--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Despite the dazzling successes of modern…" description: "\"Despite the dazzling successes of modern technology and the unprecedented power of modern military systems, they suffer from a common and catastrophic ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/barry-commoner-9980_common_despite-the-dazzling-successes-of-modern_2951843.jpg" --- # Despite the dazzling successes of modern technology and… ![“Despite the dazzling successes of modern technology and the unprecedented power of modern military systems, they suffer from a common and catastrophic fault. While providing us with a bountiful supply of food, with great industrial plants, with high-speed transportation, and with military weapons…” quote by Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/barry-commoner-9980_common_despite-the-dazzling-successes-of-modern_2951843.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/barry-commoner-9980_common_despite-the-dazzling-successes-of-modern_2951843.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/064/barry-commoner-9980_common_despite-the-dazzling-successes-of-modern_2951843.jpg) > “Despite the dazzling successes of modern technology and the unprecedented power of modern military systems, they suffer from a common and catastrophic fault. While providing us with a bountiful supply of food, with great industrial plants, with high-speed transportation, and with military weapons of unprecedented power, they threaten our very survival.” [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Technological advances bring benefits but also create existential risks that can threaten humanity’s survival. **In simple terms:** Tech brings both progress and danger. Key Takeaway Balance innovation with caution. Themes technology risk environment Mood concerned urgent Type critical philosophical When to use this quote - industrial planning - food production - military policy - transport infrastructure Key Concepts sustainability ethical engineering Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards can mitigate tech risks? - How to align progress with planetary health? A Different Perspective Economic pressures often prioritize profit over safety. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) [Dazzling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dazzling/) [Despite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despite/) [Faults](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faults/) [High speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high-speed/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Military Systems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military-systems-4453089/) [Military weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military-weapons/) [Modern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern/) [Modern Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-military-871861/) [Modern technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-technology/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Providing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/providing/) [Speed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speed/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Transportation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/transportation/) [Unprecedented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unprecedented/) [Weapons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons/) [Weapons Unprecedented](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weapons-unprecedented-4453090/) ## Related quotes > [“...much of modern military tactics is geared toward maneuvering the enemy into a position where they can essentially be massacred from safety.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-junger/much-of-modern-military-tactics-is-geared-toward-maneuvering-the/) [Sebastian Junger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-junger/) > [The Islamic State has proven that terrorists can seize and deploy modern military equipment on lesser-armed opponents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-hoekstra/the-islamic-state-has-proven-that-terrorists-can-seize-and-deploy/) [Pete Hoekstra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-hoekstra/) > [To serve in the modern military - or to be the uncle, parent or sibling of one who does - is to treat the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance-2/to-serve-in-the-modern-military-or-to-be-the-uncle-parent-or-sibling/) [J. D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance-2/) > [I have never met anyone who built a bomb shelter and felt protected by it. I have never met a modern military man who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peace-pilgrim/i-have-never-met-anyone-who-built-a-bomb-shelter-and-felt-protected/) [Peace Pilgrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peace-pilgrim/) > [“The country is rich but weak. It owns massive amounts of modern military equipment but has almost no military might.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-elliott-house/the-country-is-rich-but-weak-it-owns-massive-amounts-of-modern/) [Karen Elliott House](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-elliott-house/) > [The environmental crisis is somber evidence of an insidious fraud hidden in the vaunted productivity and wealth of modern, technology-based society. This wealth has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/the-environmental-crisis-is-somber-evidence-of-an-insidious-fraud/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [Military weapons are the means used by the Sage to punish violence and cruelty, to give peace to troublous times, to remove difficulties and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sima-qian/military-weapons-are-the-means-used-by-the-sage-to-punish-violence-2/) [Sima Qian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sima-qian/) > [Since shotguns are not military weapons, your local sporting goods dealer will have good information about them, as long as you aren't black, Spanish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-powell/since-shotguns-are-not-military-weapons-your-local-sporting-goods/) [William Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-powell/) > [“They had not, under the heavens and on earth, one single weapon. They don't control the land they live on, the schools which train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/they-had-not-under-the-heavens-and-on-earth-one-single-weapon-they/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [The more a country makes military weapons, the more insecure it becomes: if you have weapons, you become a target for attack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/the-more-a-country-makes-military-weapons-the-more-insecure-it/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [The military weapon is but one of the means that serve the purposes of war: one out of the assortment which grand strategy can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-h-liddell-hart/the-military-weapon-is-but-one-of-the-means-that-serve-the-purposes/) [B. H. Liddell Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-h-liddell-hart/) > [This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/this-world-in-arms-is-not-spending-money-alone-it-is-spending-the/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [We don't need military weapons in our society. We're not supposed to be at war with one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blase-j-cupich/we-don-t-need-military-weapons-in-our-society-we-re-not-supposed-to/) [Blase J. Cupich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blase-j-cupich/) > [“Military weapons are the means used by the Sage to punish violence and cruelty, to give peace to troublous times, to remove difficulties and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/military-weapons-are-the-means-used-by-the-sage-to-punish-violence/) [Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/) > [My father had been in the military and he was a weapons specialist, so he had an affinity for weapons but also for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/my-father-had-been-in-the-military-and-he-was-a-weapons-specialist-so/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) ## More by Barry Commoner > [The gap between brute power and human need continues to grow, as the power fattens on the same faulty technology that intensifies the need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/the-gap-between-brute-power-and-human-need-continues-to-grow-as-the/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [The methods that EPA introduced after 1970 to reduce air-pollutant emissions worked for a while, but over time have become progressively less effective.