The real problems of our planet are not economic or technical, they are philosophical. The philosophy of unbridled materialism is being challenged by events.
E. F. SchumacherRead
If, however, economic ambitions are good servants, they are bad masters
Interpretation
Economic ambitions can be beneficial when controlled, but they can lead to negative consequences when they dominate our lives.
This quote by E. F. Schumacher emphasizes the dual nature of economic ambitions. While they can drive progress and serve beneficial purposes, unchecked ambitions can overtake our priorities and lead to detrimental outcomes, highlighting the importance of maintaining balance and control in our economic pursuits.
In practice
During a seminar on personal finance, this quote can illustrate the importance of managing one's economic goals.
The real problems of our planet are not economic or technical, they are philosophical. The philosophy of unbridled materialism is being challenged by events.
The substance of man cannot be measured by Gross National Product.
The printing press is either the greatest blessing or the greatest curse of modern times, sometimes one forgets which it is.
By means of trees, wildlife could be conserved, pollution decreased, and the beauty of our landscapes enhanced. This is the way, or at least one of the ways, to spiritual, moral, and cultural regeneration.
We still have to learn how to live peacefully, not only with our fellow men but also with nature and, above all, with those Higher Powers which have made nature and have made us; for, assuredly, we have not come about by accident and certainly have not made ourselves
The heart of the matter, as I see it, is the stark fact that world poverty is primarily a problem of two million villages, and thus a problem of two thousand million villagers.
The chance you had is the life you've got. You can make complaints about what people, including you, make of their lives after they have got them, and about what people make of other people's lives, ...but you mustn't wish for another life. You mustn't want to be somebody else.
Just as Darwin discovered the law of evolution in organic nature, so Marx discovered the law of evolution in human history; he discovered the simple fact, hitherto concealed by an overgrowth of idealogy [sic], that mankind must first of all eat and drink, have shelter and clothing, before it can pursue politics, science, religion, art etc.
Out of Mahat comes universal egoism.
The true friends of the people are neither revolutionaries, nor innovators, but traditionalists.
If in a discussion of many matters ... we are not able to give perfectly exact and self-consistent accounts, do not be surprised: rather we would be content if we provide accounts that are second to none in probability.
The Postmodernists' tyranny wears people down by boredom and semi-literate prose.
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