--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is an anomaly that information, the…" description: "\"It is an anomaly that information, the one thing most necessary to our survival as choosers of our own way, should be a commodity subject to the same m..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e74/a-j-liebling-15045_anomalies_it-is-an-anomaly-that-information-the-on_28670.png" --- # It is an anomaly that information, the one thing most… ![“It is an anomaly that information, the one thing most necessary to our survival as choosers of our own way, should be a commodity subject to the same merchandising rules as chewing gum.” quote by A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e74/a-j-liebling-15045_anomalies_it-is-an-anomaly-that-information-the-on_28670.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e74/a-j-liebling-15045_anomalies_it-is-an-anomaly-that-information-the-on_28670.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e74/a-j-liebling-15045_anomalies_it-is-an-anomaly-that-information-the-on_28670.png) > “It is an anomaly that information, the one thing most necessary to our survival as choosers of our own way, should be a commodity subject to the same merchandising rules as chewing gum.” [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that treating essential knowledge as a marketable product undermines its role in informed decision‑making and personal autonomy. **In simple terms:** Knowledge commodified erodes freedom. Key Takeaway Treat information as a public good, not a sale item. Themes information ethics media criticism consumerism freedom knowledge access Mood concerned critical urgent Type critical social philosophical When to use this quote - public policy debates - media literacy education - digital content platforms - academic publishing - government transparency Key Concepts information as commodity survival through choice merchandising of ideas Practical Applications - advocacy for open access policies - design of non‑commercial knowledge repositories Questions to Reflect On - How does monetizing knowledge affect democratic participation? - What mechanisms can balance sustainability of content creation with universal access? A Different Perspective Some argue that pricing information can fund quality journalism and incentivize innovation, though this risks limiting access for disadvantaged groups. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anomalies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anomalies/) [Chewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chewing/) [Chewing gum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chewing-gum/) [Commodity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commodity/) [Commodity Subject](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commodity-subject-419792/) [Gum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gum/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Knowledge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knowledge/) [Merchandising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/merchandising/) [One thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-thing/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Subject Merchandising](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subject-merchandising-419791/) [Subjects](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subjects/) [Survival](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/survival/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Way Commodity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way-commodity-419793/) ## Related quotes > [Of course, neither David or myself ever saw a penny from them; it was the early days of merchandising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-vaughn/of-course-neither-david-or-myself-ever-saw-a-penny-from-them-it-was/) [Robert Vaughn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-vaughn/) > [“Nowadays, of course, just about our only solvent industry is the merchandising of death, bankrolled by our grandchildren, so that the message of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/nowadays-of-course-just-about-our-only-solvent-industry-is-the-2/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [When I was a kid, if I liked something from merchandising, I'd have to go to the toy store.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diego-luna/when-i-was-a-kid-if-i-liked-something-from-merchandising-i-d-have-to/) [Diego Luna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diego-luna/) > [I always wanted to be a fashion designer and I learned costume illustration in high school. That was an incredible high school. It was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-ross/i-always-wanted-to-be-a-fashion-designer-and-i-learned-costume/) [Diana Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-ross/) > [I was always into fashion because my mom has always been interested in fashion. She majored in fashion merchandising in college, and it's always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dakota-fanning/i-was-always-into-fashion-because-my-mom-has-always-been-interested/) [Dakota Fanning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dakota-fanning/) > [I wanted control over the merchandising, the actual packaging of the product. That was a big factor. The only way for me to exercise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-reddy/i-wanted-control-over-the-merchandising-the-actual-packaging-of-the/) [Helen Reddy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-reddy/) > [Designers are by nature more inquisitive, more connected. They dig a little deeper in terms of insights. They turn those insights into innovation. That…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-parker/designers-are-by-nature-more-inquisitive-more-connected-they-dig-a/) [Mark Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-parker/) > [I wasn't so interested in merchandising through CD or whatever form. I wasn't really so aggressive about promoting my own work. I had my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoshi-wada/i-wasn-t-so-interested-in-merchandising-through-cd-or-whatever-form-i/) [Yoshi Wada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoshi-wada/) > [The shaping of taste is essentially the science of merchandising, whether of detergents or cars or books or objects of fine and decorative art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-lynes/the-shaping-of-taste-is-essentially-the-science-of-merchandising/) [Russell Lynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-lynes/) > [Nowadays, of course, just about our only solvent industry is the merchandising of death, bankrolled by our grandchildren.