--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The world generally speaking is now…" description: "\"The world generally speaking is now drifting on a more and more devastating course towards the absurd target of extermination - or rather, to be more e..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5f/alva-myrdal-17024_absurd_the-world-generally-speaking-is-now-drif_2920343.png" --- # The world generally speaking is now drifting on a more and… ![“The world generally speaking is now drifting on a more and more devastating course towards the absurd target of extermination - or rather, to be more exact - of the northern hemisphere's towns, fields, and the people who have developed our civilization.” quote by Alva Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5f/alva-myrdal-17024_absurd_the-world-generally-speaking-is-now-drif_2920343.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5f/alva-myrdal-17024_absurd_the-world-generally-speaking-is-now-drif_2920343.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5f/alva-myrdal-17024_absurd_the-world-generally-speaking-is-now-drif_2920343.png) > “The world generally speaking is now drifting on a more and more devastating course towards the absurd target of extermination - or rather, to be more exact - of the northern hemisphere's towns, fields, and the people who have developed our civilization.” [Alva Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human civilization faces an accelerating path toward catastrophic destruction, especially targeting the northern hemisphere's towns, fields, and peoples. **In simple terms:** Civilization is spiraling toward massive devastation. Key Takeaway Address environmental and societal threats urgently. Themes environment civilization catastrophe future global risk Mood urgent somber Type activism policy When to use this quote - Promote renewable energy - support climate policy - protect vulnerable communities - educate on disaster preparedness - advocate for peace Key Concepts Ecology sustainability political warning population safety Questions to Reflect On - What steps can individuals take now? - How can societies shift toward resilience? A Different Perspective Denial and political inertia hinder action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Absurd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Devastating Course](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devastating-course-4252023/) [Drifting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drifting/) [Drifting Devastating](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drifting-devastating-4252022/) [Extermination](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extermination/) [Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fields/) [Goals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goals/) [Hemisphere](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hemisphere/) [Hemisphere Towns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hemisphere-towns-4252024/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Target](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/target/) [Towns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/towns/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) [World Generally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-generally-1291644/) ## Related quotes > [Christopher Columbus introduced two phenomena that revolutionized race relations and transformed the modern world: the taking of land, wealth, and labor from indigenous people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-w-loewen/christopher-columbus-introduced-two-phenomena-that-revolutionized/) [James W. Loewen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-w-loewen/) > [Those who imagine that the world is against them have generally conspired to make it true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-j-harris/those-who-imagine-that-the-world-is-against-them-have-generally/) [Sydney J. Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-j-harris/) > [The world is generally multivariate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-tufte/the-world-is-generally-multivariate/) [Edward Tufte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-tufte/) > [Punk, and rock in general, is often very myopic. When people sing about "the world," they're generally focused almost entirely on the west and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-w-sok/punk-and-rock-in-general-is-often-very-myopic-when-people-sing-about/) [G.W. Sok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-w-sok/) > [I read a picture not for what's really going on there, I read it more for what is going on in our world generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andreas-gursky/i-read-a-picture-not-for-what-s-really-going-on-there-i-read-it-more/) [Andreas Gursky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andreas-gursky/) > [If one looks into the genealogies of many 'old families,' one discovers episodes of slave trafficking, bootlegging, gun running, opium trading, falsified land claims,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-parenti/if-one-looks-into-the-genealogies-of-many-old-families-one-discovers/) [Michael Parenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-parenti/) > [I have given orders to my Death units to exterminate without mercy or pity men, women and children belonging to the Polish speaking race...After…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/i-have-given-orders-to-my-death-units-to-exterminate-without-mercy-or/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [MAN, n. An animal so lost in rapturous contemplation of what he thinks he is as to overlook what he indubitably ought to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/man-n-an-animal-so-lost-in-rapturous-contemplation-of-what-he-thinks/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [ The text \[The Skeptical Environmentalist\] employs the strategy of those who, for example, argue ...that Jews weren't singled out by the Nazis for extermination. