port many more people in completely satisfactory condi- 

 tions than existing at present; and unbiased examination of 

 our losses to be experienced in giving up subjective beliefs, 

 particularly religion, show that these would not be serious. 



I think that intelligent men and women should today 

 make an effort to take stock of our position as a still evolv- 

 ing species, an evolution which would appear now to be 

 essentially one of increasing knowledge of the material 

 universe and an ever more superior ability to change our 

 environment to suit our needs, and to contemplate our 

 future into the unknown millenia ahead and what we hope 

 to work towards in that future. I can feel confidence only 

 in the reasoned solution of our problems, in which we apply 

 our own abilities in scientific method, as our guide to help 

 us to attain that future world which we can, even with 

 present knowledge, certainly reach. The universal adoption 

 of a scientifically based international policy is entirely con- 

 ceivable to us, since the fundamental conclusions of science 

 are accepted by essentially all who have studied them (this 

 includes scientists, engineers, medical men, and many lay- 

 men also), and the rapid growth of scientific education is 

 now providing a steadily increasing percentage of the world 

 population with the means of rational thought for them- 

 selves. 



Indeed, present trends in higher education in both the 

 United States and the U.S.S.R., which are the two most 

 important nations, clearly indicate that well before the end 

 of this century the scientifically trained individuals will 

 considerably outnumber the individuals trained in all other 

 disciplines. This situation will lead to the scientists exer- 

 cising a predominant role in international affairs, and to 

 their greatly strengthened collaboration in the development 

 of pure science and in the application of science for prac- 



