Albert Einstein
Theoretical physicist · 1879–1955
Einstein was a German-born physicist who developed the theory of relativity and won the Nobel Prize in Physics. Politically he supported world federalism, socialism and civil rights, and campaigned against nuclear weapons after 1945.
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Estimated from their documented words and actions. A simplification, not a verdict.
No strong recorded view on domestic regional government.
He opposed fascism and supported democratic government, while warning about concentrated power.
He urged witnesses to refuse to testify before McCarthy-era loyalty investigations.
He repeatedly called for a supranational world government to prevent war.
He was a pacifist, though he accepted armed resistance to Nazi Germany and signed the 1939 letter to Roosevelt.
He helped refugees and opposed nationalism, while supporting a Jewish cultural homeland.
In 'Why Socialism?' he argued that capitalism produced harmful inequality.
He supported a planned economy oriented toward social goals.
No strong recorded view on trade.
He rejected a personal God and organised religion while speaking of a 'cosmic religious feeling'.
He joined the NAACP and denounced American racism.
He valued science but warned of the dangers of nuclear technology.