--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To a greater or lesser degree, the…" description: "\"To a greater or lesser degree, the project of the self becomes translated into one of the possession of desired goods and the pursuit of artificially f..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/anthony-giddens-22827_criteria_to-a-greater-or-lesser-degree-the-projec_1463657.png" --- # To a greater or lesser degree, the project of the self… ![“To a greater or lesser degree, the project of the self becomes translated into one of the possession of desired goods and the pursuit of artificially framed styles of life. (...) Not just lifestyles, but self-actualisation is packaged and distributed according to market criteria.” quote by Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/anthony-giddens-22827_criteria_to-a-greater-or-lesser-degree-the-projec_1463657.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/anthony-giddens-22827_criteria_to-a-greater-or-lesser-degree-the-projec_1463657.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/anthony-giddens-22827_criteria_to-a-greater-or-lesser-degree-the-projec_1463657.png) > “To a greater or lesser degree, the project of the self becomes translated into one of the possession of desired goods and the pursuit of artificially framed styles of life. (...) Not just lifestyles, but self-actualisation is packaged and distributed according to market criteria.” [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society turns personal growth into consumer goods and market‑driven lifestyles, reducing self‑actualisation to a product. **In simple terms:** Self‑growth is sold like a commodity. Key Takeaway Beware of market‑shaped identities. Themes consumerism identity modernity Mood critical reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - personal branding - wellness industry - education choices Key Concepts self‑actualisation market logic social construction Questions to Reflect On - How does market pressure shape your life goals? - Can you find value beyond consumption? A Different Perspective May limit authentic self‑discovery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Identity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/identity/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lifestyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifestyle/) [Possession](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/possession/) [Pursuit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursuit/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Style](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/style/) ## Related quotes > [To make the growth choice instead of the fear choice a dozen times a day is to move a dozen times a day towards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/to-make-the-growth-choice-instead-of-the-fear-choice-a-dozen-times-a/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [I'm only interested in people engaged in a project of self-transformation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/i-m-only-interested-in-people-engaged-in-a-project-of-self/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [There seems no intrinsic reason why everyone shouldn't be (self-actualising). Apparently every baby has possibilities for self-actualisation, but most get it knocked out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-maslow/there-seems-no-intrinsic-reason-why-everyone-shouldn-t-be-self/) [Abraham Maslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-maslow/) > [I just need to be on the path to my own self-cultivation, my own self-actualisation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-lee/i-just-need-to-be-on-the-path-to-my-own-self-cultivation-my-own-self/) [Shannon Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-lee/) > [“at. Being honest with yourself, like mindfulness, is a foundation for Self-Actualisation. SA people are honest, even brutally honest with themselves at every level…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-tuffley/at-being-honest-with-yourself-like-mindfulness-is-a-foundation-for/) [David Tuffley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-tuffley/) > [The thing framed says that nothing framed it; the tongue never made itself to speak, and yet talks against him that did; saying that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-taylor/the-thing-framed-says-that-nothing-framed-it-the-tongue-never-made/) [Jeremy Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-taylor/) > [I used to refer to my photos as free radicals - and maybe that has to do with this idea of navigating history. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elad-lassry/i-used-to-refer-to-my-photos-as-free-radicals-and-maybe-that-has-to/) [Elad Lassry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elad-lassry/) > [By focusing on the interior of a speaker's larynx and using infrared, he was able to convert the visible vibrations of the vocal cords…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-knight/by-focusing-on-the-interior-of-a-speaker-s-larynx-and-using-infrared/) [Damon Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-knight/) > [I remember driving around with my parents when I was little and looking out of the window and being very aware that it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rankin/i-remember-driving-around-with-my-parents-when-i-was-little-and/) [Rankin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rankin/) > [All these years I've had a story in my mind, the story about us that never really existed. And because of that story, I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathleen-schine/all-these-years-i-ve-had-a-story-in-my-mind-the-story-about-us-that/) [Cathleen Schine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathleen-schine/) > [No one familiar with the common law of England can read the Constitution of the United States without observing the great desire of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-freeman-miller/no-one-familiar-with-the-common-law-of-england-can-read-the/) [Samuel Freeman Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-freeman-miller/) > [The circus tent was flowing pale in the rain like a fleshy flower lit from within. It seemed to bloom in the downpour. Drops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/the-circus-tent-was-flowing-pale-in-the-rain-like-a-fleshy-flower-lit/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [It's still true that literary works by women, gays, and writers of color are often framed as specific, rather than universal, small rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/it-s-still-true-that-literary-works-by-women-gays-and-writers-of/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [I've framed houses, worked on an asphalt crew, I was a cop, a lifeguard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/forrest-griffin/i-ve-framed-houses-worked-on-an-asphalt-crew-i-was-a-cop-a-lifeguard/) [Forrest Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/forrest-griffin/) > [Sometimes a sign or a quote is simply interesting by itself and does not require anything beyond being framed on a page.