--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But if inventions have increased man's…" description: "\"But if inventions have increased man's power over nature very much, then the real value of money is better measured for some purposes in labour than in..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/alfred-marshall-19690_labour_but-if-inventions-have-increased-man-s-p_1088307.png" --- # But if inventions have increased man's power over nature… ![“But if inventions have increased man's power over nature very much, then the real value of money is better measured for some purposes in labour than in commodities.” quote by Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/alfred-marshall-19690_labour_but-if-inventions-have-increased-man-s-p_1088307.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/alfred-marshall-19690_labour_but-if-inventions-have-increased-man-s-p_1088307.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/53f/alfred-marshall-19690_labour_but-if-inventions-have-increased-man-s-p_1088307.png) > “But if inventions have increased man's power over nature very much, then the real value of money is better measured for some purposes in labour than in commodities.” [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Money’s true worth lies in the labor it represents, not just in goods. **In simple terms:** Labor defines money’s value more than commodities. Key Takeaway Consider labor’s role in economic value. Themes economics value labor money commodity Mood analytical thoughtful Type economic philosophical When to use this quote - wage negotiations - pricing strategies - policy debates - investment decisions Key Concepts labor theory of value economic measurement Questions to Reflect On - Is labor always a better measure than goods? - How does this view affect modern finance? A Different Perspective Labor value can be hard to quantify. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Increased Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/increased-man-2800219/) [Inventions Increased](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventions-increased-2800217/) [Labour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour/) [Labour Commodities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour-commodities-2800218/) [Man Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-power/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Money Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money-better/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Real value](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real-value/) [Value of money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/value-of-money/) ## Related quotes > [“To maximise output, every organisation will strive to obtain its necessary raw materials, labour and machinery at the lowest possible cost and combine them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-de-botton/to-maximise-output-every-organisation-will-strive-to-obtain-its/) [Alain de Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-de-botton/) > [A rise of wages from this cause will, indeed, be invariably accompanied by a rise in the price of commodities; but in such cases,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/a-rise-of-wages-from-this-cause-will-indeed-be-invariably-accompanied/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [Pot will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no pot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/pot-will-get-you-through-times-of-no-money-better-than-money-will-get/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Realise that there are always going to be peoplewho are better educated, have more money, are better at maths, are better looking, have bigger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/realise-that-there-are-always-going-to-be-peoplewho-are-better/) [Senoraroy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/senoraroy/) > [Time is money, be a better you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/time-is-money-be-a-better-you/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Money is better than poverty, if only for financial reasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/money-is-better-than-poverty-if-only-for-financial-reasons/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [Yes, the money could be better spent on Earth. 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The money is better. But you know, I'd just rather be alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sean-price/i-m-definitely-happy-by-my-self-you-know-what-i-mean-the-money-is/) [Sean Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sean-price/) > [A faithfully kept program of savings and conservative investments can give you more money and a better life than that of your neighbors who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-bryant-quinn/a-faithfully-kept-program-of-savings-and-conservative-investments-can/) [Jane Bryant Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-bryant-quinn/) ## More by Alfred Marshall > [I admit that these terms and the diagrams connected with them repel some readers, and fill others with the vain imagination that they have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/i-admit-that-these-terms-and-the-diagrams-connected-with-them-repel/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [“(1) Use mathematics as shorthand language, rather than as an engine of inquiry. 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(3) Translate into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/1-use-mathematics-as-shorthand-language-rather-than-as-an-engine-of/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [The price of every thing rises and falls from time to time and place to place; and with every such change the purchasing power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/the-price-of-every-thing-rises-and-falls-from-time-to-time-and-place/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [Nature's action is complex: and nothing is gained in the long run by pretending that it is simple, and trying to describe it in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/nature-s-action-is-complex-and-nothing-is-gained-in-the-long-run-by/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [All wealth consists of desirable things; that is, things which satisfy human wants directly or indirectly: but not all desirable things are reckoned as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/all-wealth-consists-of-desirable-things-that-is-things-which-satisfy/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [Knowledge is our most powerful engine of production.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/knowledge-is-our-most-powerful-engine-of-production/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [And very often the influence exerted on a person's character by the amount of his income is hardly less, if it is less, than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/and-very-often-the-influence-exerted-on-a-person-s-character-by-the/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [In common use almost every word has many shades of meaning, and therefore needs to be interpreted by the context.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/in-common-use-almost-every-word-has-many-shades-of-meaning-and/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [The hope that poverty and ignorance may gradually be extinguished derives indeed much support from the steady progress of the working classes during the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/the-hope-that-poverty-and-ignorance-may-gradually-be-extinguished/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [Though a simple book can be written on selected topics, the central doctrines of economics are not simple and cannot be made so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/though-a-simple-book-can-be-written-on-selected-topics-the-central/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [The hope that poverty and ignorance may gradually be extinguished, derives indeed much support from the steady progress of the working classes during the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/the-hope-that-poverty-and-ignorance-may-gradually-be-extinguished-2/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [Again, most of the chief distinctions marked by economic terms are differences not of kind but of degree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/again-most-of-the-chief-distinctions-marked-by-economic-terms-are/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [Slavery was regarded by Aristotle as an ordinance of nature, and so probably was it by the slaves themselves in olden time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/slavery-was-regarded-by-aristotle-as-an-ordinance-of-nature-and-so/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [We might as well reasonably dispute whether it is the upper or the under blade of a pair of scissors that cuts a piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/we-might-as-well-reasonably-dispute-whether-it-is-the-upper-or-the/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) > [The love for money is only one among many.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-marshall/the-love-for-money-is-only-one-among-many/) [Alfred Marshall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) [Explore all 32 Alfred Marshall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-marshall/) ## More Labour quotes > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. 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