We're in a giant car heading towards a brick wall and everyone's arguing over where they're going to sit.
David SuzukiRead
Conventional economics is a form of brain damage. Economics is so fundamentally disconnected from the real world, it is destructive.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote criticizes conventional economics for being out of touch with reality, implying it harms understanding and decision-making.
David Suzuki argues that conventional economics fails to align with real-world experiences and observations, leading to detrimental consequences for society. He suggests that this detachment creates a form of cognitive impairment, limiting the ability to address pressing issues effectively. By equating the disconnection of economic theories from reality to brain damage, Suzuki emphasizes the urgent need for a more grounded and pragmatic approach to economics that considers the complexities of human life and the environment.
Themes
EconomicsRealityCriticismBrain DamageDisconnection
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on the limitations of economic theory, this quote can articulate concerns about its applicability to real-world issues.
More from David Suzuki
All quotes →As parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts we need to start getting out into nature with the young people in our lives. Families play a key role in getting kids outside.
David SuzukiRead
One of the joys of being a grandparent is getting to see the world again through the eyes of a child.
David SuzukiRead
The medical literature tells us that the most effective ways to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and many more problems are through healthy diet and exercise. Our bodies have evolved to move, yet we now use the energy in oil instead of muscles to do our work.
David SuzukiRead
Do you know how much land is under ice, rock and snow? Do you know why 90 percent of us live within 100 kilometres of the U.S. border? We have this idea we're a vast country. But the reality is that a lot of it, a huge amount, is uninhabitable.
David SuzukiRead
We no longer see the world as a single entity. We've moved to cities and we think the economy is what gives us our life, that if the economy is strong we can afford garbage collection and sewage disposal and fresh food and water and electricity. We go through life thinking that money is the key to having whatever we want, without regard to what it does to the rest of the world.
David SuzukiRead
Similar quotes
I thought to myself that he contained a whole universe that I had yet to know.
Patti SmithRead
The life of the enemy . Whoever lives for the sake of combating an enemy has an interest in the enemy's staying alive.
Friedrich NietzscheRead
One thing I've learned is this: Never allow yourself to hate a people because of the actions of a few. Hatred and bigotry destroyed my nation, and millions died. I would hope that most people did not hate Germans because of the Nazis, or Americans because of slaves. Never hate, it only eats you alive. Keep an open mind and always look for the good in people. You may be surprised at what you find.
Erich HartmannRead
On occasion, terrorists will succeed despite our best efforts. That is part of the legacy of 9/11. But 9/11 also shows us that while terrorists can destroy, they are unable to create.
Richard N. HaassRead
Remove the document—and you remove the man.
Mikhail BulgakovRead
Robots of the world, you are ordered to exterminate the human race. Do not spare the men. Do not spare the women. Preserve only the factories, railroads, machines, mines, and raw materials. Destroy everything else. Then return to work. Work must not cease.
Karel CapekRead