--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Driving forward is the chief…" description: "\"Driving forward is the chief characteristic of western man since the Sumerians. His dread triad of vices is property-holding, voraciousness, and lust.\"..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/708/antonio-gramsci-12150_characteristics_driving-forward-is-the-chief-characteris_2615488.jpg" --- # Driving forward is the chief characteristic of western man… ![“Driving forward is the chief characteristic of western man since the Sumerians. His dread triad of vices is property-holding, voraciousness, and lust.” quote by Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/708/antonio-gramsci-12150_characteristics_driving-forward-is-the-chief-characteris_2615488.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/708/antonio-gramsci-12150_characteristics_driving-forward-is-the-chief-characteris_2615488.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/708/antonio-gramsci-12150_characteristics_driving-forward-is-the-chief-characteris_2615488.jpg) > “Driving forward is the chief characteristic of western man since the Sumerians. His dread triad of vices is property-holding, voraciousness, and lust.” [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describes Western drive for progress linked to material greed, consumption, and desire. **In simple terms:** Western progress tied to material excess. Key Takeaway Question consumerist motives. Themes history culture materialism Mood analytical skeptical Type theoretical critical When to use this quote - business strategy - urban planning - environmental activism - personal finance - education Key Concepts political theory economic critique psychology Questions to Reflect On - How does materialism affect societal values? - Can progress be sustainable? A Different Perspective Not all progress is negative. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chiefs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chiefs/) [Driving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driving/) [Lust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lust/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Sumerians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sumerians/) [Triads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triads/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) [Western](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/western/) ## Related quotes > [I'm really good at driving that car backward, backing up into places. The Teamster guys are always going, 'You're really a good backward driver!'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-bell/i-m-really-good-at-driving-that-car-backward-backing-up-into-places/) [Kristen Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-bell/) > [I don't think there is a more satisfying sight in football than Mbappe driving forward at pace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-sutton/i-don-t-think-there-is-a-more-satisfying-sight-in-football-than/) [Chris Sutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-sutton/) > [“Be fueled by the opportunities of today. Do not be passive in your life. Be courageous in driving forward in this journey of life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-maraboli/be-fueled-by-the-opportunities-of-today-do-not-be-passive-in-your/) [Steve Maraboli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-maraboli/) > [If you have a car, you tune it up; you replace the parts. You try to keep it in good shape. This country has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyatt-cenac/if-you-have-a-car-you-tune-it-up-you-replace-the-parts-you-try-to/) [Wyatt Cenac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyatt-cenac/) > [Western man is schizophrenic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-b-priestley/western-man-is-schizophrenic/) [J. B. Priestley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-b-priestley/) > [If the Muslims keep their heads cool and accept progress as a means and not an end in itself, they may pass on to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-asad/if-the-muslims-keep-their-heads-cool-and-accept-progress-as-a-means/) [Muhammad Asad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-asad/) > [What is the thread of western civilization that distinguished its course in history? It has to do with the preoccupation of western man with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-erickson/what-is-the-thread-of-western-civilization-that-distinguished-its/) [Arthur Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-erickson/) > [The final story, the final chapter of western man, I believe, lies in Los Angeles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/the-final-story-the-final-chapter-of-western-man-i-believe-lies-in/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [The love of freedom has been the quality of Western man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robinson-jeffers/the-love-of-freedom-has-been-the-quality-of-western-man/) [Robinson Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robinson-jeffers/) > [Western man, especially the Western critic, still find it very had to go into print and say: "I recommend you to go and see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-tynan/western-man-especially-the-western-critic-still-find-it-very-had-to/) [Kenneth Tynan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-tynan/) > [Western man represents himself, on the political or psychological stage, in a spectacular world-theater. Our personality is innately cinematic, light-charged projections flickering on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-paglia/western-man-represents-himself-on-the-political-or-psychological/) [Camille Paglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-paglia/) > [Practically everyone now bemoans Western man's sense of alienation, lack of community, and inability to find ways of organizing society for human ends. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-baker-miller/practically-everyone-now-bemoans-western-man-s-sense-of-alienation/) [Jean Baker Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-baker-miller/) > [The most defenseless tenderness and the bloodiest of powers have a similar need of confession. Western man has become a confessing animal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/the-most-defenseless-tenderness-and-the-bloodiest-of-powers-have-a/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [It is Christian culture that has created Western man and the Western way of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dawson/it-is-christian-culture-that-has-created-western-man-and-the-western/) [Christopher Dawson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dawson/) > [“This is said to civilized men who are to venture into countries where sacred cows are fed, while children are left to starve -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/this-is-said-to-civilized-men-who-are-to-venture-into-countries-where/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) ## More by Antonio Gramsci > [A social group