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stuart-l-pimm/the-text-the-skeptical-environmentalist-employs-the-strategy-of-those/) [Stuart L. Pimm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stuart-l-pimm/) > [I really wanted to take the viewer to the 'here and now' regarding the exterminations, and communicate directly in a visceral way. The art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laszlo-nemes/i-really-wanted-to-take-the-viewer-to-the-here-and-now-regarding-the/) [Laszlo Nemes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laszlo-nemes/) > [And now the forces marshaled around the concept of the group have declared a war of extermination on that preciousness, the mind of man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/and-now-the-forces-marshaled-around-the-concept-of-the-group-have/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Jews were segregated from 1933 on. We could only play against other Jewish teams. This wasn't just social segregation; this was the beginning of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-a-kissinger/jews-were-segregated-from-1933-on-we-could-only-play-against-other/) [Henry A. Kissinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-a-kissinger/) > [The Indian is but a sketch in red crayon of a rudimental manhood. To the problem of his relation to the white race, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-indian-is-but-a-sketch-in-red-crayon-of-a-rudimental-manhood-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We need not fear the judgement of history. Who, after all, speaks today of the extermination of the Armenians?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/we-need-not-fear-the-judgement-of-history-who-after-all-speaks-today/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [In the name of Jerusalem. If I forget the extermination of the Jews, may my right hand wither, may my tongue stick to my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/menachem-begin/in-the-name-of-jerusalem-if-i-forget-the-extermination-of-the-jews/) [Menachem Begin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/menachem-begin/) ## More by Alva Myrdal > [The inventions and the great discoveries have opened up whole continents to reciprocal communication and interchange, provided we are willing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/the-inventions-and-the-great-discoveries-have-opened-up-whole/) [Alva Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/) > [The longing for peace is rooted in the hearts of all men. But the striving, which at present has become so insistent, cannot lay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/the-longing-for-peace-is-rooted-in-the-hearts-of-all-men-but-the/) [Alva Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/) > [Because war and preparations for war have acquired legitimacy, and because of the tremendous proliferation of arms through production and export, so that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/because-war-and-preparations-for-war-have-acquired-legitimacy-and/) [Alva Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/) > [I agree with the many who consider freezing all sorts of weapons systems a first step in a realistic disarmament policy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/i-agree-with-the-many-who-consider-freezing-all-sorts-of-weapons/) [Alva Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/) > [As a group, housewives to-day suffer more from social isolation and loss of purpose than any other social group, except, perhaps, the old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/as-a-group-housewives-to-day-suffer-more-from-social-isolation-and/) [Alva Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/) > [War and preparations for war have acquired a kind of legitimacy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/war-and-preparations-for-war-have-acquired-a-kind-of-legitimacy/) [Alva Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/) > [If only the authorities could be made to realize that the forces leading them on in the armament race are just insane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/if-only-the-authorities-could-be-made-to-realize-that-the-forces/) [Alva Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/) > [Nobel was a genuine friend of peace. He even went so far as to believe that he had invented a tool of destruction, dynamite,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/nobel-was-a-genuine-friend-of-peace-he-even-went-so-far-as-to-believe/) [Alva Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/) > [marriage, home life, and children, ought to be enjoyed by men and women together. Nobody - and least of all the child - is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/marriage-home-life-and-children-ought-to-be-enjoyed-by-men-and-women/) [Alva Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/) > [The economic and political roots of the conflicts are too strong for us to pretend to create a lasting state of harmonious understanding between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/the-economic-and-political-roots-of-the-conflicts-are-too-strong-for/) [Alva Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/) > [Our immediate striving must be aimed at preventing what, in the present situation, is the greatest threat to the very survival of mankind, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/our-immediate-striving-must-be-aimed-at-preventing-what-in-the/) [Alva Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/) > [I have always regarded global development as a struggle between the forces of good and evil. Not to be simplified as a struggle between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/i-have-always-regarded-global-development-as-a-struggle-between-the/) [Alva Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/) > [It is frightening that in recent years such an increase has occurred in acts of terrorism, which have even reached peaceful countries such as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/it-is-frightening-that-in-recent-years-such-an-increase-has-occurred/) [Alva Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/) > [First and foremost arms are tools in the service of rival nations, pointing at the possibility of a future war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/first-and-foremost-arms-are-tools-in-the-service-of-rival-nations/) [Alva Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/) > [It's not worthy o human beings to give up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/it-s-not-worthy-o-human-beings-to-give-up/) [Alva Myrdal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/) [Explore all 38 Alva Myrdal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/) ## More Absurd quotes > [“It seem