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About this quote

What does it mean?
Einstein calls himself a militant pacifist willing to fight for peace against war.
In plain terms
He will actively resist war because people must refuse to fight.
What can you take from it?
Peace requires active resistance, not just passive hope.

Where it applies

  • political debate
  • conflict zones
  • ethical choices

Putting it to work

  • advocating peace
  • opposing war
  • mobilizing citizens

Questions to consider

  • Can peace ever be achieved through conflict?
  • When is fighting for peace necessary?

Another view

Militant pacifism can seem contradictory to some.

More from Albert Einstein

  1. It is my view that the vegetarian manner of living by its purely physical effect on the human temperament would most beneficially influence the lot of mankind.

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  2. By the way, there are increasing signs that the Russian trials are not faked, but that there is a plot among those who look upon Stalin as a stupid reactionary…

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  3. To punish me for my contempt of authority, Fate has made me an authority myself.

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