If freedom makes social progress possible, so social progress strengthens and enlarges freedom. The two are inseparable partners in the great adventure of humanity.
Robert KennedyRead
Automation provides us with wondrous increases of production and information, but does it tell us what to do with the men the machines displace? Modern industry gives us the capacity for unparalleled wealth - but where is our capacity to make that wealth meaningful to the poor of every nation?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote questions the implications of automation and industrial wealth on society, particularly regarding those displaced by machines and the poor.
Robert Kennedy's quote reflects on the dual-edged nature of automation and modern industry. While they enable increased production and wealth creation, they simultaneously raise critical ethical questions about the impact on human workers and the responsibility of society to ensure that this wealth benefits everyone, especially the less fortunate. Kennedy urges us to consider not just the advancements in technology and industry, but also the moral obligation we have to address the inequalities that arise from them.
Themes
AutomationWealthInequalityResponsibilityProgress
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the future of work, one might quote Kennedy to highlight the ethical considerations of automation.
More from Robert Kennedy
All quotes →Elections remind us not only of the rights but the responsibilities of citizenship in a democracy.
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Within the United States, we have put great emphasis upon political freedoms. Because it has been our experience that these freedoms can lead to others.
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It is one thing to open job opportunities. It is another to train people to fill them, or to persuade American enterprise to seek Negro as well as white applicants.
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Our attitude towards immigration reflects our faith in the American ideal. We have always believed it possible for men and women who start at the bottom to rise as far as the talent and energy allow. Neither race nor place of birth should affect their chances.
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The Gross National Product measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country. It measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile, and it can tell us everything about America - except whether we are proud to be Americans.
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