Technology should be an important ingredient. It may be and

Hear the words of Aleksander Kwasniewski, who proclaimed with clarity of vision: “Technology should be an important ingredient. It may be and should be a tool for social development.” This saying, though wrapped in simplicity, carries the weight of ages, for it speaks to the eternal question of how mankind shall wield its tools: for selfish gain, or for the uplifting of all. It is a reminder that invention without purpose is but a hollow idol, but invention guided by justice and compassion becomes the handmaiden of progress.

He names technology as an “important ingredient,” and in this we see a metaphor as ancient as the hearth. For just as bread requires grain, water, and fire, so too does society require many ingredients—wisdom, virtue, law, and the tools of its age. Without fire, the bread remains raw; without technology, human effort remains bound by its limits. Yet an ingredient alone does not make a feast. It must be mixed with other virtues and guided by skilled hands, lest it become bitter or poisonous. Thus Kwasniewski warns: technology by itself is not enough, but as part of a greater recipe, it can nourish the whole of humanity.

He speaks also of social development, the growth not only of wealth, but of justice, equality, and the well-being of the people. For what is the worth of machines that mine riches, if the poor remain hungry? What good are networks that span the globe, if they spread lies instead of truth? The measure of true progress lies not in the brightness of our screens but in the brightness of our lives—whether the widow is comforted, whether the orphan is educated, whether the laborer finds dignity in his work. When technology serves these ends, it fulfills its highest purpose.

History bears witness to this truth. When Johannes Gutenberg created the printing press, he did more than invent a machine: he ignited a revolution of the mind. The Scriptures, once locked away in monasteries, were placed into the hands of the common people. Knowledge, once the privilege of a few, became the inheritance of many. This was technology serving social development, breaking the chains of ignorance and giving birth to new eras of learning and reform. The lesson resounds: tools find their nobility when they are used to uplift the multitude.

But there are darker mirrors too. When the power of the atom was unlocked, it could have brought light to every home, power to every village. Instead, it was first used to rain fire upon cities, leaving shadows burned into stone. This is the warning hidden in Kwasniewski’s words: technology is not destiny—it is choice. It is the hand that wields the tool that decides whether it builds or destroys. Without the guiding star of conscience, technology leads not to social development but to ruin.

Thus his wisdom is both hope and charge: let mankind not fear technology, but guide it. Let it be used to heal the sick, to educate the young, to bridge the divisions of rich and poor, to bring clean water, fair justice, and shared knowledge. This is the vision of technology as servant, not master, as instrument, not idol. If we forget this, we fall into the error of worshipping machines while neglecting the souls they were meant to serve.

The lesson is clear: embrace the tools of your age, but never without purpose. Ask always: does this technology enrich only the few, or does it uplift the many? Does it deepen isolation, or strengthen community? Does it feed greed, or nourish justice? Practical actions follow: support innovations that serve humanity, share knowledge freely, use the tools in your hand to teach, to help, to connect. Let every person become not only a user of technology, but a guardian of its purpose.

For in the end, as Kwasniewski declared, technology should be a tool for social development. When guided by wisdom, it is not merely an ingredient in our progress—it is the leaven that lifts the whole of society, transforming effort into abundance, and hope into reality.