Assumption Quote by Wendell Berry
“The 'environmental crisis' has happened because the human household or economy is in conflict at almost every point with the household of nature. We have built our household on the assumption that the natural household is simple and can be simply used. We have assumed increasingly over the last five hundred years that nature is merely a supply of 'raw materials,' and that we may safely possess those materials by taking them… And so we will be wrong if we attempt to correct what we perceive as 'environmental' problems without correcting the economic oversimplification that caused them.”
About This Quote
Source Essay: "The Concept of Nature" in "The Unsettling of America", 1977
Human economies treat nature as a simple resource, ignoring the complex interdependence of natural systems, leading to environmental crises.
In simple terms: We view nature as a cheap supply, causing ecological damage.
Key Takeaway
Recognize nature’s complexity before fixing environmental issues.
Themes
environment
economy
interdependence
sustainability
Mood
concerned
reflective
Type
analytical
critical
When to use this quote
- policy making
- business strategy
- education curricula
- community planning
Key Concepts
systems thinking
ecological economics
anthropocentrism
Questions to Reflect On
- How can economic models incorporate ecological limits?
- What policies can align profit with planetary health?
A Different Perspective
Environmental fixes fail if they ignore underlying economic assumptions.
![“...[T]here is no art in being intelligible if one renounces all thoroughness of insight; but also it produces a disgusting medley of compiled observations and half-reasoned principles. Shallow pates enjoy this because it can be used for everyday chat, but the sagacious find in it only confusion…” quote by Immanuel Kant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/718/immanuel-kant-532_absolute-truth_t-here-is-no-art-in-being-intelligible-i_1079114.jpg)
![“With an absurd oversimplification, the "invention" of calculus [method in mathematics] is sometimes ascribed to two men, Newton and Leibniz.” quote by Richard Courant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/131/richard-courant-41915_absurd_with-an-absurd-oversimplification-the-in_712428.jpg)
