--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Capitalism has proven to be a far more…" description: "\"Capitalism has proven to be a far more terrible system than Marx could ever bring himself to imagine. Those who are so deluded as to find something goo..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/allen-w-wood-2748_capitalism_capitalism-has-proven-to-be-a-far-more-t_1331815.jpg" --- # Capitalism has proven to be a far more terrible system… ![“Capitalism has proven to be a far more terrible system than Marx could ever bring himself to imagine. Those who are so deluded as to find something good in it, or even feel loyalty toward it, are its most pitiful victims.” quote by Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/allen-w-wood-2748_capitalism_capitalism-has-proven-to-be-a-far-more-t_1331815.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/allen-w-wood-2748_capitalism_capitalism-has-proven-to-be-a-far-more-t_1331815.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/088/allen-w-wood-2748_capitalism_capitalism-has-proven-to-be-a-far-more-t_1331815.jpg) > “Capitalism has proven to be a far more terrible system than Marx could ever bring himself to imagine. Those who are so deluded as to find something good in it, or even feel loyalty toward it, are its most pitiful victims.” [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) ## 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 argues that capitalism is far worse than Marx imagined, and that those who defend it are its greatest victims. **In simple terms:** Capitalism is terrible; its defenders suffer most. Key Takeaway Recognize the harms of the system. Themes politics economics critique victimhood Mood critical skeptical Type political philosophical critical When to use this quote - policy debate - activism - education - media analysis - personal finance Key Concepts Marxism systemic injustice ideology Questions to Reflect On - Can any aspects of capitalism be reformed for good? - How do we balance critique with constructive change? A Different Perspective It overlooks any positive outcomes or reforms within capitalism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Loyalty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/loyalty/) [Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim/) ## Related quotes > [Capitalism has not proven to be a transitional form, a gateway to a higher human future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/capitalism-has-not-proven-to-be-a-transitional-form-a-gateway-to-a/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [Capitalism has proven to be the only system that works, but the problem with capitalism is that extreme wealth ends up in the hands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/capitalism-has-proven-to-be-the-only-system-that-works-but-the/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [Some argue shareholder capitalism has proven more efficient. It has moved economic resources to where they're most productive, and thereby enabled the economy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/some-argue-shareholder-capitalism-has-proven-more-efficient-it-has/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [An artist in 2014 who is thinking about album sales is either sadly deluded or has to make so many commercial compromises that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/an-artist-in-2014-who-is-thinking-about-album-sales-is-either-sadly/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [How deluded we sometimes are by the clear notions we get out of books. They make us think that we really understand things of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-merton/how-deluded-we-sometimes-are-by-the-clear-notions-we-get-out-of-books/) [Thomas Merton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-merton/) > [If you're deluded, you live in a place where there isn't everyone else's reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-guest/if-you-re-deluded-you-live-in-a-place-where-there-isn-t-everyone-else/) [Christopher Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-guest/) > [I think we have deluded ourselves into believing that people don't know that abortion is killing. So any pretense that abortion is not killing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/faye-wattleton/i-think-we-have-deluded-ourselves-into-believing-that-people-don-t/) [Faye Wattleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/faye-wattleton/) > [Since I move about with you, eat like you, and talk with you, you are deluded in the belief that this is but an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/since-i-move-about-with-you-eat-like-you-and-talk-with-you-you-are/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [Men are constantly attracted and deluded by two opposite charms: the charm of competence which is engendered by mathematics and everything akin to mathematics,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-strauss/men-are-constantly-attracted-and-deluded-by-two-opposite-charms-the/) [Leo Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-strauss/) > [If you submit to the ocean, you drown. If you try to control the ocean, then you're deluded. You learn how to live with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-restall-orr/if-you-submit-to-the-ocean-you-drown-if-you-try-to-control-the-ocean/) [Emma Restall Orr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-restall-orr/) > [“It is Nature that causes all movement. Deluded by the ego, the fool harbors the perception that says "I did it".