--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I had to give a definition of…" description: "\"If I had to give a definition of capitalism I would say: the process whereby American girls turn into American women.\" — Christopher Hampton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/christopher-hampton-24698_american-women_if-i-had-to-give-a-definition-of-capital_3031495.png" --- # If I had to give a definition of capitalism I would say… ![“If I had to give a definition of capitalism I would say: the process whereby American girls turn into American women.” quote by Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/christopher-hampton-24698_american-women_if-i-had-to-give-a-definition-of-capital_3031495.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/christopher-hampton-24698_american-women_if-i-had-to-give-a-definition-of-capital_3031495.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/christopher-hampton-24698_american-women_if-i-had-to-give-a-definition-of-capital_3031495.png) > “If I had to give a definition of capitalism I would say: the process whereby American girls turn into American women.” [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) ## 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 portrayed as a process that transforms youthful ambition into adult consumerism. **In simple terms:** Capitalism turns youthful dreams into adult consumerism. Key Takeaway Question the impact of consumer culture on identity. Themes capitalism identity consumerism Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical analysis When to use this quote - career - marketing - personal growth - political debate Key Concepts sociology economics culture Questions to Reflect On - How does capitalism shape personal goals? - Is consumerism inevitable? A Different Perspective The definition may oversimplify complex economic systems. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-women/) [Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Girl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/girl/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) ## Related quotes > [Americanization means the process of becoming an American. It means civic incorporation, becoming a part of the polity - becoming one of us. 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Not only was industry directed by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tudor/chaebol-style-capitalism-was-and-to-some-extent-still-is-very/) [Daniel Tudor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tudor/) > [Dear Zayn, hi babe. where do I begin? you're perfect. I love yourlaugh, voice, face, & accent. you think american girls don't like your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dear-zayn-hi-babe-where-do-i-begin-you-re-perfect-i-love-yourlaugh/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [American girls are as clever at concealing their parents as English women are at concealing their past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/american-girls-are-as-clever-at-concealing-their-parents-as-english/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [The single guys from One Direction are going to have a lot of fun. They look great, they sound great and, when you add…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-bieber/the-single-guys-from-one-direction-are-going-to-have-a-lot-of-fun/) [Justin Bieber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-bieber/) > [I don't like American girls. They're very conceited, you know. In Europe they're more pleasant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-fischer/i-don-t-like-american-girls-they-re-very-conceited-you-know-in-europe/) [Bobby Fischer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-fischer/) > [“American girls never whimper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ami-mckay/american-girls-never-whimper/) [Ami McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ami-mckay/) > [It's far too rare an experience for Asian American girls to see themselves in media.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-han/it-s-far-too-rare-an-experience-for-asian-american-girls-to-see/) [Jenny Han](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-han/) > [“American girls always smell like fruit.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-maum/american-girls-always-smell-like-fruit/) [Courtney Maum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-maum/) > [“Sofia was miffed. And if American girls make being miffed a sweet-and-sour emotion, European girls always manage to add an undercurrent of murder to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cohn/sofia-was-miffed-and-if-american-girls-make-being-miffed-a-sweet-and/) [Rachel Cohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cohn/) > [None of the European girls, including Anita Ekberg, has anything not found on American girls as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cleo-moore/none-of-the-european-girls-including-anita-ekberg-has-anything-not/) [Cleo Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cleo-moore/) > [Italian girls are famous for being snobby and expecting men to make the first move. In America, if I don't make eye contact, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silvia-colloca/italian-girls-are-famous-for-being-snobby-and-expecting-men-to-make/) [Silvia Colloca](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silvia-colloca/) > [In reality, American girls are among the most outspoken, ambitious, successful girls in the history of the human race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-hoff-sommers/in-reality-american-girls-are-among-the-most-outspoken-ambitious/) [Christina Hoff Sommers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-hoff-sommers/) ## More by Christopher Hampton > [There is a sort of theory that you should adapt bad books because they always make more successful films.