“It is easier to denature plutonium than it is to denature the evil spirit of man.”
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Source: The Real Problem Is in the Hearts of Men, New York Times Magazine, 23 June 1946
About this quote
Technical control over matter can be easier than moral transformation of human beings and institutions. The contrast turns nuclear science into a warning that destructive motives cannot be engineered away.
When to use it
- A weapons laboratory pairs technical safeguards with independent ethical and political oversight.
- A peace program addresses fear and propaganda instead of assuming new machinery will change hostility.
- A company treats harmful incentives as a cultural problem rather than expecting one security tool to solve them.