It is perfectly obvious that the whole world is going to hell. The only possible chance that it might not is that we do not attempt to prevent it from doing so.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- The world is heading toward disaster; trying to stop it may make it worse.
- In plain terms
- Global decline is happening; interference might prevent any chance of avoiding it.
- What can you take from it?
- Intervention in inevitable decline is questioned here.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Should we intervene in decline?
- Is fate unavoidable?
Another view
This view contradicts efforts to solve global problems.
More from J. Robert Oppenheimer
When you see something that is technically sweet, you go ahead and do it and argue about what to do about it only after you've had your technical success. That…
Permalink to quote #9 Everyone wants rather to be pleasing to women and that desire is not altogether, though it is very largely, a manifestation of vanity. But one cannot aim to be…
Permalink to quote #11 We knew the world would not be the same. A few people laughed, a few people cried, most people were silent. I remembered the line from the Hindu scripture, the…
Permalink to quote #8
Related quotes
The Union (EU) is dead like stone. Unionen er stendod.
Poul SchluterPoul Schluter quote #1 The world is the best of all possible worlds, and everything in it is a necessary evil.
F. H. BradleyF. H. Bradley quote #1 'The world is the most dangerous place it's ever been now because of what our country has done, and is doing, and we have to take it back.'
Ramsey ClarkRamsey Clark quote #2