--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Those who have no sense of posterity or…" description: "\"“Those who have no sense of posterity or any concern for future generations are the ones who are really dead. I mean, they are dead right now. Walking ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96c/edward-abbey-254_dead_those-who-have-no-sense-of-posterity-or_2038573.png" --- # Those who have no sense of posterity or any concern for… ![“Those who have no sense of posterity or any concern for future generations are the ones who are really dead. I mean, they are dead right now. Walking zombies.” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96c/edward-abbey-254_dead_those-who-have-no-sense-of-posterity-or_2038573.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96c/edward-abbey-254_dead_those-who-have-no-sense-of-posterity-or_2038573.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96c/edward-abbey-254_dead_those-who-have-no-sense-of-posterity-or_2038573.png) > ““Those who have no sense of posterity or any concern for future generations are the ones who are really dead. I mean, they are dead right now. Walking zombies.”” [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ignoring future generations means being spiritually dead, like a walking zombie. **In simple terms:** Neglecting future kills our humanity. Key Takeaway Consider long‑term impact. Themes environment legacy responsibility Mood thoughtful critical Type ethical environmental When to use this quote - policy making - family planning - community projects Key Concepts ecology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What legacy do you want to leave? - How does present indifference affect future lives? A Different Perspective Short‑term gains may blind us to lasting harm. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Future generations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-generations/) [Zombies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zombies/) ## Related quotes > [“Elizabeth and Darcy laughed at the sight, and for a moment, resolved to keep walking -- as the zombies had failed to take notice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-grahame-smith/elizabeth-and-darcy-laughed-at-the-sight-and-for-a-moment-resolved-to/) [Seth Grahame-Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-grahame-smith/) > [“You mean all the dead women looked like Mr. Hauptman’s ex-wife? That’s . . . that’s right out of a profiler’s book.” Jenny snorted her coffee, wiped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/you-mean-all-the-dead-women-looked-like-mr-hauptman-s-ex-wife-that-s/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [“Alejandro saw you looking at them.” “I’m looking at you,” Mahlia said. “That mean you’re dead, too?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-bacigalupi/alejandro-saw-you-looking-at-them-i-m-looking-at-you-mahlia-said-that/) [Paolo Bacigalupi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-bacigalupi/) > [“The Herodotus thing. It doesn’t mean that the dead are happy,” said Shadow. “It means that you can’t judge the shape of someone’s life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/the-herodotus-thing-it-doesn-t-mean-that-the-dead-are-happy-said/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [“She said memories mean all, but they are all dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-z-danielewski/she-said-memories-mean-all-but-they-are-all-dead/) [Mark Z. Danielewski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-z-danielewski/) > [What did dead mean, Ray wondered. It meant lost, it meant frozen, it meant gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/what-did-dead-mean-ray-wondered-it-meant-lost-it-meant-frozen-it/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) > [“He's dead now and by dead I mean dating a stripper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-helene-bertino/he-s-dead-now-and-by-dead-i-mean-dating-a-stripper/) [Marie-Helene Bertino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-helene-bertino/) > [With 'Lost,' some members of the cast would literally open the script and find out that they were dead. I mean, that's quite sad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-andrews/with-lost-some-members-of-the-cast-would-literally-open-the-script/) [Naveen Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-andrews/) > [I'm not dead. I mean, I may be getting older, but I'm not dead!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/i-m-not-dead-i-mean-i-may-be-getting-older-but-i-m-not-dead/) [Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/) > [We tell ourselves that God is dead, when what we mean is that God is Dad, and we wish him dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-n-wilson/we-tell-ourselves-that-god-is-dead-when-what-we-mean-is-that-god-is/) [A. N. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-n-wilson/) > [It bothered me that he was right. Without Sir Stuart's intervention, I'd have been dead again already. That's right--you heard me: dead again already.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/it-bothered-me-that-he-was-right-without-sir-stuart-s-intervention-i/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [This is what those who haven’t crossed the tropic of grief often fail to understand: the fact that someone is dead may mean that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/this-is-what-those-who-haven-t-crossed-the-tropic-of-grief-often-fail/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [About the time you might start to think that science fiction - the real stuff, not the species of fantasy that goes under the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lois-tilton/about-the-time-you-might-start-to-think-that-science-fiction-the-real/) Lois Tilton > [To die, to be really dead, that must be glorious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-die-to-be-really-dead-that-must-be-glorious/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“They are never really dead, these super criminals”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/they-are-never-really-dead-these-super-criminals/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) ## More by Edward Abbey > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. By submitting to huge hierarchies of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-institutions-are-too-big-they-represent-not-the-best-but-the/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it's likely that no one is thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/where-all-pretend-to-be-thinking-alike-it-s-likely-that-no-one-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“But why, the questioner insists, why do people like you pretend to love uninhabited country so much? Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. An old wino's disease, which could lay me in the grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/me-i-m-living-under-a-sword-too-as-jack-may-have-told-you-an-old-wino/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/look-here-i-want-to-say-for-godsake-folks-get-out-of-them-there/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/reason-has-seldom-failed-us-because-it-has-seldom-been-tried/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. Part Two: Say it well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-is-the-essence-of-the-art-of-writing-part-one-have-something-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) [Explore all 807 Edward Abbey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More Dead quotes > [I'm going to stay on stage until I drop dead. Then I'm going to have myself stuffed, like Trigger, and I'm going to put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-reynolds/i-m-going-to-stay-on-stage-until-i-drop-dead-then-i-m-going-to-have/) [Debbie Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-reynolds/) > [I can't be a legend yet. I'm not dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maynard-james-keenan/i-can-t-be-a-legend-yet-i-m-not-dead/) [Maynard James Keenan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maynard-james-keenan/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [It's a really dark, emotionally wrenching world that we've created on 'The Walking Dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-holden/it-s-a-really-dark-emotionally-wrenching-world-that-we-ve-created-on/) [Laurie Holden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-holden/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [“I’m just–” She wanted to say “not in the mood,” but that was not only a cliché but a vast understatement. She was dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-mcintosh/i-m-just-she-wanted-to-say-not-in-the-mood-but-that-was-not-only-a/) [Will McIntosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-mcintosh/) > [Library: A place where the dead lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elbert-hubbard/library-a-place-where-the-dead-lie/) [Elbert Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elbert-hubbard/) > [When we dead awaken ... we see that we have never lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/when-we-dead-awaken-we-see-that-we-have-never-lived/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [Rather be dead than cool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/rather-be-dead-than-cool/) [Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/) > [He was obviously dead. But since he was a vampire that wasn't as hopless a thing as it might have been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-briggs/he-was-obviously-dead-but-since-he-was-a-vampire-that-wasn-t-as/) [Patricia Briggs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-briggs/) > [Ireland starts for me with the end of 'The Dead,' which my father read to me from his desk in his basement office in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-jeremiah-sullivan/ireland-starts-for-me-with-the-end-of-the-dead-which-my-father-read/) [John Jeremiah Sullivan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-jeremiah-sullivan/) > [“Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead.’ – Ben Franklin,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/three-may-keep-a-secret-if-two-of-them-are-dead-ben-franklin/) [Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/) > [I intend to do the Penn & Teller show until they pry my cheesy magic wand from my cold dead fingers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penn-jillette/i-intend-to-do-the-penn-teller-show-until-they-pry-my-cheesy-magic/) [Penn Jillette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penn-jillette/) > ['Misery' left a lasting mark on me. When I die, it will be 'Kathy 'Misery' Bates Is Dead.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-bates/misery-left-a-lasting-mark-on-me-when-i-die-it-will-be-kathy-misery/) [Kathy Bates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-bates/) > [The only good Indian is a dead Indian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-tecumseh-sherman/the-only-good-indian-is-a-dead-indian/) [William Tecumseh Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-tecumseh-sherman/) Browse all 3,376 Dead quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Those who have no sense of posterity or any concern for future generations are the ones who are really dead. I mean, they are dead right now. Walking zombies.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Abbey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/those-who-have-no-sense-of-posterity-or-any-concern-for-future/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dead" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/those-who-have-no-sense-of-posterity-or-any-concern-for-future/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96c/edward-abbey-254_dead_those-who-have-no-sense-of-posterity-or_2038573.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96c/edward-abbey-254_dead_those-who-have-no-sense-of-posterity-or_2038573.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/96c/edward-abbey-254_dead_those-who-have-no-sense-of-posterity-or_2038573.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Those who have no sense of posterity or any concern for future generations are the ones who are really dead…” — Edward Abbey", "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": "Edward Abbey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Those who have no sense of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/those-who-have-no-sense-of-posterity-or-any-concern-for-future/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/those-who-have-no-sense-of-posterity-or-any-concern-for-future/#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 } } ] } ```