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Misery, mutilation, destruction, terror, starvation and death characterize the process of war and form a principal part of the product.
Lewis Mumford
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Interpretation

What this quote means

War results in profound suffering and destruction, leaving a lasting impact on humanity.

This quote by Lewis Mumford encapsulates the grim realities of war, highlighting how it brings about a range of horrors such as suffering, physical and emotional injuries, destruction of infrastructure, terror among populations, starvation due to disrupted resources, and ultimately death. It serves as a powerful reminder of the devastating consequences that warfare inflicts on society and individuals alike.

Themes

WarSufferingDestructionDeathTerrorMisery

In practice

Example use cases

During a lecture on the impacts of conflict, I quoted Lewis Mumford to illustrate the harsh realities of war.

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By his very success in inventing labor-saving devices, modern man has manufactured an abyss of boredom that only the privileged classes in earlier civilizations have ever fathomed.
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The right to have access to every building in the city by private motorcar in an age when everyone possesses such a vehicle is actually the right to destroy the city.
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The very people who shudder over the cruelty of the hunter are apt to forget that slaughter, in the grimmest sense of the word, is a process they entrust daily to the butcher; and that unlike the game of the forests, even the dumbest creatures of the slaughterhouse know what is in store for them.
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