“I do not believe that multiplication of wants and machinery contrived to supply them is taking the world a single step nearer its goal. I whole-heartedly detest this mad desire to destroy distance and time, to increase animal appetites and go to the ends of the earth in search of their satisfaction.”
Share this quote
Probable attribution
This saying is widely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, but the attribution is not supported by a reliable primary source.
Likely origin: M. K. Gandhi (widely from Young India, c.1924-25); his critique of the endless multiplication of wants and machinery.
About this quote
Producing ever more gadgets to feed ever more cravings can look like advancement while leaving the deeper aim untouched. A fresh want breeds dependence rather than contentment, so the useful move is to ask whether a desire is worth serving at all before you spend your life chasing it.
When to use it
- A shopper pauses before a one-click purchase and realizes the gadget would just sit unused in a drawer.
- A family cancels three streaming subscriptions and finds their evenings calmer, not emptier.
- Someone downsizes to a smaller home and discovers the freed-up time matters more than the extra rooms.