READINGS FROM RUSSELL: A FEW OBSERVATIONS by Sujato Datta
I recently happened to come across a handful of pieces of Bertrand Russell which offers ideas about society which are riveting and at the same time rocking the cages of conservative dogma in ideological thought. For the benefit of reference and verification, I talk about four essays in particular, ' The Future of Mankind', ' On Being Modern-minded', 'The Superior Virtue of the Oppressed' and ' An Outline of Intellectual Rubbish'. Russell saw a world, which was more volatile than ever before, disrupted by fighting among the two superpowers of the world and unprecedented advances in thought, technology and unmatched departures in world politics. The greatest depth of Russell's work lies in his revolt against British idealism. It goes without saying, that idealism is not merely a product of fascination, nostalgia or idolatry but is overwhelmingly a form of political ideology. Dogmas have always risen riding the swift waves of idealism. In, 'Th