absurd to me that they don't know, haven't felt any change or tremor, even as my life has been completely turned upside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/it-seem-absurd-to-me-that-they-don-t-know-haven-t-felt-any-change-or/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [When a person’s tongue is extensively wrong, it is absurd, no less than unscriptural, to say that their heart is right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-c-ryle/when-a-person-s-tongue-is-extensively-wrong-it-is-absurd-no-less-than/) [J. C. Ryle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-c-ryle/) > [Every sensible man, every honorable man, must hold the Christian sect in horror." "Christianity is the most ridiculous, the most absurd and bloody religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/every-sensible-man-every-honorable-man-must-hold-the-christian-sect/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [It is human nature to think wisely and to act in an absurd fashion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/it-is-human-nature-to-think-wisely-and-to-act-in-an-absurd-fashion/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [It is a dangerous and fateful presumption, besides the absurd temerity that it implies, to disdain what we do not comprehend. For after you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/it-is-a-dangerous-and-fateful-presumption-besides-the-absurd-temerity/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I thought to myself: if it’s true that every person has a star in the sky, mine must be distant, dim, and absurd. Perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadegh-hedayat/i-thought-to-myself-if-it-s-true-that-every-person-has-a-star-in-the/) [Sadegh Hedayat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadegh-hedayat/) > [If, indeed, a firearm were more dangerous to its possessors than to potential aggressors, would it not make sense for the government to arm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mamet/if-indeed-a-firearm-were-more-dangerous-to-its-possessors-than-to/) [David Mamet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mamet/) > [“You were torturing a cat," she says. "With a freaking prod." "A prod I built myself in metal shop," he says. "But of course…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/you-were-torturing-a-cat-she-says-with-a-freaking-prod-a-prod-i-built/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [I have never heard enough classical music to be able to enjoy it; & the simple truth is, I detest it. Not mildly, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/i-have-never-heard-enough-classical-music-to-be-able-to-enjoy-it-the/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [To deprecate human reason by saying that none of us is or can be omniscient is absurd, for it takes an impossible standard as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/to-deprecate-human-reason-by-saying-that-none-of-us-is-or-can-be/) [Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/) > [“Rachel got up and did this happy little shuffle, like she was some cheerful farmer chick who'd just stepped outside to find the hick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/rachel-got-up-and-did-this-happy-little-shuffle-like-she-was-some/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [The absurd duty, too often inculcated, of obeying a parent only on account of his being a parent, shackles the mind, and prepares it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/the-absurd-duty-too-often-inculcated-of-obeying-a-parent-only-on/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The workman of today works every day in his life at the same tasks, and this fate is no less absurd. But it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-workman-of-today-works-every-day-in-his-life-at-the-same-tasks/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I was once part of a Christmas cabaret. I sang 'I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.' I tap-danced. I had a ten-gallon hat. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-dinklage/i-was-once-part-of-a-christmas-cabaret-i-sang-i-saw-mommy-kissing/) [Peter Dinklage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-dinklage/) > [Solitude produces originality, bold and astonishing beauty, poetry. But solitude also produces perverseness, the disproportianate, the absurd and the forbidden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/solitude-produces-originality-bold-and-astonishing-beauty-poetry-but/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) [Browse all 1,644 Absurd quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absurd/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The world generally speaking is now drifting on a more and more devastating course towards the absurd target of extermination - or rather, to be more exact - of the northern hemisphere's towns, fields, and the people who have developed our civilization.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alva Myrdal" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/the-world-generally-speaking-is-now-drifting-on-a-more-and-more/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Absurd" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/the-world-generally-speaking-is-now-drifting-on-a-more-and-more/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5f/alva-myrdal-17024_absurd_the-world-generally-speaking-is-now-drif_2920343.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5f/alva-myrdal-17024_absurd_the-world-generally-speaking-is-now-drif_2920343.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d5f/alva-myrdal-17024_absurd_the-world-generally-speaking-is-now-drif_2920343.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The world generally speaking is now drifting on a more and more devastating course towards the absurd target…” — Alva Myrdal", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Alva Myrdal", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alva-myrdal/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The world generally speaking is now...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/the-world-generally-speaking-is-now-drifting-on-a-more-and-more/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alva-myrdal/the-world-generally-speaking-is-now-drifting-on-a-more-and-more/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```