O efeito humano da máquina

"Contrary to what many romantically inclined critics of contemporary civilization say about the dehumanizing effects of machines, I believe that contact with machines (particularly complicated machines) exercises a profoundly humanizing influence in the sense of making people less brutal. The reason for that is very simple: machines do not respond to shouting and beating—to make them work one has to think and be patient. In contrast, the use of animals offers a standing lesson in the advantages of brutality—one has only to reflect upon the fact that in an industrialized country people do not carry whips." S. Andreski