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/nowadays-of-course-just-about-our-only-solvent-industry-is-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Merchandising, merchandising, where the real money from the movie is made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mel-brooks/merchandising-merchandising-where-the-real-money-from-the-movie-is/) [Mel Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mel-brooks/) > [“The retailer features them in advertising to generate store traffic, but once the shopper is in the store the retailer has every incentive via…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-thain/the-retailer-features-them-in-advertising-to-generate-store-traffic/) [Greg Thain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-thain/) > [Relentless improvement of the product and upgrading of consumer tastes are the heart of mass merchandising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/relentless-improvement-of-the-product-and-upgrading-of-consumer/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [I didn't make good money on 'Nightmare' until part three. I eventually got some nice merchandising checks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-englund/i-didn-t-make-good-money-on-nightmare-until-part-three-i-eventually/) [Robert Englund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-englund/) > [The most puzzling thing about TV is the steady advance of the sponsor across the line that has always separated news from promotion, entertainment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-b-white/the-most-puzzling-thing-about-tv-is-the-steady-advance-of-the-sponsor/) [E. B. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-b-white/) ## More by A. J. Liebling > [I used to be shy about ordering a steak after I had eaten a steak sandwich, but I got used to it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/i-used-to-be-shy-about-ordering-a-steak-after-i-had-eaten-a-steak/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) > [The pattern of a newspaperman's life is like the plot of 'Black Beauty.' Sometimes he finds a kind master who gives him a dry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/the-pattern-of-a-newspaperman-s-life-is-like-the-plot-of-black-beauty/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) > [The science of booby-trapping has taken a good deal of the fun out of following hot on the enemy's heels.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/the-science-of-booby-trapping-has-taken-a-good-deal-of-the-fun-out-of/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) > [People everywhere confuse what they read in newspapers with news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/people-everywhere-confuse-what-they-read-in-newspapers-with-news/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) > [The primary requisite for writing well about food is a good appetite. Without this, it is impossible to accumulate, within the allotted span, enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/the-primary-requisite-for-writing-well-about-food-is-a-good-appetite-2/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) > [Chicago seems a big city instead of merely a large place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/chicago-seems-a-big-city-instead-of-merely-a-large-place/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) > [A Louisiana politician can't afford to let his animosities carry him away, and still less his principles, although there is seldom difficulty in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/a-louisiana-politician-can-t-afford-to-let-his-animosities-carry-him/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) > [A city with one newspaper, or with a morning and an evening paper under one ownership, is like a man with one eye, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/a-city-with-one-newspaper-or-with-a-morning-and-an-evening-paper/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) > [There is a healthy American newspaper tradition of not taking yourself seriously It is the story you must take that way... And if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/there-is-a-healthy-american-newspaper-tradition-of-not-taking/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) > [If a boxer ever went as crazy as Nijinsky all the wowsers in the world would be screaming 'punch-drunk.' Well, who hit Nijinsky? And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/if-a-boxer-ever-went-as-crazy-as-nijinsky-all-the-wowsers-in-the/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) > [An Englishman teaching an American about food is like the blind leading the one-eyed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/an-englishman-teaching-an-american-about-food-is-like-the-blind/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) > [I had an attack of the gout two days before pulling out, and I went limping off to the war instead of coming limping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/i-had-an-attack-of-the-gout-two-days-before-pulling-out-and-i-went/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) > [Inconsiderate to the last, Josef Stalin, a man who never had to meet a deadline, had the bad