--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For us, the possibility of kindly use is…" description: "\"“For us, the possibility of kindly use is weighted with problems. In the first place, this is not ultimately an organization or institutional solution...." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/wendell-berry-236_bad-man_for-us-the-possibility-of-kindly-use-is_809277.jpg" --- # For us, the possibility of kindly use is weighted with… ![“For us, the possibility of kindly use is weighted with problems. In the first place, this is not ultimately an organization or institutional solution. Institutional solutions tend to narrow and simplify as they approach action. A large number of people can act together only by defining the point…” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/wendell-berry-236_bad-man_for-us-the-possibility-of-kindly-use-is_809277.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/wendell-berry-236_bad-man_for-us-the-possibility-of-kindly-use-is_809277.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/23d/wendell-berry-236_bad-man_for-us-the-possibility-of-kindly-use-is_809277.jpg) > ““For us, the possibility of kindly use is weighted with problems. In the first place, this is not ultimately an organization or institutional solution. Institutional solutions tend to narrow and simplify as they approach action. A large number of people can act together only by defining the point or the line on which their various interests converge. Organizations tend to move toward single objectives -- a ruling, a vote, a law -- and they find it relatively simple to cohere under acronyms and slogans. But kindly use is a concept that of necessity broadens, becoming more complex and diverse, as it approaches action. The land is too various in its kinds, climates, conditions, declivities, aspects, and histories to conform to any generalized understanding or to prosper under generalized treatment. The use of land cannot be both general and kindly -- just as the forms of good manners, generally applied (applied, that is, without consideration of differences), are experienced as indifference, bad manners. To treat every field, or every part of every field, with the same consideration is not farming but industry. Kindly use depends upon intimate knowledge, the most sensitive responsiveness and responsibility. As knowledge (hence, use) is generalized, essential values are destroyed. As the householder evolves into a consumer, the farm evolves into a factory -- with results that are potentially calamitous for both.”” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Kindly use of land requires deep, context‑specific knowledge; broad, uniform policies ignore local diversity and cause harm. **In simple terms:** Broad policies hurt local land use. Key Takeaway Tailor land practices to local conditions. Themes environment ethics agriculture policy complexity Mood reflective concerned Type philosophical analytical When to use this quote - farming - urban planning - environmental regulation - community projects - land management Key Concepts sustainability local knowledge responsibility diversity Questions to Reflect On - How can policies balance general goals with local specificity? - What practices foster deep local knowledge? A Different Perspective Uniform solutions often overlook unique ecological and cultural factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad manners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-manners/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Good man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-man/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Land use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/land-use/) ## Related quotes > [The discussion about food doesn't make any sense without discussion at the same time of land, land use, land policy, fertility maintenance, and farm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-discussion-about-food-doesn-t-make-any-sense-without-discussion/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [If, on the other hand, conservationists are willing to insist on having the best food, produced in the best way, as close to their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/if-on-the-other-hand-conservationists-are-willing-to-insist-on-having/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To have good farming or good land use of any kind, you have got to have limits. 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The other is to cultivate a love of country…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldo-leopold/two-things-hold-promise-of-improving-those-lights-one-is-to-apply/) [Aldo Leopold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldo-leopold/) > [James Russell offers a timely and compelling blueprint for a realistic transformation of America's energy consumption by refusing to fall victim to conventional thinking.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-bergdoll/james-russell-offers-a-timely-and-compelling-blueprint-for-a/) Barry Bergdoll > [For a variety of reasons, I believe, the time is right to resolve many of the long standing and thorny land use, recreation, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-k-simpson/for-a-variety-of-reasons-i-believe-the-time-is-right-to-resolve-many/) [Michael K. Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-k-simpson/) > [The 'key-log' which must be moved to release the evolutionary process for an ethic is simply this: quit thinking about decent land-use as solely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/land-ethic/the-key-log-which-must-be-moved-to-release-the-evolutionary-process/) Land ethic ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. 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