...magazines devoted to the religion of success appear as…
““...magazines devoted to the religion of success appear as Makers of America. They mean just about that when they preach evolution, progress, prosperity, being constructive, the American way of doing things. It is easy to laugh, but, in fact, they are using a very great pattern of human endeavor. For one thing it adopts an impersonal criterion; for another it adopts an earthly criterion; for a third it is habituating men to think quantitatively. To be sure the idea confuses excellence with size, happiness with speed, and human nature with contraption. Yet the same motives are at work which have ever actuated any moral code, or ever will. The desire fir the biggest, the fastest, the highest, or if you are a maker of wristwatches or microscopes the smallest; the love in short of the superlative and the "peerless," is in essence and possibility a noble passion.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
Success culture equates size and speed with virtue, obscuring true excellence and happiness.
In simple terms: Success is measured by size, speed, not true quality.
Key Takeaway
Seek meaning beyond superficial metrics.
Themes
materialism
culture
critique
Mood
critical
thought‑provoking
Type
analytical
philosophical
When to use this quote
- business
- education
- media
- personal ambition
Key Concepts
sociology
philosophy
economics
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you define true success?
- What values should replace size and speed?
A Different Perspective
May overlook individual definitions of success.