“Three great forces rule the world: stupidity, fear and greed.”
Albert Einstein (1879–1955) German-born physicist and founder of the theory of relativity
“There is no force more potent in the modern world than stupidity fueled by greed.”
Source: A Voice Crying in the Wilderness (Vox Clamantis in Deserto) (1990), Ch. 11 : Money Et Cetera, p. 100
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Do you have more details about the quote "There is no force more potent in the modern world than stupidity fueled by greed." by Edward Abbey?
Edward Abbey146
American author and essayist 1927–1989Related quotes
Robert Gilpin (1930–2018) Political scientist
Source: The Political Economy of International Relations (1987), Chapter One, Nature of Political Economy, p. 19
Jon Krakauer (1954) American outdoors writer and journalist
Source: Under the Banner of Heaven: A Story of Violent Faith
“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement
Source: 1960s, Strength to Love (1963), Ch. 4 : Love in action, Sct. 3
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929–1968) American clergyman, activist, and leader in the American Civil Rights Movement
“Stupidity, greed, misdirected aggression—or sum it up and call it man.”
Lester del Rey (1915–1993) Novelist, short story writer, editor
Source: The Eleventh Commandment (1962), Chapter 12 (p. 114)
Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) logician, one of the first analytic philosophers and political activist
Often paraphrased as "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts." <br class="br">Compare: "One of the painful things about our time is that those who feel certainty are stupid, and those with any imagination and understanding are filled with doubt and indecision." B. Russell, New Hopes for a Changing World (1951). Compare also: "The best lack all conviction, while the worst / Are full of passionate intensity." W. B. Yeats, The Second Coming (1919). <br class="br">See also: Dunning-Kruger effect, Historical Antecedents https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning–Kruger_effect#Historical_antecedents. <br class="br">1930s, Mortals and Others (1931-35)
“Properly read, it is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.”
Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University, known for his works of science fiction …
As quoted in Notes for a Memoir : On Isaac Asimov, Life, and Writing (2006) by Janet Jeppson Asimov, p. 58
General sources
Variant: Properly read, the Bible is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.
Context: If you suspect that my interest in the Bible is going to inspire me with sudden enthusiasm for Judaism and make me a convert of mountain‐moving fervor and that I shall suddenly grow long earlocks and learn Hebrew and go about denouncing the heathen — you little know the effect of the Bible on me. Properly read, it is the most potent force for atheism ever conceived.
“Nothing makes us more vulnerable than loneliness except greed.”
Thomas Harris The Silence of the Lambs
Source: The Silence of the Lambs