Chapter 8, Bertrand Russell: A case of Logical Fiddlesticks Summary and Analysis

Bertrand Russell believed in the power of the intellect. He offered advice on just about every subject and wrote sixty-eight books and numerous articles during his lifetime. He was an abstract philosopher and several times faced trial for his views.

In spite of his brilliant writing, he could not operate anything mechanical. He viewed war as being irrational and tried to negotiate peace in 1914. He also felt that the United States should use its power to bring about disarmament and always rejected Marxism and found that Russia would expand to Western Europe. From this respect, he favored a preemptive war against Russia. In the mid-1950s he came out against nuclear weapons.

Russell opposed the Viet Name war and engaged in propaganda against the United States resulting...