René Dubos on the decline of civilizations

“Civilizations commonly die from the excessive development of certain characteristics which had at first contributed to their success. Our form of industrial civilization suffers from having allowed experts to make growth and efficiency, rather than the quality of life, the main criterion for success.”

–René Jules Dubos (February 20, 1901 – February 20, 1982) was a French-born American microbiologist, experimental pathologist, environmentalist, humanist, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction for his book So Human An Animal. Wikipedia

(submitted by William P. Chiles)

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