I am nothing but I must be everything.
Karl MarxRead
Accumulation of wealth at one pole is at the same time accumulation of misery, agony of toil, slavery, ignorance, brutality, mental degradation, at the opposite pole
Interpretation
What this quote means
Wealth disparity leads to suffering among the impoverished while benefiting the rich.
In this quote, Karl Marx illustrates the social and economic imbalance that arises from the accumulation of wealth by a select few. He argues that while some individuals amass great fortunes, this often results in severe negative consequences for others, including poverty, suffering, and a lack of education and dignity. Marx emphasizes that the concentration of wealth not only exacerbates social inequality but also creates a cycle of mental and moral degradation for those left behind.
Themes
WealthMiseryInequalityPovertyCapitalism
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on social justice, one could use this quote to highlight the societal impact of economic inequality.
More from Karl Marx
All quotes βReligion is the opiate of the people.
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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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We continue to shape our personality all our life. If we knew ourselves perfectly, we should die.
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It boggles my mind that the same people who cry βfoulβ about rationing an instant later argue to reduce health care benefits for the needy, to defund crucial programs of care and prevention, and to shift thousands of dollars of annual costs to people β elders, the poor, the disabled β who are least able to bear them.
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There must be another life, she thought, sinking back into her chair, exasperated. Not in dreams; but here and now, in this room, with living people. She felt as if she were standing on the edge of a precipice with her hair blown back; she was about to grasp something that just evaded her. There must be another life, here and now, she repeated. This is too short, too broken. We know nothing, even about ourselves.
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Waterboarding should never be used as an interrogation tool. It is beneath our values.
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