David W. Orr:
Is the Paul Sears Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Politics Emeritus at Oberlin College, and presently Professor of Practice at Arizona State University.
During his tenure at the Environmental Studies Center at Oberlin College, Orr demonstrated how institutions of higher learning can teach ecological literacy while practicing sustainable design and encouraging more eco-friendly lifestyles on campus. Orr’s books, “Ecological Literacy: Education and the Transition to a Postmodern World” (1992) and “Earth in Mind”(1994-2004), proposed ways in which education should evolve to emphasize sustainability, not only in the narrow parameters of ecology-based programs, but in wider curricula, from political science and economics to liberal arts.
The planet does not need more successful people. The planet desperately needs more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers and lovers of all kinds.
The quote is a critique of how modern society measures human worth — through career achievement, wealth, or conventional “success.” The author argues that solving the ecological and social crises facing the world requires a different kind of person entirely: those who repair relationships and conflict (peacemakers), tend to suffering (healers), restore damaged ecosystems and communities (restorers), preserve and pass on meaning and culture (storytellers), and act out of care and devotion rather than ambition (lovers). It’s essentially a call to redefine what we value and cultivate in people — shifting away from competitive achievement and toward stewardship, empathy, and care for the world and each other.
Origin:
The quote comes from the 1992 book “Ecological Literacy: Educating Our Children for a Sustainable World”. The version that circulates widely online (including the phrasing you originally quoted) is a shortened, slightly altered version of the original passage. The full original text reads:
“The plain fact is that the planet does not need more successful people. But it does desperately need more peacemakers, healers, restorers, storytellers, and lovers of every kind. It needs people who live well in their places. It needs people of moral courage willing to join the fight to make the world habitable and humane. And these qualities have little to do with success as we have defined it.”
Author:
This is commonly — and incorrectly — attributed to the Dalai Lama. The actual author is David W. Orr, an American environmental scientist and professor known for his work on ecological education and sustainability. The misattribution is well documented: the quote is actually from Orr’s book, not the Dalai Lama, even though it circulates widely under his name because it “sounds like” something a spiritual figure would say.
