Lord Russell on when Not to debate

Sometimes, it's wiser to step back from a confrontation, even when you're confident in your stance. Contrary to the common belief that every disagreement deserves a debate, some arguments simply aren't worth engaging in. Bertrand Russell understood this well when, in 1962, he declined an invitation from Sir Oswald Mosley, the founder of the British Union of Fascists, to debate the merits of fascism. Russell’s refusal wasn’t about avoiding conflict—it was about recognizing when engaging would do more harm than good.

Here’s how Russell respectively declined Oswald’s invitation:

Lord Bertrand Russell

Dear Sir Oswald,

Thank you for your letter and for your enclosures. I have given some thought to our recent correspondence. It is always difficult to decide on how to respond to people whose ethos is so alien and, in fact, repellent to one’s own. It is not that I take exception to the general points made by you but that every ounce of my energy has been devoted to an active opposition to cruel bigotry, compulsive violence, and the sadistic persecution which has characterised the philosophy and practice of fascism.

I feel obliged to say that the emotional universes we inhabit are so distinct, and in deepest ways opposed, that nothing fruitful or sincere could ever emerge from association between us.

I should like you to understand the intensity of this conviction on my part. It is not out of any attempt to be rude that I say this but because of all that I value in human experience and human achievement.

Yours sincerely,

Bertrand Russell