Albert Einstein's Philosophies For Growing Wealth

At the same time, Einstein recognized his moral obligation, and that of his fellow human beings, to contribute to the world around him. Because the individual had so much freedom to build wealth, he also had the responsibility to live in such a way that all of humanity would benefit. Einstein often put his own selfish desires aside when he had the opportunity to encourage human progress. He offered this advice to his relatives: “Use for yourself little, but give to others much.”

With this philosophy, Einstein would have embraced frugality. Despite his world travels and, especially later in his life, his ability to command top salaries and fees, he maintained modest living environments. I can't find any information on Einstein's approach to charitable giving, but it's clear that he cared about the world, and he was passionate about some causes, particularly later in his life, and there is a strong chance he supported these causes with the money he collected from his work over the years.

Capitalism can be destructive to society

There is no question that Einstein enjoyed the personal freedom to succeed in the United States afforded by the country's capitalist underpinnings. He was prescient, or perhaps just observant, when he noted that “unrestrained capitalism produced great disparities of wealth, cycles of boom and depression, and festering levels of unemployment.” In 1949, when Einstein wrote this opinion piece, he could have been describing the most recent global recession, which, as the media won't let us forget, feature record levels of unemployment and increased disparities of wealth.

Albert Einstein definitely leaned towards the socialist end of the economic spectrum, but he always emphasized the important of individual freedom, democracy, and personal liberty. He was not a fan of communism in Russia, nor was he a supporter of German fascism or nationalism. The United States was politically the best environment for him, particularly with his belief that art and science relied on the availability and encouragement of individualism.

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