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/sometimes-a-sign-or-a-quote-is-simply-interesting-by-itself-and-does/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) ## More by Anthony Giddens > [The body is thus not simply an 'entity', but is experienced as a practical mode of coping with external situations and events.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/the-body-is-thus-not-simply-an-entity-but-is-experienced-as-a/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) > [The body is an object in which we are all privileged, or doomed, to dwell, the source of feelings of well-being and pleasure, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/the-body-is-an-object-in-which-we-are-all-privileged-or-doomed-to/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) > [High-consequence risks form one particular segment of the generalised 'climate of risk' characteristic of late modernity - one characterised by regular shifts in knowledge-claims…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/high-consequence-risks-form-one-particular-segment-of-the-generalised/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) > [High-consequence risks have a distinctive quality. The more calamitous the hazards they involve, the less we have any real experience of what we risk:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/high-consequence-risks-have-a-distinctive-quality-the-more-calamitous/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) > [To live in the universe of high modernity is to live in an environment of chance and risk, the ineveitable concomitants of a system…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/to-live-in-the-universe-of-high-modernity-is-to-live-in-an/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) > [“Old Conservatism, at least in its more principled forms, is, as has been aptly said, the ‘other God that failed’ alongside Communism and radical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/old-conservatism-at-least-in-its-more-principled-forms-is-as-has-been/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) > [Both life-planning and the adoption of lifestyle options become (in principle) integrated with bodily regimes. It would be quite short-sighted to see this phenomenon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/both-life-planning-and-the-adoption-of-lifestyle-options-become-in/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) > [Abstract systems depend on trust, yet they provide none of the moral rewards which can be obtained from personalised trust, or were often available…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/abstract-systems-depend-on-trust-yet-they-provide-none-of-the-moral/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) > [The risk climate of modernity is thus unsettling for everyone: no one escapes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/the-risk-climate-of-modernity-is-thus-unsettling-for-everyone-no-one/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) > [The flow of action continually produces consequences which are unintended by actors, and these unintended consequences also may form unacknowledged conditions of actions in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/the-flow-of-action-continually-produces-consequences-which-are/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) > [The sustaining of life, in a bodily sense as well as in the sense of psychological health, is inherently subject to risk.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/the-sustaining-of-life-in-a-bodily-sense-as-well-as-in-the-sense-of/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) > [The difficulties of living in a secular risk culture are compounded by the importance of lifestyle choices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/the-difficulties-of-living-in-a-secular-risk-culture-are-compounded/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) > [Achieving control over change, in respect to lifestyle, demands an engagement with the outer social world rather than a retreat from it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/achieving-control-over-change-in-respect-to-lifestyle-demands-an/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) > [Thinking in terms of risk certainly has its unsettling aspects (...), but it is also a means of seeking to stabilise outcomes, a mode…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/thinking-in-terms-of-risk-certainly-has-its-unsettling-aspects-but-it/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) > [In a world of alternative lifestyle options, strategic life planning becomes of special importance. Like lifestyle patterns, life plans of one kind or another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/in-a-world-of-alternative-lifestyle-options-strategic-life-planning/) [Anthony Giddens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) [Explore all 27 Anthony Giddens quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/) ## More Criteria quotes > [The major caveat in all of comedy is that it's all instinctive. There's no true criteria. There is no right or wrong. Ultimately, often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-charles/the-major-caveat-in-all-of-comedy-is-that-it-s-all-instinctive-there/) [Larry Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-charles/) > [Every man will have his own criterion in forming his judgment of