I am nothing but I must be everything.
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Human history is shaped by past circumstances that are out of individual control.
This quote by Karl Marx emphasizes the idea that while individuals can influence history, they are bound by the conditions and legacies of the past. It highlights the complex interplay between individual agency and historical context, suggesting that present choices are often constrained by prior events and societal structures.
Themes
HistoryAgencyCircumstancesTraditionPast
In practice
Example use cases
During a history lecture discussing the forces that shape societies.
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
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
Religious distress is at the same time the expression of the real distress and also the protest against real distress. Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world, just as it is the spirit of the spiritless condition. It is the opium of the people.
Karl MarxRead
Similar quotes
In summary, Intelligence Intensification is desirable, because there is not a single problem confronting humanity that is not either caused or considerably worsened by the prevailing stupidity (insensitivity) of the species: badly wired robots bumping into and maiming and killing each other.
Robert Anton WilsonRead
Some of the qualities of # God must _x000D_ be merged into us before our _x000D_ # prayers can be fit for His _x000D_ acceptance.
Oswald ChambersRead
Faith is part of who I am, yes. I was raised Christian Scientist. The most important thing I saw every single week on the wall at Sunday school was the Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
Ellen DegeneresRead
Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.
Nelson MandelaRead
A fact is like a sack - it won't stand up if it's empty. To make it stand up, first you have to put in it all the reasons and feelings that caused it in the first place.
Luigi PirandelloRead
The magistrates are the ministers for the laws, the judges their interpreters, the rest of us are servants of the law, that we all may be free.
Marcus Tullius CiceroRead