Nothing fails like success because we don't learn from it. We learn only from failure.
Kenneth E. BouldingRead
Are we to regard the world of nature simply as a storehouse to be robbed for the immediate benefit of man? ... Does man have any responsibility for the preservation of a decent balance in nature, for the preservation of rare species, or even for the indefinite continuance of his race?
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote questions humanity's role in nature and emphasizes our responsibility to preserve it.
Kenneth E. Boulding's quote reflects a deep concern for the relationship between humanity and the natural world. It suggests that nature should not be seen merely as a resource for human exploitation, but rather as something that requires care and preservation. Boulding urges us to ponder our responsibilities toward maintaining ecological balance and protecting various species, highlighting the interconnectedness of human survival with the health of the environment.
Themes
NatureResponsibilityPreservationBalanceEcologySpecies
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about sustainability, you could quote this to emphasize the importance of environmental stewardship.
More from Kenneth E. Boulding
All quotes →As long as man was small in numbers and limited in technology, he could realistically regard the earth as an infinite reservoir, an infinite source of inputs and an infinite cesspool for outputs. Today we can no longer make this assumption. Earth has become a space ship, not only in our imagination but also in the hard realities of the social, biological, and physical system in which man is enmeshed.
Kenneth E. BouldingRead
Economics has been incurably growth-oriented and addicted to everybody growing richer, even at the cost of exhaustion of resources and pollution of the environment.
Kenneth E. BouldingRead
Mathematics brought rigor to Economics. Unfortunately, it also brought mortis.
Kenneth E. BouldingRead
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