--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Many of the left thinkers that really…" description: "\"Many of the left thinkers that really matter to me - that formed a big part of my thinking about politics and art - emphasize how capitalism is a total..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/ben-lerner-9267_art_many-of-the-left-thinkers-that-really-ma_646558.jpg" --- # Many of the left thinkers that really matter to me - that… ![“Many of the left thinkers that really matter to me - that formed a big part of my thinking about politics and art - emphasize how capitalism is a totality, how there's no escape from it, no outside.” quote by Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/ben-lerner-9267_art_many-of-the-left-thinkers-that-really-ma_646558.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/ben-lerner-9267_art_many-of-the-left-thinkers-that-really-ma_646558.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/ben-lerner-9267_art_many-of-the-left-thinkers-that-really-ma_646558.jpg) > “Many of the left thinkers that really matter to me - that formed a big part of my thinking about politics and art - emphasize how capitalism is a totality, how there's no escape from it, no outside.” [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Capitalism is an all‑encompassing system with no external escape, shaping thought and art. **In simple terms:** Capitalism pervades everything, no outside escape. Key Takeaway Recognize systemic influence on ideas and creativity. Themes politics art economics Mood critical analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy debates - artistic creation - academic research Key Concepts systemic analysis critical theory Questions to Reflect On - How does capitalism shape your creative process? - Can art envision alternatives to the current system? A Different Perspective May overlook alternative economic models. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Thinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinker/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [One of the problems with traditional anti-capitalist thought is that it defines capitalism as a totality, which encourages us to imagine another totality, socialism,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-kauffman/one-of-the-problems-with-traditional-anti-capitalist-thought-is-that/) [Cynthia Kauffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-kauffman/) > [Thinking I'd be in politics just wasn't something I'd thought of as a younger woman. 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Kennedy Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy-jr/) > [I'm increasingly on the side of thinkers like David Graeber who are talking back to this notion of totality and emphasizing how there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-m-increasingly-on-the-side-of-thinkers-like-david-graeber-who-are/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [It's sometimes hard to talk about politics and art. Obviously, I have my core beliefs, but I think art is best when it's troublesome…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-greene/it-s-sometimes-hard-to-talk-about-politics-and-art-obviously-i-have/) [Robert Greene](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-greene/) > [Surely to root politics out of art is a highly necessary undertaking: for the freedom of art, like that of science, depends entirely upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyndham-lewis/surely-to-root-politics-out-of-art-is-a-highly-necessary-undertaking/) [Wyndham Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyndham-lewis/) ## More by Ben Lerner > [I don't think it's always a sign of respect for persons (inside or outside of fiction) to pretend to be able to represent, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-think-it-s-always-a-sign-of-respect-for-persons-inside-or/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [Shaving is a way to start the workday by ritually not cutting your throat when you've the chance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/shaving-is-a-way-to-start-the-workday-by-ritually-not-cutting-your/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [I don't want to write poems that are just really clear about how I'm aware of all the traps involved in writing poetry; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-don-t-want-to-write-poems-that-are-just-really-clear-about-how-i-m/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“What you need to do is harness the self-love you are hypostasizing as offspring, as the next generation of you, and let it branch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/what-you-need-to-do-is-harness-the-self-love-you-are-hypostasizing-as/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“And because his narrator was characterized above all by his anxiety regarding the disconnect between his internal experience and his social self-presentation,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/and-because-his-narrator-was-characterized-above-all-by-his-anxiety/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“And I want to say something to the schoolchildren of America who were watching the live coverage of the shuttle's takeoff. 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I'm not private, but I believe in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/your-interviews-or-blog-posts-or-whatever-are-less-supplements-to/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) > [“I’m going to kill the president. I promise. I surrender. I'm sorry. I'm gay. I'm pregnant. I'm dying. I'm not your father. You're fired.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/i-m-going-to-kill-the-president-i-promise-i-surrender-i-m-sorry-i-m/) [Ben Lerner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) [Explore all 73 Ben Lerner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. 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You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) Taf Teh > [The house has to serve comfort. The work of art is revolutionary; the house is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-loos/the-house-has-to-serve-comfort-the-work-of-art-is-revolutionary-the/) [Adolf Loos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-loos/) > [During human progress, every science is evolved out of its corresponding art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-spencer/during-human-progress-every-science-is-evolved-out-of-its/) [Herbert Spencer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-spencer/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Many of the left thinkers that really matter to me - that formed a big part of my thinking about politics and art - emphasize how capitalism is a totality, how there's no escape from it, no outside.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ben Lerner" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/many-of-the-left-thinkers-that-really-matter-to-me-that-formed-a-big/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Art" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/many-of-the-left-thinkers-that-really-matter-to-me-that-formed-a-big/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/ben-lerner-9267_art_many-of-the-left-thinkers-that-really-ma_646558.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/ben-lerner-9267_art_many-of-the-left-thinkers-that-really-ma_646558.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/8dc/ben-lerner-9267_art_many-of-the-left-thinkers-that-really-ma_646558.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Many of the left thinkers that really matter to me - that formed a big part of my thinking about politics…” — Ben Lerner", "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": "Ben Lerner", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lerner/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Many of the left thinkers that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/many-of-the-left-thinkers-that-really-matter-to-me-that-formed-a-big/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lerner/many-of-the-left-thinkers-that-really-matter-to-me-that-formed-a-big/#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 } } ] } ```