“There was no simple riddance to the power of a dangerous political idea; no assassination possible to avert a disruptive change in technology; no natural death to be counted on to stop an economic change that ripped up ancestral estates or stirred up class discontent.”
Source: The Future As History (1960), Chapter I, Part 6, The Inevitability of Progress, p. 31
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Robert L. Heilbroner 39
American historian and economist 1919–2005Related quotes
Prosperity Without Growth: Foundations for the Economy of Tomorrow, 2017 edition, Routledge, page 20.
Prosperity Without Growth
Leontief, quoted in: Carter, A.P. (1996), "Technology, Employment and the Distribution of Income: Leontief af 90," Economic Systems Research, Vol. 8, no. 4, pp. 315.
Toward an Activist Spirituality (2003)
Context: Systems don't change easily. Systems try to maintain themselves, and seek equilibrium. To change a system, you need to shake it up, disrupt the equilibrium. That often requires conflict.
To me, conflict is a deeply spiritual place. It's the high-energy place where power meets power, where change and transformation can occur.
From Hawking's article A Brief History of Relativity http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,993018-6,00.html, in Time magazine (31 December 1999)
“Political Correctness doesn't change us, it shuts us up.”
Insider Video: Episode 2 on 2006-11-13
2000s
“But planned obsolescence is possible only if the rate of technological change is contained.”
Source: The Limits To Capital (2006 VERSO Edition), Chapter 8, Fixed capital, p. 221
"What You'll Wish You'd Known", January 2005
2011, Address on interventions in Libya (March 2011)
Context: When one of our airmen parachuted to the ground, in a country whose leader has so often demonized the United States — in a region that has such a difficult history with our country — this American did not find enemies. Instead, he was met by people who embraced him. One young Libyan who came to his aid said, “We are your friends. We are so grateful to those men who are protecting the skies.”
This voice is just one of many in a region where a new generation is refusing to be denied their rights and opportunities any longer.
Yes, this change will make the world more complicated for a time. Progress will be uneven, and change will come differently to different countries. There are places, like Egypt, where this change will inspire us and raise our hopes. And then there will be places, like Iran, where change is fiercely suppressed. The dark forces of civil conflict and sectarian war will have to be averted, and difficult political and economic concerns will have to be addressed.
The United States will not be able to dictate the pace and scope of this change. Only the people of the region can do that. But we can make a difference.