people's perception of the dangers of nuclear weapons is naive, and as a result ‘the desire for superiority over other human beings prevails over the instinct of self-preservation’.
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