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veda-vyasa/it-is-nature-that-causes-all-movement-deluded-by-the-ego-the-fool/) Veda Vyasa > [The world being illusive, one must be deluded in some way if one is to triumph in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/the-world-being-illusive-one-must-be-deluded-in-some-way-if-one-is-to/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [Do not be deluded by the abstract word Freedom. Whose freedom? Not the freedom of one individual in relation to another, but freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/do-not-be-deluded-by-the-abstract-word-freedom-whose-freedom-not-the/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [I suppose I really seemed mad, then; but it was only through the awfulness of having said nothing but the truth, and being thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/i-suppose-i-really-seemed-mad-then-but-it-was-only-through-the/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) > [That which is truly human no generation learns from the one before it. No generation learns from another how to love. No generation has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soren-kierkegaard/that-which-is-truly-human-no-generation-learns-from-the-one-before-it/) [Soren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soren-kierkegaard/) ## More by Allen W. Wood > [For the utilitarian, there is a fact of the matter about the good (the general happiness, or whatever conception of the good the utilitarian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/for-the-utilitarian-there-is-a-fact-of-the-matter-about-the-good-the/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [No theory about our bodies as mere objects of observation and calculation (as distinct from partners in communicative interaction, assumed to be free) can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/no-theory-about-our-bodies-as-mere-objects-of-observation-and/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [Kantian ethical theory distinguishes three levels: First, that of a fundamental principle (the categorical imperative, formulated in three main ways in Kant's Groundwork); second,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/kantian-ethical-theory-distinguishes-three-levels-first-that-of-a/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [Some empirical feelings, such as sympathy, are indispensable parts of certain moral virtues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/some-empirical-feelings-such-as-sympathy-are-indispensable-parts-of/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [We commit not only theoretical error but also moral wrong in objectifying ourselves or other rational beings, ignoring their capacities for free action and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/we-commit-not-only-theoretical-error-but-also-moral-wrong-in/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [Kant certainly was sympathetic with the metaphysical tradition of rational theology that he criticized.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/kant-certainly-was-sympathetic-with-the-metaphysical-tradition-of/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [That Hegel's theory is derivative from Fichte's does not prevent it from being strikingly original and of independent value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/that-hegel-s-theory-is-derivative-from-fichte-s-does-not-prevent-it/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [It is sad to witness the persistence in our society of the racism and xenophobia that seems to be a permanent part of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/it-is-sad-to-witness-the-persistence-in-our-society-of-the-racism-and/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [It is rational to choose the right means to your ends to develop very elegant abstract formal theories of rational choice, and then turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/it-is-rational-to-choose-the-right-means-to-your-ends-to-develop-very/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [We can never prove that we are free or integrate our freedom in any way into our objective conception of the causal order of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/we-can-never-prove-that-we-are-free-or-integrate-our-freedom-in-any/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [Kant regards the universalizability test for maxims as focused on a very special sort of situation: one where the agent is tempted to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/kant-regards-the-universalizability-test-for-maxims-as-focused-on-a/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [My own view is that Kant's conception of the duality of the good (morality and happiness, the good of our person and the good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/my-own-view-is-that-kant-s-conception-of-the-duality-of-the-good/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [It is actually a nice question how far Descartes himself endorses the monological and metaphysically dualistic theory of mind associated with his name and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/it-is-actually-a-nice-question-how-far-descartes-himself-endorses-the/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [In fact people do not know enough about themselves and what is good for them to form a sufficiently definite conception of the general…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/in-fact-people-do-not-know-enough-about-themselves-and-what-is-good/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [Empiricist philosophy always tends to be anti-philosophy (and is often proud of it).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/empiricist-philosophy-always-tends-to-be-anti-philosophy-and-is-often/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) [Explore all 151 Allen W. Wood quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) ## More Capitalism quotes > [Don't let's lose sight of what creates wealth. It is open markets, it is capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/don-t-let-s-lose-sight-of-what-creates-wealth-it-is-open-markets-it/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [Corporations have nothing to do with values, and they know it, and sometimes say it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kierans/corporations-have-nothing-to-do-with-values-and-they-know-it-and/) [Eric Kierans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kierans/) > [Both fact and logic seem to me to support the view that savings invested in privately owned economic tools of production amount to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-a-harper/both-fact-and-logic-seem-to-me-to-support-the-view-that-savings/) F. 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