this post was submitted on 24 Jan 2025
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[–] danc4498@lemmy.world 85 points 3 months ago (2 children)

I remember a republican coworker arguing that Interstellar’s concept of time dilation was super unrealistic and that can’t possibly be how things are. All this to say, I’m sure Einstein is about to be cancelled and relativity denied as hard as climate change.

[–] thefartographer@lemm.ee 25 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I look forward to the collapse of civilization when all of the satellites stop communicating with our computers because our satellites are sending messages from the future.

Also, ruining GPS for everyone would be a really effective scapegoat for Tesla's full self-driving failures.

[–] danc4498@lemmy.world 8 points 3 months ago

All but those Starlink satellites….

[–] Squash@lemm.ee 14 points 3 months ago

A customer told me they don't believe in space last night 😞

[–] bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 62 points 3 months ago

He wasn't a SeRiOuS intellectual though.

Need a sever lack if humor for that sweet sweet capitalistic greed.

[–] HiddenLayer555@lemmy.ml 47 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Also, Einstein was offered a position as leader of the State of Israel. He basically said "fuck off and fuck Zionism."

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[–] iAvicenna@lemmy.world 31 points 3 months ago (8 children)

socialism might be nice but just getting rid of billionaires is a great start.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 25 points 3 months ago (5 children)

Can't do that without taking supremacy of Capital. There is no path to keep billionaires from existing within Capitalism.

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[–] passiveaggressivesonar@lemmy.world 21 points 3 months ago

Most intellectuals are socialist

[–] undergroundoverground@lemmy.world 19 points 3 months ago

Youd be hard pushed to find many who weren't

[–] rational_lib@lemmy.world 18 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I don't think they say "No intellectual would be a socialist", instead they say intellectuals are bad and evil. It's a classic pattern among dictator cults of personality.

[–] rocket_dragon@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Dictators love the poorly educated.

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[–] 51dz31@hexbear.net 17 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

I think this short essay was the first thing that appeared in monthly review

[–] Dop@lemmy.world 9 points 3 months ago (1 children)

I can recommend this piece from Hobo Johnson ("why socialism by Albert Einstein")

https://open.spotify.com/track/4LJ04AiwnuXqzufGnejnkx?si=ZtN5yWqDTE-5twhw9n2DmA

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[–] Hossenfeffer@feddit.uk 7 points 3 months ago (1 children)

And the name of that Albert Einstein...?

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[–] NuraShiny@hexbear.net 7 points 3 months ago (3 children)

Hey history buffs: why did Einstein flee to the US when he believed this? Why not flee to the USSR?

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 46 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (2 children)

My overall opinion on that matter is that, ultimately, Einstein grasped the logical necessity of Socialism as outlined in Why Socialism? but contained many chauvanistic attitudes common to Western Socialism. He changed his tune from being firmly anti-Soviet in the 20s to overall greatly complimenting Lenin:

“I honor Lenin as a man who completely sacrificed himself and devoted all his energy to the realization of social justice. I do not consider his methods practical, but one thing is certain: men of his type are the guardians and restorers of the conscience of humanity.”

The chauvanistic attitudes, however, are often swept under the rug. With respect to Chinese people, he commented in his diary:

"Chinese don't sit on benches while eating but squat like Europeans do when they relieve themselves out in the leafy woods. All this occurs quietly and demurely. Even the children are spiritless and look obtuse... It would be a pity if these Chinese supplant all other races. For the likes of us the mere thought is unspeakably dreary."

Overall, I believe he harbored extremely reactionary views, such as support of Zionism (which, while eventually fading, persisted), the shown racism towards Chinese people, and more. While the logical necessity of Socialism is elucidated quite clearly in Why Socialism? it appears he harbored western-supremacist views.

This stands in stark contrast to contemporary intellectuals like Frantz Fanon, who lived in Algeria and the USSR. I don't think Einstein should be lionized, however I do think his essay Why Socialism? serves as a good starting point for those who think Socialism to be utter nonsense, and serve as a springboard for actual, genuine works of theory.

[–] ShinkanTrain@lemmy.ml 24 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago) (1 children)

Einstein also wrote some colorful things about Latin America

"I have no desire to meet semi-acculturated Indians wearing tuxedos."

It's a good reminder of how ingrained colonialism is in society, and how no one is immune of its influences in our worldview.

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 18 points 3 months ago
[–] NuraShiny@hexbear.net 16 points 3 months ago (1 children)

Thank you for the information! <3

[–] Cowbee@lemmy.ml 25 points 3 months ago

No problem! That's just my interpretation, he waffled back and forth on the Soviets his whole life but maintained a "non-anti-soviet" position after coming to Socialism from his former Liberalism, which shaped the earlier aspects of his life. I don't think he ever seriously committed to confronting that liberalism, but merely became convinced of the benefits of Socialism.

[–] thefartographer@lemm.ee 8 points 3 months ago* (last edited 3 months ago)

In his early 20s, the region that would become the USSR had performed a number of pogroms and mass murderers in the name of blood-libel. Post WWI, Bolshevik started to become a bit of a dog-whistle for Jews, which got amplified through WWII, and then fed back into anti-Bolshevik/antisemitic beliefs.

As a proud, yet incredibly hypocritical Jew, I'm sure Einstein had seen enough antisemitism coming from that region that it likely played some sort of a role in his decision.

Also, this is an assumption.

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