I am nothing but I must be everything.
Karl MarxRead
Capital is reckless of the health or length of life of the laborer, unless under compulsion from society.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques capitalism's disregard for workers' well-being unless forced to care by societal pressure.
In this quote, Karl Marx emphasizes that capitalism prioritizes profit over the health and longevity of its laborers. He asserts that only when society compels it does capital take responsibility for the lives of workers, highlighting a fundamental critique of how economic systems often exploit human labor without regard for individual welfare.
Themes
CapitalismLaborHealthSocietyWorkers
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion on workers' rights, this quote can highlight the need for systemic changes.
More from Karl Marx
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It is absolutely impossible to transcend the laws of nature. What can change in historically different circumstances is only the form in which these laws expose themselves.
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Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly encountered, given and transmitted from the past. The tradition of all the dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brain of the living.
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To be radical is to grasp things by the root.
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Men's ideas are the most direct emanations of their material state.
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