---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When growth becomes a supreme good…"
description: "\"“When growth becomes a supreme good, unrestricted by any other ethical considerations, it can easily lead to catastrophe.”\" — Yuval Noah Harari"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/yuval-noah-harari-100_catastrophe_when-growth-becomes-a-supreme-good-unres_201309.jpg"
---

#  When growth becomes a supreme good, unrestricted by any…

![“When growth becomes a supreme good, unrestricted by any other ethical considerations, it can easily lead to catastrophe.” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/yuval-noah-harari-100_catastrophe_when-growth-becomes-a-supreme-good-unres_201309.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/yuval-noah-harari-100_catastrophe_when-growth-becomes-a-supreme-good-unres_201309.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/yuval-noah-harari-100_catastrophe_when-growth-becomes-a-supreme-good-unres_201309.jpg)

> ““When growth becomes a supreme good, unrestricted by any other ethical considerations, it can easily lead to catastrophe.””

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Unrestricted pursuit of growth without ethical limits can cause disaster.

**In simple terms:** Growth without ethics is dangerous.

Key Takeaway

Balance progress with moral responsibility.

Themes

ethics growth risk

Mood

cautious thoughtful

Type

philosophical warning

When to use this quote

- policy making
- corporate strategy
- environmental planning

Key Concepts

technological advancement economic expansion

Questions to Reflect On

- How can societies embed ethics in innovation?
- What safeguards prevent growth from becoming harmful?

A Different Perspective

Unchecked growth may ignore human costs.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Catastrophe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophe/) [Ethical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethical/) [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [Growth Supreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth-supreme-2102460/) [Unrestricted Ethical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unrestricted-ethical-2102461/)

## Related quotes

> [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/)

[L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/)

> [“How someone wants to explain catastrophe isn't important--that's what I know now. When shit happens, it doesn't really matter what asshole is responsible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/how-someone-wants-to-explain-catastrophe-isn-t-important-that-s-what/)

[Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/)

> [“But I guess it never is what you worry over that comes to pass in the end. The real catastrophes are always different -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/but-i-guess-it-never-is-what-you-worry-over-that-comes-to-pass-in-the/)

[Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/)

> [And in the racial climate of this country today, it is anybody's guess which of the 'extremes' in approach to the black man's problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/and-in-the-racial-climate-of-this-country-today-it-is-anybody-s-guess/)

[Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/)

> [When the regime changed in Japan, the Japanese changed; Russians too can change, as long as the conditions for it are present once again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-voinovich/when-the-regime-changed-in-japan-the-japanese-changed-russians-too/)

[Vladimir Voinovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-voinovich/)

> [All the parties of capitalist society, all its moralists and all its sycophants will perish beneath the debris of the impending catastrophe. The only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/all-the-parties-of-capitalist-society-all-its-moralists-and-all-its/)

[Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/)

> [The biggest catastrophes that we've witnessed rarely come from information that is secret or hidden. It comes from information that is freely available and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/the-biggest-catastrophes-that-we-ve-witnessed-rarely-come-from/)

[Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/)

> [“War is catastrophe. It breaks families in irretrievable pieces. But those who are gone are not necessarily lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/war-is-catastrophe-it-breaks-families-in-irretrievable-pieces-but/)

[Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/)

> [We are upsetting the atmosphere upon which all life depends. In the late 80s when I began to take climate change seriously, we referred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/we-are-upsetting-the-atmosphere-upon-which-all-life-depends-in-the/)

[David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/)

> [It's the hardest thing on earth to like yourself, and then when you do, it's a catastrophe. I mean, the people I know who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/it-s-the-hardest-thing-on-earth-to-like-yourself-and-then-when-you-do/)

[Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/)

> [Dark influences from the American past congregate among us still. If we are a democracy, what are we to make of the palpable elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/dark-influences-from-the-american-past-congregate-among-us-still-if/)

[Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/)

