To his dog, every man is Napoleon; hence the constant popularity of dogs.
Aldous HuxleyRead
Industrial civilization is only possible when there's no self-denial. Self-indulgence up to the very limits imposed by hygiene and economics. Otherwise the wheels stop turning.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes that modern industrial society thrives on self-indulgence, relying on consumer satisfaction without restraint to function effectively.
Aldous Huxley's quote suggests that the advancement of industrial civilization is intrinsically tied to the concept of self-indulgence. It posits that as long as individuals pursue their desires without denying themselves, the mechanisms of society—like production and consumption—can operate smoothly. However, any significant restraint or self-denial disrupts this flow, halting progress and efficiency. Thus, it speaks to the precarious balance between human desires and the necessities of a functional economy.
Themes
Self-IndulgenceCivilizationEconomicsHygieneDesireSociety
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about consumerism, one could use this quote to highlight the dependence of industrial society on fulfilling human desires.
More from Aldous Huxley
All quotes →Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.
Aldous HuxleyRead
In the course of history many more people have died for their drink and their dope than have died for their religion or their country.
Aldous HuxleyRead
On no account brood over your wrongdoing. Rolling in the muck is not the best way of getting clean.
Aldous HuxleyRead
No man ever dared to manifest his boredom so insolently as does a Siamese tomcat when he yawns in the face of his amorously importunate wife.
Aldous HuxleyRead
The leech's kiss, the squid's embrace, The prurient ape's defiling touch: And do you like the human race? No, not much.
Aldous HuxleyRead
Similar quotes
What is essential in war is victory, not prolonged operations.
Sun TzuRead
They don't ask much of you. They only want you to hate the things you love and to love the things you despise.
Boris PasternakRead
So much of the past in encapsulated in the odds and ends. Most of us discard more information about ourselves than we ever care to preserve. Our recollection of the past is not simply distorted by our faulty perception of events remembered but skewed by those forgotten. The memory is like twin orbiting stars, one visible, one dark, the trajectory of what's evident forever affected by the gravity of what's concealed.
Sue GraftonRead
The first proof of charity in a priest, and especially a bishop, is poverty.
Victor HugoRead
Have you ever confused a dream with life? Or stolen something when you have the cash? Have you ever been blue? Or thought your train moving while sitting still? Maybe I was just crazy. Maybe it was the 60's. Or maybe I was just a girl... interrupted.
Susanna KaysenRead
Violence is fomented by the imposition of singular and belligerent identities on gullible people, championed by proficient artisans of terror.
Amartya SenRead