I am nothing but I must be everything.
Karl MarxRead
The redeeming feature of war is that it puts a nation to the test. As exposure to the atmosphere reduces all mummies to instant dissolution, so war passes supreme judgment upon social systems that have outlived their vitality.
Interpretation
What this quote means
War serves as a test that reveals the strengths and weaknesses of a nation's social systems.
In this quote, Karl Marx suggests that war acts as a crucible for nations, exposing their inherent qualities and the effectiveness of their social structures. Just as the harsh conditions of the environment can quickly deteriorate a preserved mummy, war has the capacity to reveal the failures of societies that have become stagnant or outdated, thus leading to potential renewal and change.
Themes
WarTestSocial SystemsVitalityJudgment
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about national resilience, I might say, 'As Karl Marx pointed out, the redeeming feature of war is that it puts a nation to the test.'
More from Karl Marx
All quotes →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
I regret profoundly that I was not an American and not born in Greenwich Village. It might be dying, and there might be a lot of dirt in the air you breathe, but this is where it's happening.
John LennonRead
And so you're afraid of the emptiness of your friend's life. But there's no emptiness in the life of a man of knowledge, I tell you. Everything is filled to the brim and everything is equal.
Carlos CastanedaRead
Comrades," he said, "here is a point that must be settled. The wild creatures, such as rats and rabbits–are they our friends or our enemies? Let us put it to the vote. I propose this question to the meeting: Are rats comrades?" The vote was taken at once, and it was agreed by an overwhelming majority that rats were comrades. There were only four dissentients, the three dogs and the cat, who was afterwards discovered to have voted on both sides.
George OrwellRead
The preachers commission is to declare the whole counsel of God; but the cross is the center of that counsel.
J. I. PackerRead
It's very depressing to live in a time where it's easier to break an atom than a prejudice.
Albert EinsteinRead
If we wish to know about a man, we ask 'what is his story--his real, inmost story?'--for each of us is a biography, a story. Each of us is a singular narrative, which is constructed, continually, unconsciously, by, through, and in us--through our perceptions, our feelings, our thoughts, our actions; and, not least, our discourse, our spoken narrations. Biologically, physiologically, we are not so different from each other; historically, as narratives--we are each of us unique.
Oliver SacksRead