QuoteProject
A commodity appears at first sight an extremely obvious, trivial thing. But its analysis brings out that it is a very strange thing, abounding in metaphysical subtleties and theological niceties.
Karl Marx
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote highlights the complexity of commodities, suggesting that they are not as simple as they seem and contain deeper philosophical implications.

Karl Marx's quote suggests that while commodities may initially appear to be straightforward and unremarkable, a deeper analysis reveals that they embody complex metaphysical and theological considerations. This complexity challenges the perception of commodities as mere objects of exchange, inviting a philosophical exploration of their societal and economic significance.

Themes

CommodityPhilosophyAnalysisMetaphysicsTheology

In practice

Example use cases

During a lecture on economic theories, one might reference this quote to illustrate the hidden complexities of market goods.

More from Karl Marx

I am nothing but I must be everything.
Karl MarxRead
Religion is the opiate of the people.
Karl MarxRead
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.
Karl MarxRead
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.
Karl MarxRead
To be radical is to grasp things by the root.
Karl MarxRead
Men's ideas are the most direct emanations of their material state.
Karl MarxRead

Similar quotes

The virtues of a superior man are like the wind; the virtues of a common man are like the grass; the grass, when the wind passes over it, bends.
Henry David ThoreauRead
We are all living in cages with the door wide open.
George LucasRead
I've been trying to fit everything in, trying to get to the end before it's too late, but I see now how badly I've deceived myself. Words do not allow such things. The closer you come to the end, the more there is to say. The end is only imaginary, a destination you invent to keep yourself going, but a point comes when you realize you will never get there. You might have to stop, but that is only because you have run out of time. You stop, but that does not mean you have come to an end.
Paul AusterRead
If a philosophy is to bring happiness it should be inspired by kindly feelings. Marx pretended that he wanted the happiness of the proletariat; what he really wanted was the unhappiness of the bourgeois.
Bertrand RussellRead
History is a mighty dramos, enacted upon the theatre of times, with suns for lamps and eternity for a background.
Thomas CarlyleRead
Where there is no conflict, there is no fault.
LaoziRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.