As yet the powerful men who determine the policies of nations see no alternative to this race towards mutual suicide.
Is there not in the human race sufficient common sense to avert this catastrophe which no one desires? The difficulty is that, although no one desires the result, the measures required for preventing it are so contrary to ingrained mental habits that it is very difficult to persuade men of their necessity.
Source: Bertrand Russell: Human Society in Ethics and Politics, 1954, part II: The Conflict of Passions, chapter 6: Scientific Technique and the Future, n5
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In short, it seems that the spirit of the proverb "If you can't beat them, join them" has spread among politicians all over the world. There is a passage in Russell's Education and Social Order (published in 1932) that fits this situation perfectly, so I have quoted it below.
I found one day in school a boy of medium size ill-treating a smaller boy. I expostulated but he replied: “The bigs hit me, so I hit the babies; that’s fair.” In these words he epitomized the history of the human race.
出典: Education and the Social Order, 1932, p.32 ]
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