can, indeed must, already exercise 'leadership' before winning governmental power (this is indeed one of the principal conditions for the winning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/a-social-group-can-indeed-must-already-exercise-leadership-before/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [I'm a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/i-m-a-pessimist-because-of-intelligence-but-an-optimist-because-of/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [All men are intellectuals, but not all men have in society the function of intellectuals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/all-men-are-intellectuals-but-not-all-men-have-in-society-the/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [How many times have I wondered if it is really possible to forge links with a mass of people when one has never had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/how-many-times-have-i-wondered-if-it-is-really-possible-to-forge/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [“The challenge of modernity is to live without illusions and without becoming disillusioned. I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/the-challenge-of-modernity-is-to-live-without-illusions-and-without/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [The people themselves are not a homogeneous cultural collectivity but present numerous and variously combined cultural stratifications which, in their pure form, cannot always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/the-people-themselves-are-not-a-homogeneous-cultural-collectivity-but/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [Indifference is the dead weight of history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/indifference-is-the-dead-weight-of-history/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [My practicality consists in this, in the knowledge that if you beat your head against the wall it is your head which breaks and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/my-practicality-consists-in-this-in-the-knowledge-that-if-you-beat/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [“We need to free ourselves from the habit of seeing culture as encyclopedia knowledge, and men as mere receptacles to be stuffed full of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/we-need-to-free-ourselves-from-the-habit-of-seeing-culture-as/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [The abolition of the class struggle does not mean the abolition of the need to struggle as a principle of development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/the-abolition-of-the-class-struggle-does-not-mean-the-abolition-of/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [From the moment when a subordinate class becomes really independent and dominant, calling into being a new type of State, the need arises concretely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/from-the-moment-when-a-subordinate-class-becomes-really-independent/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [“Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/pessimism-of-the-intellect-optimism-of-the-will/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [What are the "maximum" limits of acceptance of the term "intellectual"?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/what-are-the-maximum-limits-of-acceptance-of-the-term-intellectual/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [This is really the common mentality of prisoners: they read with great attention all the articles that deal with illnesses and send away for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/this-is-really-the-common-mentality-of-prisoners-they-read-with-great/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) > [Before puberty the child's personality has not yet formed and it is easier to guide its life and make it acquire specific habits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antonio-gramsci/before-puberty-the-child-s-personality-has-not-yet-formed-and-it-is/) [Antonio Gramsci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) [Explore all 49 Antonio Gramsci quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antonio-gramsci/) ## More Characteristics quotes > [One of the key characteristics of the comic book medium is that it is not brought to life by just one voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-lee/one-of-the-key-characteristics-of-the-comic-book-medium-is-that-it-is/) [Jim Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-lee/) > [“What makes a good leader? 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It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/sometimes-ms-lane-he-said-one-must-break-with-one-s-past-to-embrace/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [Just because someone thinks they remember something in detail, with confidence and with emotion, does not mean that it actually happened, .. False memories…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-loftus/just-because-someone-thinks-they-remember-something-in-detail-with/) [Elizabeth Loftus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-loftus/) > [Consequently, citizen legislators, rotating back to their communities after a short period of public service—considered an indispensable and routine characteristic and design of representative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/consequently-citizen-legislators-rotating-back-to-their-communities/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A second characteristic of the process which for me is the good life, is that it involves an increasingly tendency to live fully in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/a-second-characteristic-of-the-process-which-for-me-is-the-good-life/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [Philanthropy is one of the most hopeful characteristics of our time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-livermore/philanthropy-is-one-of-the-most-hopeful-characteristics-of-our-time/) Mary Livermore > [God has given this way of life to Israel: to abstain from everything which is contrary to nature, that is to say, anger, fits…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/poemen/god-has-given-this-way-of-life-to-israel-to-abstain-from-everything/) [Poemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/poemen/) > [The most significant moment will be when we stop referring to the hiring of qualified women (and racial, ethnic and religious minorities) as significant.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-trask/the-most-significant-moment-will-be-when-we-stop-referring-to-the/) Amy Trask > [Iron and coal dominated everywhere, from grey to black: the black boots, the black stove-pipe hat, the black coach or carriage, the black iron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-mumford/iron-and-coal-dominated-everywhere-from-grey-to-black-the-black-boots/) [Lewis Mumford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-mumford/) > [The mass of men lead lives of quiet desperation. What is called resignation is confirmed desperation. 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