The Russell-Einstein Manifesto: Seventy years on

Posted: 29th June 2025

£8.99 | ISBN 9780851249506 | 90 pages | A5 BUY HERE

Published by Spokesman for the Atlantic Peace Foundation

“We are speaking on this occasion, not as members of this or that nation, continent, or creed, but as human beings, members of the species Man, whose continued existence is in doubt …

… consider yourselves only as members of a biological species which has had a remarkable history, and whose disappearance none of us can desire …

We have to learn to think in a new way. We have to learn to ask ourselves, not what steps can be taken to give military victory to whatever group we prefer, for there no longer are such steps; the question we have to ask ourselves is: what steps can be taken to prevent a military contest of which the issue must be disastrous to all parties?”

The Russell-Einstein Manifesto

Launched in 1955, the Russell­-Einstein Manifesto, and the Pugwash movement that it spawned, continues to resonate in our times when humanity and science are under threat. Tony Simpson and Tom Unterrainer compiled this short anthology to mark the Manifesto’s 70th anniversary.

From the book:

Introduction

Bertrand Russell was in mid-air when he heard that Albert Einstein had died. Russell was flying from Rome to Paris. The pilot announced Einstein’s passing. For Russell, Einstein was a long-time inspiration, colleague and collaborator, as these assembled papers make clear. In the months before his death on 18 April 1955, Einstein had been working with Russell on an appeal from eminent scientists to fellow scientists and the general public that,

‘In view of the fact that in any future world war nuclear weapons will certainly be employed, and that such weapons threaten the continued existence of mankind, we urge the governments of the world to realise, and to acknowledge publicly, that their purpose cannot be furthered by a world war, and we urge them, consequently, to find peaceful means for the settlement of all matters of dispute between them.’

Russell was aghast at the sudden loss of Einstein. Although Einstein had told Russell of his failing health, he had remained in active correspondence. Without Einstein, Russell had lost his principal scientist in the collaborative work in which they were engaged. Although a lifelong advocate of the scientific outlook, Russell was a philosopher, mathematician and logician. He did not possess the scientist’s experience of observation, experimentation, and testing of theories against the evidence. As such, he would not have the same attraction for the international community of scientists as Einstein. Had all their work been for nothing?

On arrival at his hotel in Paris, Russell found awaiting him a short letter from Einstein saying ‘I am gladly willing to sign your excellent statement.’ This was all Russell needed. He could proceed with preparing to launch what has become known as the Russell-Einstein Manifesto. Einstein wrote, ‘I also agree with your choice of the prospective signers’.

Most but not all these papers have appeared in print before. In bringing them together to mark the 70th anniversary of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto, we hope to increase the growing awareness and public discussion of the continuing threat to human existence and civilization posed by nuclear weapons, as well as to counter somewhat the attack on science more generally that is taking place in some parts of the world. Our increasing awareness of the pervasive effects of ‘nuclear winter’, and the broadening impact of Artificial Intelligence, necessitate more collaborative work at the international level.

It is fitting to mark the 70th anniversary of the Russell-Einstein Manifesto that, in Britain, The Royal Society and Pugwash have organised an international meeting to reflect on the Manifesto’s enduring appeal to governments ‘to find peaceful means for the settlement of all matters of dispute between them’ and on reducing the threat to ‘the continued existence of mankind’ which the Manifesto ascribes to nuclear weapons.

Tony Simpson, Tom Unterrainer