Americans have a severe disease - worse than AIDS. It's called the winner's complex.
Mikhail GorbachevRead
If current technological processes continue without change, the environment will change, and we, the human species, will either have to mutate or even die, to disappear, as many species have disappeared.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Unchecked technological advancement may lead to environmental catastrophe, forcing humans to adapt or face extinction.
Mikhail Gorbachev's quote warns of the dangers posed by relentless technological development without consideration for environmental impact. It suggests that if humanity does not adjust its technological processes and their consequences, we may find ourselves facing dire situations where adaptation or even extinction could be the only outcomes, paralleling the fate of many species that have disappeared due to environmental changes.
Themes
TechnologyEnvironmentChangeAdaptationExtinction
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about climate change, one might refer to this quote to emphasize the need for responsible technological innovation.
More from Mikhail Gorbachev
All quotes βGentlemen, comrades, do not be concerned about all you hear about Glasnost and Perestroika and democracy in the coming years. They are primarily for outward consumption. There will be no significant internal changes in the Soviet Union, other than for cosmetic purposes. Our purpose is to disarm the Americans and let them fall asleep.
Mikhail GorbachevRead
The soviet people want full-blooded and unconditional democracy.
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To me, nature is sacred. Trees are my temples and forests are my cathedrals.
Mikhail GorbachevRead
New approaches are needed, new orientations in both thought and action. We must make the transition to a new civilization...We are talking of a transition toward a new civilization. No one knows what it will be like. What is important is to orient in that direction... I am convinced that a new civilization will inevitably take on certain features that are characteristic of, or inherent in, the socialist ideal.
Mikhail GorbachevRead
According to Lenin, socialism and democracy are indivisible.... The essence of perestroika lies in the fact that it unites socialism with democracy and revives the Leninist concept of socialist construction both in theory and in practice. We want more socialism and, therefore, more democracy.
Mikhail GorbachevRead
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