> [To you, the people of Flint, I say, as I have before, I am sorry and I will fix it. No citizen of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-snyder/to-you-the-people-of-flint-i-say-as-i-have-before-i-am-sorry-and-i/)

[Rick Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-snyder/)

> [“..the sense of a catastrophe perpetually invoked and avoided creates a rapture in whose depths horror and pleasure coincide...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-leiris/the-sense-of-a-catastrophe-perpetually-invoked-and-avoided-creates-a/)

[Michel Leiris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-leiris/)

> [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/)

[Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/)

> [The Author of nature has not given laws to the universe, which, like the institutions of men, carry in themselves the elements of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-playfair/the-author-of-nature-has-not-given-laws-to-the-universe-which-like/)

[John Playfair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-playfair/)

## More by Yuval Noah Harari

> [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Today the main source of wealth is knowledge. And whereas you can conquer oil fields through war, you cannot acquire knowledge that way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/today-the-main-source-of-wealth-is-knowledge-and-whereas-you-can/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“How do you cause people to believe in an imagined order such as Christianity, democracy or capitalism? First, you never admit that the order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/how-do-you-cause-people-to-believe-in-an-imagined-order-such-as/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [I think the basic thing that happened is we have lost our story. Humans think in stories, and we try to make sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/i-think-the-basic-thing-that-happened-is-we-have-lost-our-story/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Whereas chimpanzees spend five hours a day chewing raw food, a single hour suffices for people eating cooked food. The advent of cooking enabled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-chimpanzees-spend-five-hours-a-day-chewing-raw-food-a-single/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“the Chinese air-purification market is booming.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/the-chinese-air-purification-market-is-booming/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Whereas liberalism merged with the milder versions of nationalism to protect the unique experiences of each human community, evolutionary humanists such as Hitler identified…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-liberalism-merged-with-the-milder-versions-of-nationalism-to/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Corporations, money and nations exist only in our imagination. We invented them to serve us; why do we find ourselves sacrificing our lives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/corporations-money-and-nations-exist-only-in-our-imagination-we/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Small children in affluent societies often dislike showering, and it takes them years of education and parental discipline to adopt this supposedly attractive custom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/small-children-in-affluent-societies-often-dislike-showering-and-it/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Ever more scholars see cultures as a kind of mental infection or parasite, with humans as its unwitting host. Organic parasites, such as viruses,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/ever-more-scholars-see-cultures-as-a-kind-of-mental-infection-or/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Soviet Communism was a fanatical and missionary religion. A devout Communist could not be a Christian or a Buddhist, and was expected to spread…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/soviet-communism-was-a-fanatical-and-missionary-religion-a-devout/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Whereas religion asks us to believe in something, money asks us to believe that other people believe in something”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/whereas-religion-asks-us-to-believe-in-something-money-asks-us-to/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Terrorists are like a fly that tries to destroy a china shop. The fly is so weak that it cannot budge even a single…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/terrorists-are-like-a-fly-that-tries-to-destroy-a-china-shop-the-fly/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“Yet what happens if the greedy shoemaker increases his profits by paying employees less and increasing their work hours? The standard answer is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/yet-what-happens-if-the-greedy-shoemaker-increases-his-profits-by/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

> [“A natural order is a stable order. There is no chance that gravity will cease to function tomorrow, even if people stop believing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/a-natural-order-is-a-stable-order-there-is-no-chance-that-gravity/)

[Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

[Explore all 1,200 Yuval Noah Harari quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/)

## More Catastrophe quotes

> [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/)

[L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/)

> [I was asked the other day if I would be interested in the Nobel Prize, but I think that for me it would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/i-was-asked-the-other-day-if-i-would-be-interested-in-the-nobel-prize/)

[Gabriel Garcia Marquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/)

> [“..the sense of a catastrophe perpetually invoked and avoided creates a rapture in whose depths horror and pleasure coincide...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-leiris/the-sense-of-a-catastrophe-perpetually-invoked-and-avoided-creates-a/)

