"Instinctively we divide mankind into friends and foes - friends, towards whom we have the morality of co-operation; foes, towards whom we have that of competition. But this division is constantly changing; at one moment a man hates his business competitor, at another, when both are threatened by Socialism or by an external enemy, he suddenly begins to view him as a brother. Always when we pass beyond the limits of the family it is the external enemy which supplies the cohesive force. In times of safety we can afford to hate our neighbour, but in times of danger we must love him."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
Authority and the Individual (1949)
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Bertrand_Russell
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Bertrand Russell
1872
britischer Mathematiker, Philosoph und Schriftsteller
562 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Bertrand Russell β
Related Quotes
"Love and knowledge, so far as they were possible, led upward toward the heavens. But always pity brought me back to eβ¦"
"The next stage in the development of a desirable form of sensitiveness is sympathy. There is a purely physical sympatβ¦"
"He was not an ascetic, but he despised luxury and the pursuit of artificial pleasures of the senses."
"The supposed wisdom of proverbs is mainly imaginary. As a rule, proverbs go in pairs which say opposite things. The oβ¦"
"The beliefs appropriate to the impulse of aggression may be seen in Bernhardi, or in the early Mohammedan conquerors,β¦"
"A book is a friend."
"I do not think it possible to get anywhere if we start from scepticism. We must start from a broad acceptance of whatβ¦"
"As we all know, Mr. Russell produces a different system of philosophy every few years..."
"Wherever one finds oneself inclined to bitterness, it is a sign of emotional failure: a larger heart, and a greater sβ¦"
"Some modern philosophers have gone so far as to say that words should never be confronted with facts but should live β¦"