There are other ways of finding satisfaction, recipes for human happiness, enjoyment, dignified and meaningful, gratifying life, than increased consumption that increases production.
Zygmunt BaumanRead
Human attention tends to be focused on the satisfactions relationships are hoped to bring, precisely because somehow they have not been truly satisfactory. And if they do satisfy, the price of this satisfaction has often been found to be unacceptable.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights that relationships are often viewed through the lens of what they can provide, which can lead to disappointment when they fail to satisfy or come at a cost.
Zygmunt Bauman's quote reflects on the complexities of human relationships, pointing out that people often anticipate satisfaction from their connections with others. However, this expectation may arise from past disappointments, as relationships frequently do not meet emotional needs. Additionally, when relationships do provide happiness, it may come at a cost that feels too high, leading to a constant struggle to find fulfilling connections without the accompanying pain or sacrifice.
Themes
RelationshipsSatisfactionHuman ConnectionDisappointmentEmotional Needs
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of transparency in relationships, one might quote Bauman to highlight the complexity of relationships in today's world.
More from Zygmunt Bauman
All quotes →Civilisation, the orderly world in which we live, is frail. We are skating on thin ice. There is a fear of a collective disaster. Terrorism, genocide, flu, tsunamis.
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In a liquid modern life there are no permanent bonds, and any that we take up for a time must be tied loosely so that they can be untied again, as quickly and as effortlessly as possible, when circumstances change - as they surely will in our liquid modern society, over and over again.
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We belong to talking, not what talking is about... Stop talking - and you are out. Silence equals exclusion.
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The carrying power of a bridge is not the average strength of the pillars, but the strength of the weakest pillar. I have always believed that you do not measure the health of a society by GNP but by the condition of its worst off.
Zygmunt BaumanRead
As far as love is concerned, possession, power, fusion and disenchantment are the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Zygmunt BaumanRead
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