Why Men Fight (Unabridged‪)‬

Why Men Fight

By Bertrand Russell

Narrated by Denis Daly

This pacifist manifesto was published in 1917, as the First World War was dragging to a close. The resolution of this catastrophic conflict resulted in a reconstruction of Europe, the fallout from which led to an even more cataclysmic war. Russell delineates the problem as being due to the institutionalizing of national hostilities and the consequent apportioning of blame among the warring parties.

At the opening of the work, he says: "It is impossible to prevent others from feeling hostile, but it is possible to avoid any reciprocal hostility on one's own part, by imaginative understanding and the sympathy which grows out of it. And without understanding and sympathy, it is impossible to find a cure for the evil from which the world is suffering."

In his exposition Russell considers the roles played by a number of institutions, social and political, reserving some his sharpest criticism for organized religion.