I am nothing but I must be everything.
Karl MarxRead
Private property has made us so stupid and one-sided that an object is only ours when we have it
Interpretation
This quote critiques the concept of private ownership, suggesting it limits our perspective to one of possession.
Karl Marx's quote highlights the impact of private property on human thought and behavior. He argues that the idea of ownership distorts our understanding of the world, reducing our ability to see value beyond what we possess. In this context, he suggests that people become narrow-minded and self-centered, viewing objects only in terms of their own personal gain rather than their broader social or communal significance.
In practice
In a debate on economic systems, one might use this quote to argue against capitalism.
I am nothing but I must be everything.
Religion is the opiate of the people.
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.
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.
To be radical is to grasp things by the root.
Men's ideas are the most direct emanations of their material state.
Hope humbly then; with trembling pinions soar;_x000D_ _x000D_ Wait the great teacher, Death, and God adore;_x000D_ _x000D_ What future bliss He gives not thee to know,_x000D_ _x000D_ But gives that hope to be thy blessing now.
To feel absolutely right is the beginning of the end.
Heroes are not giant statues framed against a red sky. They are people who say: This is my community, and it is my responsibility to make it better. Interweave all these communities and you really have an America that is back on its feet again. I really think we are gonna have to reassess what constitutes a 'hero'.
It is fateful and ironic how the lie we need in order to live dooms us to a life that is never really ours.
The trouble with these people is that their cities have never been bombed and their mothers have never been told to shut up.
I think that is the big danger in keeping a diary: you exaggerate everything.
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