I am nothing but I must be everything.
Karl MarxRead
All social rules and all relations between individuals are eroded by a cash economy, avarice drags Pluto himself out of the bowels of the earth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
A cash economy corrupts social interactions and values, driven by greed.
In this quote, Karl Marx suggests that the introduction and predominance of a cash economy deteriorate social relationships and ethical norms, as the pursuit of wealth (avarice) overshadows human connections and the intrinsic values that bind individuals together. The reference to Pluto, the Roman god of the underworld, symbolizes the deep-rooted and destructive nature of greed that emerges from societal structures based on monetary exchange.
Themes
EconomyGreedRelationshipsAvariceMoney
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the impact of capitalism on society, one might quote Marx to highlight the negative consequences of prioritizing wealth over human connection.
More from Karl Marx
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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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