taste to die in installments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/inconsiderate-to-the-last-josef-stalin-a-man-who-never-had-to-meet-a/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) > [Freedom of the press is guaranteed only to those who own one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/freedom-of-the-press-is-guaranteed-only-to-those-who-own-one/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) > [I can write better than anybody who can write faster, and I can write faster than anybody who can write better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-liebling/i-can-write-better-than-anybody-who-can-write-faster-and-i-can-write/) [A. J. Liebling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) [Explore all 44 A. J. Liebling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-liebling/) ## More Anomalies quotes > [I'm definitely an anomaly, but I'm making things. They're selling, say, martinis, and I'm kind of making vintage Riesling. People aren't going to sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-folds/i-m-definitely-an-anomaly-but-i-m-making-things-they-re-selling-say/) [Ben Folds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-folds/) > [An anomaly is not an abnormality. Diversity does not signify sickness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-canguilhem/an-anomaly-is-not-an-abnormality-diversity-does-not-signify-sickness/) [Georges Canguilhem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-canguilhem/) > [I see that women still have self-doubt, and at the same time I feel like I see all these fantastic young women, and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-harron/i-see-that-women-still-have-self-doubt-and-at-the-same-time-i-feel/) [Mary Harron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-harron/) > [“It's in the anomalies that nature reveals its secrets.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/it-s-in-the-anomalies-that-nature-reveals-its-secrets/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [For me, I want to see diversity in storytelling sources because we live in a very diverse society, and the stories are for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-shelton/for-me-i-want-to-see-diversity-in-storytelling-sources-because-we/) [Lynn Shelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-shelton/) > [Religion itself is an absurdity and an anomaly, and paganism is acceptable only because it represents that purely orgiastic phase of religion farthest from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-p-lovecraft/religion-itself-is-an-absurdity-and-an-anomaly-and-paganism-is/) [H. P. Lovecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-p-lovecraft/) > [And that singular anomaly, the lady novelist-- I don't think she'd be missed--I'm sure she'd not be missed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-s-gilbert/and-that-singular-anomaly-the-lady-novelist-i-don-t-think-she-d-be/) [W. S. Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-s-gilbert/) > [Auditioning for television shows - to find a guy who has a lot of experience as a laborer is a bit of an anomaly.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-offerman/auditioning-for-television-shows-to-find-a-guy-who-has-a-lot-of/) [Nick Offerman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-offerman/) > [Writing is, in the end, that oddest of anomalies: an intimate letter to a stranger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pico-iyer/writing-is-in-the-end-that-oddest-of-anomalies-an-intimate-letter-to/) [Pico Iyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pico-iyer/) > [Anomaly is when you don't fit the expected norm. Like "wait what is this?! It doesn't belong here." Its what the system never planned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lecrae/anomaly-is-when-you-don-t-fit-the-expected-norm-like-wait-what-is/) [LeCrae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lecrae/) > [When circumstances defy order, order should bend or break: anomalies and uncertainties give validity to architecture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-venturi/when-circumstances-defy-order-order-should-bend-or-break-anomalies/) [Robert Venturi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-venturi/) > [In any long string of letters, one can find countless anomalies that will seem like convincing proofs of hidden meaning to the mind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-wittes/in-any-long-string-of-letters-one-can-find-countless-anomalies-that/) [Benjamin Wittes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-wittes/) > [In a noted 1943 Harvard study, there were no cases of toxemia, congenital anomalies, or neonatal deaths among a group of well-fed woman. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brewer/in-a-noted-1943-harvard-study-there-were-no-cases-of-toxemia/) [Tom Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brewer/) > [And knowing what happens on average is a good place to start. By so doing, we insulate ourselves from the tendency to build our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-knowing-what-happens-on-average-is-a-good-place-to-start-by-so/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Although she was ashamed to admit it now, the darkness in him had been the largest part of his allure. It was such an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/although-she-was-ashamed-to-admit-it-now-the-darkness-in-him-had-been/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) [Browse all 102 Anomalies quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anomalies/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It is an anomaly that information, the one thing most necessary to our survival as choosers of our own way, should be a commodity subject to the same merchandising rules as chewing gum.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "A. J. 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