Political Ideals

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Political Ideals was written during the upheaval of World War I. It is, in many ways, a statement of Russell's beliefs, a declaration of the ideas that influenced his thinking on the major events of the 20th century. In this sense, it is essential reading for every student of this great philosopher. Russell criticizes both capitalism and socialism based on his strong conviction that everything of value comes ultimately from the individual. The only true aim of politics, he says, is to give free play, as far as possible, to every person's natural creativity. This means that political systems should be designed to curb the deadening forces of acquisition, power, and convention, all of which tend to stifle individual creative impulses. Russell suggests that in an ideal system there would be autonomy within each politically important group and the principle of employee-ownership and self-governance within businesses would be the norm. Government would serve only as a neutral authority to decide questions between the various self-governing groups.