As with our earlier worship of saints and facts, there is…
““As with our earlier worship of saints and facts, there is something silly about grown men and women striving to reduce their vision of themselves and of civilization to bean counting. The message of the competition/efficiency/marketplace Trinity seems to be that we should drop the idea of ourselves developed over two and a half millennia. We are no longer beings distinguished by our ability to think and to act consciously in order to affect our circumstances. Instead we should passively submit ourselves and our whole civilization -- our public structures, social forms and cultural creativity -- to the abstract forces of unregulated commerce. It may be that most citizens have difficulty with the argument and would prefer to continue working on the idea of dignified human intelligence. If they must drop something, they would probably prefer to drop the economists. ””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Critiques reducing humanity to economic metrics, warning against losing intellectual dignity.
In simple terms: Don't let markets define humanity.
Key Takeaway
Preserve human intellect over profit.
Themes
philosophy
economics
humanism
Mood
reflective
critical
Type
philosophical
social
When to use this quote
- public policy
- education
- cultural preservation
- business ethics
Key Concepts
market forces
civilization
intellectual dignity
Questions to Reflect On
- How can we balance efficiency with humanity?
- What alternatives to pure market logic exist?
A Different Perspective
Economic arguments can be persuasive.