To bring about destruction by overcrowding, mass starvation, anarchy, the destruction of our most cherished values, there is no need to do anything. We need only do nothing except what comes naturally, and breed. And how easy it is to do nothing
Interpretation
The quote warns of the dangers of inaction in the face of societal issues, emphasizing that neglect can lead to collapse.
Isaac Asimov's quote highlights the inherent dangers of apathy and inaction regarding important societal challenges. It suggests that while the act of breeding, or contributing to population growth, may come naturally, doing nothing about the accompanying social and environmental issues can lead to severe consequences such as destruction and chaos. Asimov challenges us to recognize that inaction is itself a choice that can result in negative outcomes, emphasizing the importance of being proactive in safeguarding our values and society.
In practice
During a discussion on environmental issues, one might quote this to stress the importance of activism.
Democracy cannot survive overpopulation. Human dignity cannot survive it. Convenience and decency cannot survive it. As you put more and more people into the world, the value of life not only declines, but it disappears. It doesn't matter if someone dies.
Science does not promise absolute truth, nor does it consider that such a thing necessarily exists. Science does not even promise that everything in the Universe is amenable to the scientific process.
Democracy cannot survive overpopulation.
Although the time of death is approaching me, I am not afraid of dying and going to Hell or (what would be considerably worse) going to the popularized version of Heaven. I expect death to be nothingness and, for removing me from all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism.
A subtle thought that is in error may yet give rise to fruitful inquiry that can establish truths of great value.
During the century after Newton, it was still possible for a man of unusual attainments to master all fields of scientific knowledge. But by 1800, this had become entirely impracticable.
The alchemists spent years in their laboratories, observing the fire that purified the metals. They spent so much time close to the fire that gradually they gave up the vanities of the world. They discovered that the purification of the metals had led to a purification of themselves.
My youth passed at the time of the country's reconstruction from the ruins and ashes of the war in which my nation never bowed to the enemy paying the highest price in the struggle.
In the morning, when the nothing vase casts a something shadow, like the memory of someone you've lost, what can you say about that?
The older I get, the more clearly I remember things that never happened.
Man is a creation of desire, not a creation of need.
[A] woman should have every honorable motive to exertion which is enjoyed by man, to the full extent of her capacities and endowments. The case is too plain for argument. Nature has given woman the same powers, and subjected her to the same earth, breathes the same air, subsists on the same food, physical, moral, mental and spiritual. She has, therefore, an equal right with man, in all efforts to obtain and maintain a perfect existence.
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