Bertrand Russell: The Colours of Pacifism analyzes the tenacious commitment of one of the twentieth century’s most extraordinary intellectuals to the cause of civilization, progress, and human rights. Through his active and pragmatic pacifism, Russell sought to confront the problems stemming from the unstable and dramatic political conditions of his age: the beginning of the Great War, the establishment of the League of Nations, the rise of totalitarian regimes, the outbreak of the Second World War, the dawn of the Atomic Age, the escalation of the Cold War, the weakness of the United Nations, and the need for world government. His reflections on the subject of peace, which constitute the main focus of this book, led him into dialogue with some of the greatest figures of his time, including Romain Rolland, Albert Einstein, Thomas Woodrow Wilson, Leon Trotsky, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Nikita Khrushchev, and John Fitzgerald Kennedy. Shining new light on a lifelong preoccupation in Russell’s work and thinking, this essay is a landmark study that will appeal to students, scholars, and anyone curious about the philosopher’s engagement with the world around him.
