If you live long enough, you'll see that every victory turns into a defeat.
Simone De BeauvoirRead
Society cares for the individual only so far as he is profitable.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that society values individuals primarily based on their contributions or profitability.
Simone De Beauvoir reflects on the transactional nature of societal relationships, implying that an individual's worth is often measured by their ability to contribute to the collective. This perspective raises questions about the inherent value of each person and critiques the utilitarian approach that dominates societal views and interactions, advocating for a deeper recognition of individual worth beyond mere productivity.
Themes
SocietyIndividualProfitabilityValueWorth
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about capitalism and ethics, this quote can illustrate the critique of valuing people based solely on their economic contributions.
More from Simone De Beauvoir
All quotes βTwo separate beings, in different circumstances, face to face in freedom and seeking justification of their existence through one another, will always live an adventure full of risk and promise." (p. 248)
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To catch a husband is an art; to hold him is a job.
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Sex pleasure in woman is a kind of magic spell; it demands complete abandon; if words or movements oppose the magic of caresses, the spell is broken.
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As long as there have been men and they have lived, they have all felt this tragic ambiguity of their condition, but as long as there have been philosophers and they have thought, most of them have tried to mask it.
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Few tasks are more like the torture of Sisyphus than housework, with its endless repetition: the clean becomes soiled, the soiled is made clean, over and over, day after day. The housewife wears herself out marking time: she makes nothing, simply perpetuates the present β¦ Eating, sleeping, cleaning β the years no longer rise up towards heaven, they lie spread out ahead, grey and identical. The battle against dust and dirt is never won.
Simone De BeauvoirRead
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