others. I depend very much on the effect of affliction. I consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-cecil/every-man-will-have-his-own-criterion-in-forming-his-judgment-of/) [Richard Cecil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-cecil/) > [First of all the criteria that I have that goes into any career decision is whether or not I have the life experience, emotional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cage/first-of-all-the-criteria-that-i-have-that-goes-into-any-career/) [Nicolas Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cage/) > [The criterion of true beauty is, that it increases in examination; of false, that it lessens. There is something, therefore, in true beauty that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-grenville/the-criterion-of-true-beauty-is-that-it-increases-in-examination-of/) George Grenville > [ “\[ When a religious couple wrote to Sagan about fulfilled prophecies, he wrote back in May 1996 :\] If ‘fulfilled prophecy’ is your criterion,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/when-a-religious-couple-wrote-to-sagan-about-fulfilled-prophecies-he/) [Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/) > [As for the (Ballon d'Or) criteria, I'm not really sure how it works. Sometimes it's a World Cup year, sometimes it isn't. Let them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-villa/as-for-the-ballon-d-or-criteria-i-m-not-really-sure-how-it-works/) [David Villa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-villa/) > [As the number of unexplained, irreducibly complex biological systems increases, our confidence that Darwin's criterion of failure has been met skyrockets toward the maximum…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-behe/as-the-number-of-unexplained-irreducibly-complex-biological-systems/) [Michael Behe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-behe/) > [“We need to give an informative set of criteria for the best explanation. It is very difficult to do so. Here are some factors…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-e-emmering/we-need-to-give-an-informative-set-of-criteria-for-the-best/) Michael E Emmering > [It may be an extreme example brought about by abnormal circumstances - but the criteria of human rights kick in, surely, precisely when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/breyten-breytenbach/it-may-be-an-extreme-example-brought-about-by-abnormal-circumstances/) [Breyten Breytenbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/breyten-breytenbach/) > [My inspiration comes from everywhere, just walking down the street and I never know where it's going to come from, so I keep a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-dove/my-inspiration-comes-from-everywhere-just-walking-down-the-street-and/) [Rita Dove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-dove/) > [A system is empirical or scientific only if it is capable of being tested by experience. These considerations suggest that not the verifiability but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/a-system-is-empirical-or-scientific-only-if-it-is-capable-of-being/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [A work of art is itself an object, first of all, and so manipulation is unavoidable: it's a prerequisite. But I needed the greater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/a-work-of-art-is-itself-an-object-first-of-all-and-so-manipulation-is/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [The criteria or the paradigm for us is not the West, not the Western paradigm, because the West has its own culture, we have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bashar-al-assad/the-criteria-or-the-paradigm-for-us-is-not-the-west-not-the-western/) [Bashar al-Assad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bashar-al-assad/) > [The fact that a theory so vague, so insufficiently verifiable, and so far from the criteria otherwise applied in 'hard' science has become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-bertalanffy/the-fact-that-a-theory-so-vague-so-insufficiently-verifiable-and-so/) [Ludwig von Bertalanffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-bertalanffy/) > [New Orleans invented the brown paper bag party - usually at a gathering in a home - where anyone darker than the bag attached…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/new-orleans-invented-the-brown-paper-bag-party-usually-at-a-gathering/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) Browse all 448 Criteria quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To a greater or lesser degree, the project of the self becomes translated into one of the possession of desired goods and the pursuit of artificially framed styles of life. (...) Not just lifestyles, but self-actualisation is packaged and distributed according to market criteria.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anthony Giddens" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/to-a-greater-or-lesser-degree-the-project-of-the-self-becomes/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Criteria" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/to-a-greater-or-lesser-degree-the-project-of-the-self-becomes/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/anthony-giddens-22827_criteria_to-a-greater-or-lesser-degree-the-projec_1463657.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/anthony-giddens-22827_criteria_to-a-greater-or-lesser-degree-the-projec_1463657.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b4/anthony-giddens-22827_criteria_to-a-greater-or-lesser-degree-the-projec_1463657.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To a greater or lesser degree, the project of the self becomes translated into one of the possession of…” — Anthony Giddens", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Anthony Giddens", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-giddens/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "To a greater or lesser degree,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/to-a-greater-or-lesser-degree-the-project-of-the-self-becomes/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-giddens/to-a-greater-or-lesser-degree-the-project-of-the-self-becomes/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```