We are now heading down a centuries-long path toward increasing the productivity of our natural capital - the resource systems upon which we depend to live - instead of our human capital.
Paul HawkenRead
We are losing our living systems, social systems, cultural systems, governing systems, stability, and our constitutional health, and we're surrendering it all at the same time.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the concurrent decline of vital systems in society and calls attention to the need for awareness and action.
Paul Hawken stresses that we are witnessing a significant deterioration of various systems that are essential for a thriving society, including ecological, social, and political structures. This decline is alarming as it is happening simultaneously across multiple domains, suggesting an urgent need for collective action and responsibility to prevent further loss and restore balance to our world.
Themes
LossSystemsEnvironmentSocietyActionHealthStability
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about environmental policy, one might say, 'As Paul Hawken stated, we are losing our living systems, urging us to take immediate action.'
More from Paul Hawken
All quotes βInspiration is not garnered from the litanies of what may befall us; it resides in humanity's willingness to restore, redress, reform, rebuild, recover, reimagine, and reconsider.
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We can no longer prosper by increasing human productivity. The more we try to do, the more poverty we will create.
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At present we are stealing the future, selling it in the present, and calling it gross domestic product.
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How much harm does a company have to do before we question its right to exist?
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We have the capacity to create a remarkably different economy: one that can restore ecosystems and protect the environment while bringing forth innovation, prosperity, meaningful work, and true security.
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