I didn't know what to say. I felt like crying, Goddammit everybody in the world wants an explanation for your acts and for your very being.
Jack KerouacRead
An anxious unrest, a fierce craving desire for gain has taken possession of the commercial world, and in instances no longer rare the most precious and permanent goods of human life have been madly sacrificed in the interests of momentary enrichment.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the negative impact of greed on human life and values.
Felix Adler critiques the commercial world, noting how an anxious and insatiable desire for material gain often leads to the sacrifice of what is truly valuable in life. This observation serves as a warning against prioritizing short-term wealth over enduring human experiences and relationships, suggesting that the relentless pursuit of profit can erode the foundations of meaningful existence.
Themes
GreedMaterialismValuesLifeWealth
In practice
Example use cases
During a business ethics seminar, this quote could illustrate the dangers of greed.
Similar quotes
No important national language, at least in the Occidental world, has complete regularity of grammatical structure, nor is there a single logical category which is adequately and consistently handled in terms of linguistic symbolism.
Edward SapirRead
In our loss and fear we craved the acts of religion, the ceremonies that allow us to admit our helplessness, our dependence on the great forces we do not understand.
Ursula K. Le GuinRead
Optimism - the doctrine or belief that everything is beautiful, including what is ugly.
Ambrose BierceRead
Last year, Americans spent $450 billion on Christmas. Clean water for the whole world, including every poor person on the planet would cost about $20 billion. Let's just call that what it is: A material blasphemy of the Christmas season.
Jim WallisRead
Only then, approaching my fortieth birthday, I made philosophy my life's work.
Karl JaspersRead