Paralysis of leadership is due in part to the unseen grip of the special interests.
John W. GardnerRead
More and more Americans feel threatened by runaway technology, by large-scale organization, by overcrowding. More and more Americans are appalled by the ravages of industrial progress, by the defacement of nature, by man-made ugliness. If our society continues at its present rate to become less livable as it becomes more affluent, we promise all to end up in sumptuous misery.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote expresses concern over the negative impacts of technological advancement and industrial progress on society and nature.
John W. Gardner highlights the anxiety many Americans feel regarding the adverse effects of unchecked technological and industrial growth. He warns that while society may become wealthier, the quality of life could deteriorate, leading to a paradoxical state of 'sumptuous misery' where affluence does not equate to happiness or livability.
Themes
TechnologyProgressSocietyNatureAffluence
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in discussions about sustainable technology practices.
More from John W. Gardner
All quotes →Storybook happiness involves every form of pleasant thumb-twiddling; true happiness involves the full use of one's powers and talents.
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Leaders come in many forms, with many styles and diverse qualities. There are quiet leaders and leaders one can hear in the next county. Some find strength in eloquence, some in judgment, some in courage.
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We pay a heavy price for our fear of failure. It is a powerful obstacle to growth. It assures the progressive narrowing of the personality and prevents exploration and experimentation. There is no learning without some difficulty and fumbling. If you want to keep on learning, you must keep on risking failure-all your life.
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I think that all human systems require continuous renewal. They rigidify. They get stuff in the joints. They forget what they cared about. The forces against it are nostalgia and the enormous appeal of having things the way they always have been, appeals to a supposedly happy past. But we've got to move on.
John W. GardnerRead
What leaders have to remember is that somewhere under the somnolent surface is the creature that builds civilizations, the dreamer of dreams, the risk taker. And remembering that, the leader must reach down to the springs that never dry up, the ever-fresh springs of the human spirit.
John W. GardnerRead
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