I am nothing but I must be everything.
Karl MarxRead
While the miser is merely a capitalist gone mad, the capitalist is a rational miser.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote critiques both capitalism and miserliness, suggesting that extreme forms of both can distort rational behavior.
In this quote, Karl Marx contrasts the characteristics of a miser with those of a capitalist, arguing that while the miser is driven to madness by unhealthy greed and obsession with wealth, the capitalist maintains a rational approach to accumulation of wealth. However, both extremes reflect a flawed relationship with money and resources, highlighting the need for a more balanced perspective in economic practices.
Themes
CapitalismMiserWealthGreedEconomicsRationality
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a discussion about the ethical implications of capitalism in modern society.
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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