 Bertrand Russell Quotes 366 |
What is serious about excitement is that so many of its forms are destructive. ...
Civilized life has grown altogether too tame, and, if it is to be stable, it must provide harmless outlets for the impulses which our remote ancestors satisfied in hunting. In Australia, where people are few and rabbits are many, I watched a whole populace satisfying the primitive impulse in the primitive manner by the skilful slaughter of many thousands of rabbits. But in London or New York, where people are many and rabbits are few, some other means must be found to gratify primitive impulse.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, 1954, part II: The Conflict of Passions, chapter ２: Politically important desires, n.11
More info.：https://russell-j.com/cool/47T-2_0211.htm
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Today, there are many passive pastimes, but they are not enough as an ‘outlet’ to release the excess of energy. In the past, you could play baseball in the school playground or play in an open field, but nowadays there are almost no such free luxuries in urban areas. It is possible to play such sports and other activities if you pay a high membership fee, but this is not something the general public enjoys on a daily basis. Russell's point is that in order for society to be stable, it needs to ensure that many people have a means of venting their energies.
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