Our entire much-praised technological progress, and civilization generally, could be compared to an axe in the hand of a pathological criminal.

— Albert Einstein Letter to Heinrich Zangger (1917)

Unser ganzer gepriesener Fortschritt der Technik, überhaupt die Civilisation, ist der Axt in der Hand des pathologischen Verbrechers vergleichbar.

Original text (German)

Notes from Wikiquote

Sometimes paraphrased as "Technological progress is like an axe in the hands of a pathological criminal."

Essay to Leo Baeck (1953)

Statement on the occasion of Gandhi's 70th birthday (1939)

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Albert Einstein (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.