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/the-methods-that-epa-introduced-after-1970-to-reduce-air-pollutant/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [Sooner or later, wittingly or unwittingly, we must pay for every intrusion on the natural environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/sooner-or-later-wittingly-or-unwittingly-we-must-pay-for-every/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [Environmental concern is now firmly embedded in public life: in education, medicine and law; in journalism, literature and art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/environmental-concern-is-now-firmly-embedded-in-public-life-in/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [Environmental pollution is an incurable disease. It can only be prevented.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/environmental-pollution-is-an-incurable-disease-it-can-only-be/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [In nature, no organic substance is synthesized unless there is provision for its degradation; recycling is enforced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/in-nature-no-organic-substance-is-synthesized-unless-there-is/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [We are in an environmental crisis which threatens the survival of this nation, and of the world as a suitable place of human habitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/we-are-in-an-environmental-crisis-which-threatens-the-survival-of/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [I don't believe in environmentalism as the solution to anything. What I believe is that environmentalism illuminates the things that need to be done…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/i-don-t-believe-in-environmentalism-as-the-solution-to-anything-what/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [The environmental crisis is somber evidence of an insidious fraud hidden in the vaunted productivity and wealth of modern, technology-based society. This wealth has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/the-environmental-crisis-is-somber-evidence-of-an-insidious-fraud/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [The most meaningful engine of change, powerful enough to confront corporate power, may be not so much environmental quality, as the economic development and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/the-most-meaningful-engine-of-change-powerful-enough-to-confront/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [The environmental crisis is a sign that the ecosphere is now so heavily strained that its continued stability is threatened. It is a warning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/the-environmental-crisis-is-a-sign-that-the-ecosphere-is-now-so/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [It reflects a prevailing myth that production technology is no more amenable to human judgment or social interests than the laws of thermodynamics, atomic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/it-reflects-a-prevailing-myth-that-production-technology-is-no-more/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [Seen that way, the wholesale transformation of production technologies that is mandated by pollution prevention creates a new surge of economic development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/seen-that-way-the-wholesale-transformation-of-production-technologies/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [Recycling is a good thing to do. It makes people feel good to do it. The thing I want to emphasize is the vast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/recycling-is-a-good-thing-to-do-it-makes-people-feel-good-to-do-it/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) > [Finally, since human beings are uniquely capable of producing materials not found in nature, environmental degradation may be due to the resultant intrusion into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-commoner/finally-since-human-beings-are-uniquely-capable-of-producing/) [Barry Commoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) [Explore all 69 Barry Commoner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-commoner/) ## More Common quotes > [I'm Fine!, the most common LIE in the world...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/punkinhead-abhishek/i-m-fine-the-most-common-lie-in-the-world/) [Punkinhead Abhishek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/punkinhead-abhishek/) > [A flourishing, morally credible media is a vital component in the maintenance of genuinely public talk, argument about common good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-williams/a-flourishing-morally-credible-media-is-a-vital-component-in-the/) [Rowan Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-williams/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [The ability of the gospel to unite us on common strengths and common truths is one of the great miracles . . . of the gospel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-ability-of-the-gospel-to-unite-us-on-common-strengths-and-common/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [When you have a cavity in your tooth and you let it get worse, eventually you have to get a root canal. If you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-newton-john/when-you-have-a-cavity-in-your-tooth-and-you-let-it-get-worse/) [Olivia Newton-John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-newton-john/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Common sense is nothing more than a deposit of prejudices laid down in the mind before you reach eighteen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/common-sense-is-nothing-more-than-a-deposit-of-prejudices-laid-down/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [A common fallacy in much of the adverse criticism to which science is subjected today is that it claims certainty, infallibility and complete emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/a-common-fallacy-in-much-of-the-adverse-criticism-to-which-science-is/) [Cyril Norman Hinshelwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-norman-hinshelwood/) > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [A time will come when the science of destruction shall bend before the arts of peace; when the genius which multiplies our powers, which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-arago/a-time-will-come-when-the-science-of-destruction-shall-bend-before/) [Francois Arago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-arago/) > [… and so he tried to accept the ache in his heart as what Dr. Larch would call the common symptoms of normal life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/and-so-he-tried-to-accept-the-ache-in-his-heart-as-what-dr-larch/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [It is a tragedy that we live in a world where physical courage is so common, and moral courage is so rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-monet/it-is-a-tragedy-that-we-live-in-a-world-where-physical-courage-is-so/) [Claude Monet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-monet/) > [Those who advocate common usage in philosophy sometimes speak in a manner that suggests the mystique of the 'common man.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/those-who-advocate-common-usage-in-philosophy-sometimes-speak-in-a/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) [Browse all 7,866 Common quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Despite the dazzling successes of modern technology and the unprecedented power of modern military systems, they suffer from a common and catastrophic fault. 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