There is...a spiritual hunger in the world today and it cannot be satisfied...by better cars on longer credit terms.
Adlai E. StevensonRead
The human race has improved everything, but the human race.
Interpretation
What this quote means
While humanity has made advancements in various fields, it remains flawed and unchanged in its core nature.
Adlai E. Stevenson highlights a paradox of human development in this quote. Despite our significant progress in technology, science, and other areas, the fundamental aspects of human nature, such as our capacity for conflict, greed, and cruelty, have not improved. This suggests that advancements in external measures do not necessarily translate to moral or ethical growth within humanity itself.
Themes
HumanityProgressNatureImprovementFlaws
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on social issues, one might use this quote to provoke thought on humanity's continuous shortcomings despite technological advances.
More from Adlai E. Stevenson
All quotes →What a man knows at fifty that he did not know at twenty is, for the most part, incommunicable.
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Journalists do not live by words alone, although sometimes they have to eat them.
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Patriotism is not a short and frenzied outburst of emotion but the tranquil and steady dedication of a lifetime.
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Accuracy to a newspaper is what virtue is to a lady; but a newspaper can always print a retraction.
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I have been thinking that I would make a proposition to my Republican friends... that if they will stop telling lies about the Democrats, we will stop telling the truth about them.
Adlai E. StevensonRead
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