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Einstein On Love
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In 1903, Einstein was in his early twenties when he met and married Mileva Maric (1875-1948). They had two sons in seven years. By 1912, however, Einstein had become disenchanted with married life and began seeing another woman. Two years later, he reached a point of utter exasperation with Mileva and submitted a list of derogatory demands to her. Here is a partial reproduction of his insulting note:
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"You Will Make Sure:
- That my clothes and laundry are kept in good order
- That I will receive my three meals regularly in my room"
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"You Will Obey The Following Points In Your Relations With Me:
- You will not expect any intimacy from me, nor will you reproach me in any way
- You will stop talking to me if I request it" (To read his full list of demands, see link below)
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Personal diplomacy was apparently not Einstein's strong suit in his early years. Wisely, Einstein separated from his wife in 1914, and they were finally divorced on Valentine's Day in 1919. Less than four months later, he married his longtime mistress (and cousin) Elsa Lowenthal (1876-1936).
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After Adolph Hitler (1889-1945) came to power on 30 January 1933, Einstein and his second wife left Berlin for the United States, and the famous physicist never looked back. Sadly, Elsa became severely ill and died in 1936, and Einstein never married again. Did he refuse to consider the idea of marriage out of a sense of timeless love for Elsa? An answer surely exists in his following two remarks on the institution of marriage.
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"All marriages are dangerous. Marriage is the unsuccessful attempt to make something lasting out of an incident."
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"Marriage is but slavery made to appear civilized."
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Einstein was not alone in his thinking. American women's rights activist and birth control campaigner Margaret Sanger (1879-1966), along with Russian-born (now Lithuania) anarchist Emma Goldman (1869-1940), decried marriage and argued for free love as an alternative. After Einstein died in 1955, divorce rates skyrocketed in the United States and elsewhere in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. In the loosening of conservative social mores, people began to reconsider the value of lifelong commitments to companionship. Although Einstein ought to have been a more mature and respectful husband, questioning the normative status of marriage was in line with the post-Victorian era.
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Einstein On Society and Economy
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Einstein had distinct views on the economy. In May 1949, he published an article in Monthly Review entitled "Why Socialism?." Unlike other subscribers to socialism, Einstein was neither dogmatic nor doctrinaire. While calling for more central planning and public control, he cautioned against over-centralization. The market economy could remain intact, but it needed to be tempered by ground rules and common sense regulation.
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Beyond the conventional rationales for socialism (i.e. redistributing wealth), Einstein anchored his philosophy on how an economic system affects people. Consider the following lines from his essay:
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"Unlimited competition leads to a huge waste of labor, and to that crippling of the social consciousness of individuals which I mentioned before. This crippling of individuals I consider the worst evil of capitalism. Our whole educational system suffers from this evil. An exaggerated competitive attitude is inculcated into the student, who is trained to worship acquisitive success as a preparation for his future career." (To read "Why Socialism" in its entirety, please see link below)
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Since Einstein wrote those words, self-absorbed individualism, careerism and cutthroat competition have only increased dramatically around the world. PhDs over poetry and BMWs over common sense and community service are now the order of the day. For the sake of future generations, this must be reversed.
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If he were alive today, Einstein could note that Sweden, which has a mixed economy and offers free health care and free education through university for its citizens, regularly outperformed the US economy from 2001-2011. In 2010, Sweden posted an incredible GDP of 6.1%. By contrast, the US only managed a GDP of 3.9% that year.
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Conclusion
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Rather than an image of a brilliant physicist or an icon of genius, we need "Social Einstein" - the one that questions traditions and makes decisions based on reason rather than ideology. We need to apply Social Einstein on both a personal level and a public level in order to build societies that reflect human nature as it is - not as social elites wish it to be. Only then will the world authentically attain "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
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Key Sources/Recommended Reading
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1. Deborah Arthurs, "Was Einstein The World's Worst Husband?" The Daily Mail (UK) 23 April 2012 See Link: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2133922/Was-Einstein-worlds-worst-husband-Wife-ordered-room-tidy-serve-meals-day--expect-NO-affection--stop-talking-demands-it.html
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2. Albert Einstein, "Why Socialism?" Monthly Review (May 1949) See link: http://www.exponentialimprovement.com/cms/uploads/Einstein%20on%20Why%20Socialism.pdf
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3. "Sweden's Social Democrats Recalled To Life" The Economist (9 June 2012) See link: http://www.economist.com/node/21556606
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(Photo: Albert Einstein in 1920. Click onto photo to enlarge).
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J Roquen