Bronislaw Malinowski - Freedom and Civilization

Routledge Revivals

From the early days of Hitler's rise to power, Bronislaw Malinowski was an outspoken opponent of National Socialism. In response to this, Malinowski began to devote much attention to the analysis of war, from its development throughout history to its disastrous manifestations at the start of the Second World War.

Freedom and Civilization , first published in 1947, is the final expression of Malinowski's basic beliefs and conclusions regarding the war, totalitarianism and the future of humanity. This book will be of interest to students of politics and history.

Bronislaw Malinowski

First published in 1947
by George Allen & Unwin Ltd

This edition first published in 2015 by Routledge
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1947 Bronislaw Malinowski

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A Library of Congress record exists under LC control number: 44008875

ISBN 13: 978-1-138-90937-3 (hbk)
ISBN 13: 978-1-315-69398-9 (ebk)

FREEDOM AND
CIVILIZATION

Bronislaw Malinowski

First published in Great Britain
in 1947

Copyright in the U.S.A.

All rights reserved

THE PAPER (AND BINDING) OF THIS BOOK CONFORMS
TO THE AUTHORIZED ECONOMY STANDARD.

Printed in Great Britain by
Henderson & Spalding,
London , W. I

FROM the early days of the rise to power of Hitler, Bronislaw Malinowski was an outspoken opponent of National Socialism. He began at that time to devote much attention to the analysis of war, from its development and throughout history to its disastrous present-day manifestations, and gave many lectures on the subject, attacking at the same time the totalitarian regimes as states organized for "chronic preparedness for war in the interests of war." This resulted in the early banning of his books in Germany.

In America, one of his first analyses of war was given in the Oration at the Phi Beta Kappa exercises at the Harvard Tercentenary in 1936, and after his return to this country on sabbatical vacation at the end of 1938, he lectured with increasing intensity on the dangers of totalitarianism for humanity and culture.

After the outbreak of war in 1939, Malinowski remained in the United States, having been appointed to Yale University. He became more and more absorbed in analyzing the present world issues and in calling attention to the disasters which would result from a totalitarian victory. He was profoundly disturbed by the lack of realization among students of the significance of the war and the consequences of a totalitarian victory; both in 1941 and 1942 he suggested the organization at Yale of a discussion group of students and faculty, for the clarification of the issues and aims of the war and the questions of the coming peace. He felt a grave moral responsibility towards young students who might be going into the army, and believed they should be given the opportunity to understand why and for what they must fight. Unfortunately, this plan was not realized.

As the war progressed, Malinowski became increasingly preoccupied with the problems of the peace settlement. He wholeheartedly endorsed the principles enunciated in the Atlantic Charter, and believed that the future safety and well-being of mankind could only be achieved by means of a world federation. The most serious consequence of the present war, he felt, was the destruction of "the fundamental values of loyalty, decency and all ethical principles." He felt very strongly that it was his duty to make a contribution, based on wide anthropological experience, to present-day planning and discussions, through a clear analysis of the fundamental issues which face humanity in this world crisis.

This book is thus the final expression of my husband's basic beliefs and conclusions regarding war, totalitarianism and the future of humanity. The direct incentive, however, for writing it came when he was invited by Dr. A. W. Bray to speak at the Rensselaer Chapter of the Society of Sigma Xi in January, 1941. He chose as his subject "Human Nature, Culture and Freedom", and when beginning to write up this lecture for publication, he became so absorbed in the theme that he decided to write a book on "Freedom". He continued to work with great concentration on it until the beginning of April, 1942, and then carefully put his material in order and laid it aside, intending finally to complete the book in the following autumn. He died suddenly five weeks later.

Since I had followed with my husband the day-by-day growth of "Freedom", and had discussed and read it with him in its various stages of development, after his death I began to arrange the material for publication. This entailed first of all the insertion of numerous additions and corrections which my husband had made in the manuscript. My primary objective has been to avoid editorial rewriting, since this is liable to alter or obscure the original thought of the author. The entire material of the book was written by my husband; certain chapters required the amalgamation of two or three sections, or the incorporation of his supplementary drafts. I have deliberately refrained from removing certain minor repetitionswhich my husband in his final revision would certainly not have leftsince elimination of them would have necessitated a reformulation of his argument.

I know my husband would have wished to make certain acknowledgments. His indebtedness to various writers is expressed in the statement which I quote below, dictated by him for inclusion in his own preface:

"In some of the recent books and articles, the historian, Shotwell; the economist and jurisprudent, Walton Hamilton; the lawyer, Corwin; the philosopher, John Dewey, have made contributions towards the problem of freedom which I could endorse from A to Z. Needless to say perhaps, all that Bertrand Russell has written on the subject is in my opinion unimpeachable. It is also interesting that writers and thinkers mainly concerned with the course of political affairs: Mr. Walter Lippmann, for instance, Miss Dorothy Thompson, Professor F. Schumann, Professor Gilbert Murray, and Harold J. Laski, and above all, Sir Norman Angell, are able in each case to use the concept of freedom in a manner which the anthropologist would fully endorse, in that the concept could thus be used for any type of society and any type of evolution. I would especially like to acknowledge my indebtedness to those writers whose books and articles I have read while drafting this essay. The agreement of their views with mine allowed me to proceed with greater confidence. The recent book by Professor Irwin Edman which came to my hands only after most of my arguments had been framed would have saved me a great deal of trouble and intellectual random behavior had I read it earlier. It is an excellent presentation and correct in practically all its conclusions and even obiter dicta. As far as I know, however, no anthropological contribution to freedom has yet been made. An article by Professor Franz Boas recently published cannot be considered as in any way satisfactory."