We're in a giant car heading towards a brick wall and everyone's arguing over where they're going to sit.
David SuzukiRead
Conventional economics is a form of brain damage. Economics is so fundamentally disconnected from the real world, it is destructive.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote criticizes conventional economics for being out of touch with reality, implying it harms understanding and decision-making.
David Suzuki argues that conventional economics fails to align with real-world experiences and observations, leading to detrimental consequences for society. He suggests that this detachment creates a form of cognitive impairment, limiting the ability to address pressing issues effectively. By equating the disconnection of economic theories from reality to brain damage, Suzuki emphasizes the urgent need for a more grounded and pragmatic approach to economics that considers the complexities of human life and the environment.
Themes
EconomicsRealityCriticismBrain DamageDisconnection
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on the limitations of economic theory, this quote can articulate concerns about its applicability to real-world issues.
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The medical literature tells us that the most effective ways to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and many more problems are through healthy diet and exercise. Our bodies have evolved to move, yet we now use the energy in oil instead of muscles to do our work.
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Do you know how much land is under ice, rock and snow? Do you know why 90 percent of us live within 100 kilometres of the U.S. border? We have this idea we're a vast country. But the reality is that a lot of it, a huge amount, is uninhabitable.
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We no longer see the world as a single entity. We've moved to cities and we think the economy is what gives us our life, that if the economy is strong we can afford garbage collection and sewage disposal and fresh food and water and electricity. We go through life thinking that money is the key to having whatever we want, without regard to what it does to the rest of the world.
David SuzukiRead
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