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If there is technological advance without social advance, there is, almost automatically, an increase in human misery.
Michael Harrington
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Technological progress must be accompanied by social progress, or it can lead to increased suffering.

This quote by Michael Harrington emphasizes the importance of balancing technological advancements with social improvements. It suggests that if technology progresses without addressing social issues, such as inequality and poverty, it can exacerbate human suffering rather than alleviate it, leading to a society where only a few benefit from advancements while others are left behind.

Themes

TechnologySocial AdvanceHuman MiseryProgressInequality

In practice

Example use cases

In a speech about the importance of ethics in technology, you could quote Harrington to highlight the need for social considerations.

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Quote by Michael Harrington | QuoteProject