To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs.
Aldous HuxleyRead
Industrial civilization is only possible when there's no self-denial. Self-indulgence up to the very limits imposed by hygiene and economics. Otherwise the wheels stop turning.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes that modern industrial society thrives on self-indulgence, relying on consumer satisfaction without restraint to function effectively.
Aldous Huxley's quote suggests that the advancement of industrial civilization is intrinsically tied to the concept of self-indulgence. It posits that as long as individuals pursue their desires without denying themselves, the mechanisms of society—like production and consumption—can operate smoothly. However, any significant restraint or self-denial disrupts this flow, halting progress and efficiency. Thus, it speaks to the precarious balance between human desires and the necessities of a functional economy.
Themes
Self-IndulgenceCivilizationEconomicsHygieneDesireSociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about consumerism, one could use this quote to highlight the dependence of industrial society on fulfilling human desires.
More from Aldous Huxley
All quotes →Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.
Aldous HuxleyRead
In the course of history many more people have died for their drink and their dope than have died for their religion or their country.
Aldous HuxleyRead
On no account brood over your wrongdoing. Rolling in the muck is not the best way of getting clean.
Aldous HuxleyRead
No man ever dared to manifest his boredom so insolently as does a Siamese tomcat when he yawns in the face of his amorously importunate wife.
Aldous HuxleyRead
The leech's kiss, the squid's embrace, The prurient ape's defiling touch: And do you like the human race? No, not much.
Aldous HuxleyRead
Similar quotes
Whomever the Lord has adopted and deemed worthy of His fellowship ought to prepare themselves for a hard, toilsome, and unquiet life, crammed with very many and various kinds of evil.
John CalvinRead
Capitalism may even be identical with the restraint, or at least a rational tempering, of this irrational impulse. But capitalism is identical with the restraint, or at least a rational tempering, of this irrational impulse. But capitalism is identical with the pursuit of profit, and forever renewed profit, by means of continuous, rational, capitalistic enterprise.
Max WeberRead
Pessimism is a very easy way out because it is a short view of life. If you look at what is happening around us today, you can't help but feel that life is a terrible complexity of problems. But if you look back a few thousand years, you realize that we have advanced fantastically. If you take a long view, I do not see how you can be pessimistic about the future of mankind.
Robertson DaviesRead
The story of the redemption will not stand examination. That man should redeem himself from the sin of eating an apple by committing a murder on Jesus Christ, is the strangest system of religion ever set up.
Thomas PaineRead
Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God
Mother TeresaRead
The world has not gone one step beyond idolatry yet.
Swami VivekanandaRead