I am nothing but I must be everything.
Karl MarxRead
The bureaucracy takes itself to be the ultimate purpose of the state
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights how bureaucracy can prioritize its own existence over serving the public good.
Karl Marx's observation reflects the tendency of bureaucratic systems to focus on their own maintenance and expansion rather than fulfilling their intended role of serving the state's citizens. He suggests that when bureaucracies become the ultimate aim of government, they can lose sight of their original mission to promote social welfare and justice.
Themes
BureaucracyStateGovernmentPublicPurpose
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about government reform, one might use this quote to criticize excessive bureaucracy.
More from Karl Marx
All quotes βReligion 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
The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy.
H. L. MenckenRead
In America, there's a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.
Barack ObamaRead
I hereby accuse the North American empire of being the biggest menace to our planet.
Hugo ChavezRead
In Iran the whole reform and democracy movement has been based on the emerging free press.
Christiane AmanpourRead
Our American heritage is threatened as much by our own indifference as it is by the most unscrupulous office or by the most powerful foreign threat. The future of this republic is in the hands of the American voter.
Dwight D. EisenhowerRead
Government can do something for the people only in proportion as it can do something to the people.
Thomas JeffersonRead