--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We do not need to plan or devise a \"world…" description: "\"“We do not need to plan or devise a \"world of the future\"; if we take care of the world of the present, the future will have received full justice from..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf2/wendell-berry-236_care_we-do-not-need-to-plan-or-devise-a-world_747425.jpg" --- # We do not need to plan or devise a "world of the future"… ![“We do not need to plan or devise a "world of the future"; if we take care of the world of the present, the future will have received full justice from us. A good future is implicit in the soils, forests, grasslands, marshes, deserts, mountains, rivers, lakes, and oceans that we have now, and in…” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf2/wendell-berry-236_care_we-do-not-need-to-plan-or-devise-a-world_747425.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf2/wendell-berry-236_care_we-do-not-need-to-plan-or-devise-a-world_747425.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf2/wendell-berry-236_care_we-do-not-need-to-plan-or-devise-a-world_747425.jpg) > ““We do not need to plan or devise a "world of the future"; if we take care of the world of the present, the future will have received full justice from us. A good future is implicit in the soils, forests, grasslands, marshes, deserts, mountains, rivers, lakes, and oceans that we have now, and in the good things of human culture that we have now; the only valid "futurology" available to us is to take care of those things. We have no need to contrive and dabble at "the future of the human race"; we have the same pressing need that we have always had - to love, care for, and teach our children. (pg. 73, "Feminism, the Body, and the Machine")”” [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. Caring for the present environment and culture ensures a just future; future planning is rooted in present stewardship. **In simple terms:** Take care of today’s world to secure tomorrow. Key Takeaway Focus on present stewardship. Themes environment stewardship future ethics Mood hopeful concerned Type ethical inspirational When to use this quote - climate action - education - community building - policy making Key Concepts sustainability intergenerational justice Questions to Reflect On - How can we prioritize present care over speculative futures? - What actions today best protect tomorrow? A Different Perspective Neglecting present needs can lead to irreversible damage. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Good future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-future/) [Good things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-things/) [Human race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-race/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Stewardship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stewardship/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [We do not need to plan or devise a "world of the future"; if we take care of the world of the present, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/we-do-not-need-to-plan-or-devise-a-world-of-the-future-if-we-take-2/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [All our language about the future ... is like a set of signposts pointing into a bright mist ... the New Testament image of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/all-our-language-about-the-future-is-like-a-set-of-signposts-pointing/) [N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/) > [Would you like to do something good for the future of the human race; well, start killing some of its powerful members.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-c-brown/would-you-like-to-do-something-good-for-the-future-of-the-human-race/) [William C. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-c-brown/) > [We are a part of everything that is beneath us, above us, and around us. Our past is our present, our present is our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winona-laduke/we-are-a-part-of-everything-that-is-beneath-us-above-us-and-around-us/) [Winona LaDuke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winona-laduke/) > [“If the world is to have a future, it lies in the hands of women. At time of this writing nearly half of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-grayling/if-the-world-is-to-have-a-future-it-lies-in-the-hands-of-women-at/) [A.C. Grayling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-grayling/) > [It is today that we create the world of the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-roosevelt/it-is-today-that-we-create-the-world-of-the-future/) [Eleanor Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-roosevelt/) > [“And there was a time, you know, not so long ago, as recently as my own childhood in fact, when everyone believed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-demille/and-there-was-a-time-you-know-not-so-long-ago-as-recently-as-my-own/) [Nelson DeMille](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-demille/) > [In a world without future, each moment is the end of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-lightman/in-a-world-without-future-each-moment-is-the-end-of-the-world/) [Alan Lightman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-lightman/) > [There are indications because of new inventions, that 10, 15, or 20 nations will have a nuclear capacity, including Red China, by the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/there-are-indications-because-of-new-inventions-that-10-15-or-20/) [John F. 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But the terrible…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-baldwin/when-the-black-populations-of-the-world-have-a-future-so-will-the/) [James Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-baldwin/) > [“If you look closely, you can see that you are not defined by the world. You are the world. You are the future.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-lehtman/if-you-look-closely-you-can-see-that-you-are-not-defined-by-the-world/) Maria Lehtman > [“Why should the killers of the world be "the future" and not us?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/why-should-the-killers-of-the-world-be-the-future-and-not-us/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Real life security and contentment come not from putting a gun in the cupboard, but from taking a role in the world's future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-brown/real-life-security-and-contentment-come-not-from-putting-a-gun-in-the/) [Bob Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-brown/) ## 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. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. 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Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Care quotes > [I think, here's what I've realized from interviewing people, and I've been very open about my Catholicism and my love of Christ and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-mohr/i-think-here-s-what-i-ve-realized-from-interviewing-people-and-i-ve/) [Jay Mohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-mohr/) > [We all know what it feels like to love someone and care about them and want to protect them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiana-madeira/we-all-know-what-it-feels-like-to-love-someone-and-care-about-them/) [Kiana Madeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiana-madeira/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! 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