Editing Ernst Mach (section)

===Politics===
Born to a liberal family, Mach lamented that a "very reactionary-clerical" period followed the [[Revolutions of 1848 in the Austrian Empire|1848 revolutions]], prompting him to plan to emigrate to America, although he never did.<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Blackmore |editor1-first=John |title=Ernst Mach: A Deeper Look |date=1992 |publisher=Springer |page=19}}</ref>

In 1901, Mach accepted an appointment to the Austrian [[House of Lords (Austria)|House of Lords]] but declined a nobility because he thought it inappropriate for a scientist to accept such a thing.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Johnston |first1=William M. |title=The Austrian Mind An Intellectual and Social History, 1848-1938 |date=2023 |publisher=University of California Press |page=70}}</ref> He was on good personal terms with the Social Democrat politician [[Viktor Adler]]{{sfn|Blackmore|1972|p=186}} and left money in his will to the Social Democrat newspaper [[Arbeiter-Zeitung (Vienna)|Arbeiter-Zeitung]].<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blum |first1=Mark E. |title=The Austro-Marxists 1890–1918 A Psychobiographical Study |date=2021 |publisher=University Press of Kentucky}}</ref>

Mach was critical of the European powers' colonial conquests, saying that they "will constitute...the most distasteful chapter of history for coming generations".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Blackmore |first1=John T. |title=Ernst Mach His Life, Work, and Influence |date=2023 |publisher=University of California Press |page=223}}</ref>