[Michel Leiris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-leiris/)

> [To you, the people of Flint, I say, as I have before, I am sorry and I will fix it. No citizen of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-snyder/to-you-the-people-of-flint-i-say-as-i-have-before-i-am-sorry-and-i/)

[Rick Snyder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-snyder/)

> [Dark influences from the American past congregate among us still. If we are a democracy, what are we to make of the palpable elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-bloom/dark-influences-from-the-american-past-congregate-among-us-still-if/)

[Harold Bloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-bloom/)

> [It's the hardest thing on earth to like yourself, and then when you do, it's a catastrophe. I mean, the people I know who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-nichols/it-s-the-hardest-thing-on-earth-to-like-yourself-and-then-when-you-do/)

[Mike Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-nichols/)

> [We are upsetting the atmosphere upon which all life depends. In the late 80s when I began to take climate change seriously, we referred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-suzuki/we-are-upsetting-the-atmosphere-upon-which-all-life-depends-in-the/)

[David Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-suzuki/)

> [“War is catastrophe. It breaks families in irretrievable pieces. But those who are gone are not necessarily lost.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/war-is-catastrophe-it-breaks-families-in-irretrievable-pieces-but/)

[Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/)

> [The biggest catastrophes that we've witnessed rarely come from information that is secret or hidden. It comes from information that is freely available and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-heffernan/the-biggest-catastrophes-that-we-ve-witnessed-rarely-come-from/)

[Margaret Heffernan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-heffernan/)

> [All the parties of capitalist society, all its moralists and all its sycophants will perish beneath the debris of the impending catastrophe. The only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/all-the-parties-of-capitalist-society-all-its-moralists-and-all-its/)

[Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/)

> [When the regime changed in Japan, the Japanese changed; Russians too can change, as long as the conditions for it are present once again.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-voinovich/when-the-regime-changed-in-japan-the-japanese-changed-russians-too/)

[Vladimir Voinovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-voinovich/)

> [And in the racial climate of this country today, it is anybody's guess which of the 'extremes' in approach to the black man's problems…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-x/and-in-the-racial-climate-of-this-country-today-it-is-anybody-s-guess/)

[Malcolm X](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-x/)

> [“But I guess it never is what you worry over that comes to pass in the end. The real catastrophes are always different -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/but-i-guess-it-never-is-what-you-worry-over-that-comes-to-pass-in-the/)

[Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/)

> [“How someone wants to explain catastrophe isn't important--that's what I know now. When shit happens, it doesn't really matter what asshole is responsible.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/how-someone-wants-to-explain-catastrophe-isn-t-important-that-s-what/)

[Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/)

> [The Author of nature has not given laws to the universe, which, like the institutions of men, carry in themselves the elements of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-playfair/the-author-of-nature-has-not-given-laws-to-the-universe-which-like/)

[John Playfair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-playfair/)

[Browse all 656 Catastrophe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catastrophe/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“When growth becomes a supreme good, unrestricted by any other ethical considerations, it can easily lead to catastrophe.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Yuval Noah Harari"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/when-growth-becomes-a-supreme-good-unrestricted-by-any-other-ethical/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Catastrophe"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/when-growth-becomes-a-supreme-good-unrestricted-by-any-other-ethical/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/yuval-noah-harari-100_catastrophe_when-growth-becomes-a-supreme-good-unres_201309.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/yuval-noah-harari-100_catastrophe_when-growth-becomes-a-supreme-good-unres_201309.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ea/yuval-noah-harari-100_catastrophe_when-growth-becomes-a-supreme-good-unres_201309.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“When growth becomes a supreme good, unrestricted by any other ethical considerations, it can easily lead to…” — Yuval Noah Harari",
                "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": "Yuval Noah Harari",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“When growth becomes a supreme good,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/when-growth-becomes-a-supreme-good-unrestricted-by-any-other-ethical/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/when-growth-becomes-a-supreme-good-unrestricted-by-any-other-ethical/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
