--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In time, almost all men and women will…" description: "\"“In time, almost all men and women will become worthless as producers of goods, food, services, and more machines, as sources of practical ideas in the..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aec/kurt-vonnegut-41_human-beings_in-time-almost-all-men-and-women-will-be_2929417.jpg" --- # In time, almost all men and women will become worthless as… ![“In time, almost all men and women will become worthless as producers of goods, food, services, and more machines, as sources of practical ideas in the areas of economics, engineering, and probably medicine, too. So—if we can’t find reasons and methods for treasuring human beings because they are…” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aec/kurt-vonnegut-41_human-beings_in-time-almost-all-men-and-women-will-be_2929417.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aec/kurt-vonnegut-41_human-beings_in-time-almost-all-men-and-women-will-be_2929417.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aec/kurt-vonnegut-41_human-beings_in-time-almost-all-men-and-women-will-be_2929417.jpg) > ““In time, almost all men and women will become worthless as producers of goods, food, services, and more machines, as sources of practical ideas in the areas of economics, engineering, and probably medicine, too. So—if we can’t find reasons and methods for treasuring human beings because they are human beings, then we might as well, as has so often been suggested, rub them out.”” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Future may devalue human producers; without recognizing inherent worth, humanity faces existential risk. **In simple terms:** Human value may be ignored by efficiency. Key Takeaway Recognize intrinsic human worth. Themes technology human value future ethics Mood cautionary thought‑provoking Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - AI development - automation policy - education reform Key Concepts transhumanism economics bioethics Questions to Reflect On - What makes a human being valuable? - How can society protect human dignity? A Different Perspective Risk of fatalism or nihilism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human beings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [You learn to present dark things without including their ability to harm, treasuring them for what they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-darnielle/you-learn-to-present-dark-things-without-including-their-ability-to/) [John Darnielle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-darnielle/) > [Perhaps, The Biggest Mistake That You Can Make Is Losing Yourself In A Process Of Treasuring Someone Too Much And Forgetting That You Are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pacifiersucker/perhaps-the-biggest-mistake-that-you-can-make-is-losing-yourself-in-a/) Pacifiersucker > [“Love is like dried flowers sometimes. Even though you watch the petals shrink and change colour, you cannot help treasuring them”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/munia-khan/love-is-like-dried-flowers-sometimes-even-though-you-watch-the-petals/) [Munia Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/munia-khan/) > [“Yesterday, I got lost. You did too. So what? People get lost all the time. It's just a matter of finding yourself, and treasuring…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maddie-hample/yesterday-i-got-lost-you-did-too-so-what-people-get-lost-all-the-time/) Maddie Hample > [Its sad that inspite of knowing that we are in this world for a specific time , we keep treasuring things and fight for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/its-sad-that-inspite-of-knowing-that-we-are-in-this-world-for-a/) Senoraroy > [How many years has it taken people to realize that we are all brothers and sisters and human beings in the human race? I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-p-johnson/how-many-years-has-it-taken-people-to-realize-that-we-are-all/) [Marsha P. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-p-johnson/) > [When will we regard human beings as human beings? Why do we discuss someone's appearance? And when we can't find faults in appearances, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saba-qamar/when-will-we-regard-human-beings-as-human-beings-why-do-we-discuss/) [Saba Qamar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saba-qamar/) > [There might be a class of beings, human once, but now to humanity invisible, for whose scrutiny, and for whose refined appreciation of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-allan-poe/there-might-be-a-class-of-beings-human-once-but-now-to-humanity/) [Edgar Allan Poe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-allan-poe/) > [Evolution brings human beings. Human beings, through a long and painful process, bring humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-simmons/evolution-brings-human-beings-human-beings-through-a-long-and-painful/) [Dan Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-simmons/) > [Human beings are human beings, irrespective of barriers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poonam-dhillon/human-beings-are-human-beings-irrespective-of-barriers/) [Poonam Dhillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poonam-dhillon/) > [In a sense, human beings are human beings. Their feelings of aloneness, of brokenness, their feelings of hurt and disappointment, are universal. It's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harbour/in-a-sense-human-beings-are-human-beings-their-feelings-of-aloneness/) [David Harbour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harbour/) > [We were not meant to mask ourselves before our fellow-beings, but to be, through our human forms, true and clear utterances of the spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-larcom/we-were-not-meant-to-mask-ourselves-before-our-fellow-beings-but-to/) [Lucy Larcom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-larcom/) > [On the one hand poetry is useless. It can't change the world materially. On the other hand it is a basic part of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bei-dao/on-the-one-hand-poetry-is-useless-it-can-t-change-the-world/) [Bei Dao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bei-dao/) > [Men are not human beings,they are human doings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-farrell/men-are-not-human-beings-they-are-human-doings/) [Warren Farrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-farrell/) > [Despite what everyone thinks about science fiction, ultimately, at its best, it's about human beings with human emotions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greig-fraser/despite-what-everyone-thinks-about-science-fiction-ultimately-at-its/) [Greig Fraser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greig-fraser/) ## More by Kurt Vonnegut > [“You must bloom as a writer and I must bloom as a painter. Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-some-of-the-mud-that-got-to-sit-up-and-look-around-lucky-me/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Her face was one of a kind, a surprising variation that made observers think, Yes--that would be another very nice way for people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/her-face-was-one-of-a-kind-a-surprising-variation-that-made-observers/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“You finally fell in love, I see,” said Salo. “Only an Earthling year ago,” said Constant. “It took us that long to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-finally-fell-in-love-i-see-said-salo-only-an-earthling-year-ago/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Like all Earthlings at the point of death, Mary Young sent faint reminders of herself to those who had known her. She released a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/like-all-earthlings-at-the-point-of-death-mary-young-sent-faint/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“And contrast Mary Kathleen, if you will, with my wife Ruth, the Ophelia of the death camps, who believed that even the most intelligent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/and-contrast-mary-kathleen-if-you-will-with-my-wife-ruth-the-ophelia/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Someday, someday, this crazy world will have to end, And our God will take things back that He to us did lend. And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting-i-said-but-no-good/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Explore all 2,089 Kurt Vonnegut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More Human beings quotes > [Houses are like the human beings that inhabit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/houses-are-like-the-human-beings-that-inhabit-them/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [Humans are, as Sartre put it, 'condemned to be free'. To insist that science, or God, objectively defines moral values is to abandon our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenan-malik/humans-are-as-sartre-put-it-condemned-to-be-free-to-insist-that/) Kenan Malik > [Human beings have an innate inner drive to be autonomous, self-determined, and connected to one another. And when that drive is liberated, people achieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/human-beings-have-an-innate-inner-drive-to-be-autonomous-self/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [Gambling has held human beings in thrall for millennia. It has been engaged in everywhere, from the dregs of society to the most respectable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-l-bernstein/gambling-has-held-human-beings-in-thrall-for-millennia-it-has-been/) [Peter L. Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-l-bernstein/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [What is music? Music is language. A human being wants to express ideas in this language, but not ideas that can be translated into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-webern/what-is-music-music-is-language-a-human-being-wants-to-express-ideas/) [Anton Webern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-webern/) > [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/) [Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/) > [I think everybody, or the great majority of human beings, have this aspiration to become other: to live a different identity, at least for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/i-think-everybody-or-the-great-majority-of-human-beings-have-this/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) > [“Is there any holy beings like human beings?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/is-there-any-holy-beings-like-human-beings/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [A human being can only absorb a small amount of the mystical kundalini, you can be exposed again and again to it, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/a-human-being-can-only-absorb-a-small-amount-of-the-mystical/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I recognize I am essentially a failed human being in the sense that I can't possibly live up to the expectations of an Almighty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/i-recognize-i-am-essentially-a-failed-human-being-in-the-sense-that-i/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [A composer knows that music is written by human beings for human beings and that music is a continuation of life, not something separated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-eisler/a-composer-knows-that-music-is-written-by-human-beings-for-human/) Hanns Eisler > [“According to this model, human beings are, at least in one aspect, sensation-receiving machines; and although our receptory apparatus is competent to select and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cruce-stark/according-to-this-model-human-beings-are-at-least-in-one-aspect/) Cruce Stark > [For our purposes as human beings, the mind is the center of everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/for-our-purposes-as-human-beings-the-mind-is-the-center-of-everything/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [Human beings seek community, and permanent openness is hard to sustain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-douthat/human-beings-seek-community-and-permanent-openness-is-hard-to-sustain/) [Ross Douthat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-douthat/) [Browse all 6,948 Human beings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-beings/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“In time, almost all men and women will become worthless as producers of goods, food, services, and more machines, as sources of practical ideas in the areas of economics, engineering, and probably medicine, too. 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