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/there-is-a-sort-of-theory-that-you-should-adapt-bad-books-because/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [I always divide people into two groups. Those who live by what they know to be a lie, and those who live by what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/i-always-divide-people-into-two-groups-those-who-live-by-what-they/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [I think there's something degrading about having a husband for a rival. It's humiliating if you fail and commonplace if you succeed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/i-think-there-s-something-degrading-about-having-a-husband-for-a/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [I like L.A., but I think whats changed is that the kinds of films I do, the mid-range dramatic film, has become an endangered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/i-like-l-a-but-i-think-whats-changed-is-that-the-kinds-of-films-i-do/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [My problem is I'm a man of no convictions - at least, I think I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/my-problem-is-i-m-a-man-of-no-convictions-at-least-i-think-i-am/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [I love films. If I'd known how to get into or do it from the word go, I would have done that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/i-love-films-if-i-d-known-how-to-get-into-or-do-it-from-the-word-go-i/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [Asking a working writer what he thinks about critics is like asking a lamppost how it feels about dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/asking-a-working-writer-what-he-thinks-about-critics-is-like-asking-a/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [If you take a really good book, then the potential is for a really good film. But you've got to get it right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/if-you-take-a-really-good-book-then-the-potential-is-for-a-really/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [It's great to get out of the study and work with real living and breathing people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/it-s-great-to-get-out-of-the-study-and-work-with-real-living-and/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [A great number of the disappointments and mishaps of the troubled world are the direct result of literature and the allied arts. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/a-great-number-of-the-disappointments-and-mishaps-of-the-troubled/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [Often I think the novels I read won't make very good movies - I better not say which I'm looking at for potential films!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/often-i-think-the-novels-i-read-won-t-make-very-good-movies-i-better/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [I became a virtuoso of deceit. It wasn't pleasure I was after, it was knowledge. I consulted the strictest moralists to learn how to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/i-became-a-virtuoso-of-deceit-it-wasn-t-pleasure-i-was-after-it-was/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [I'm ashamed to say the first play I saw at the Royal Court was mine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/i-m-ashamed-to-say-the-first-play-i-saw-at-the-royal-court-was-mine/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [You see, I always divide people into two groups. Those who live by what they know to be a lie, and those who live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/you-see-i-always-divide-people-into-two-groups-those-who-live-by-what/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) > [You know very well that unless you're a scientist, it's much more important for a theory to be shapely, than for it to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/you-know-very-well-that-unless-you-re-a-scientist-it-s-much-more/) [Christopher Hampton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) [Explore all 24 Christopher Hampton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/) ## More American women quotes > [The work-family divide is the biggest issue for American women. But in some ways it's amazing how adjusted society has become to it. 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So I think that what she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-fees/she-was-bold-and-yet-she-was-reserved-she-was-sensual-and-girlish-but/) Paul Fees > [African American women in particular have incredible buying power. Statistically, we go to the movies more than anyone. We have made Tyler Perrys career.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynn-nottage/african-american-women-in-particular-have-incredible-buying-power/) [Lynn Nottage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynn-nottage/) > [Ben Marcus has created an innovative and unflinching portrait of the turmoil of the human condition, providing the reader a most rare gift: something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/myla-goldberg/ben-marcus-has-created-an-innovative-and-unflinching-portrait-of-the/) [Myla Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/myla-goldberg/) > [“Americans consume more cow’s milk and its products per person than most populations in the world. So Americans should have wonderfully strong bones, right?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-colin-campbell/americans-consume-more-cow-s-milk-and-its-products-per-person-than/) [T. Colin Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-colin-campbell/) > [It's important for women to understand that it's bad enough that we don't make dollar-for-dollar what men do, but when you distill that down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-turner/it-s-important-for-women-to-understand-that-it-s-bad-enough-that-we/) [Nina Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-turner/) > [I want you to say dreadfully mad, funny things and make up songs and be--' The Will I fell in love with, she almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/i-want-you-to-say-dreadfully-mad-funny-things-and-make-up-songs-and/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [The hearts of Afro-American women are too warm and too large for race hatred. Long suffering has so chastened them that they are developing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-barrier-williams/the-hearts-of-afro-american-women-are-too-warm-and-too-large-for-race/) Fannie Barrier Williams > [Newsweek recently asked American women which women they admire the most, and the answer varied, actually, depending on which political party you were from...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-martin/newsweek-recently-asked-american-women-which-women-they-admire-the/) [Michel Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-martin/) > [I am an African-American woman of dark skin tone, and there are very specific roles that are usually given to African-American women of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lachanze/i-am-an-african-american-woman-of-dark-skin-tone-and-there-are-very/) [LaChanze](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lachanze/) > [If our American women are going to work to put food on the table and pay for the mortgage, then we better make sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reshma-saujani/if-our-american-women-are-going-to-work-to-put-food-on-the-table-and/) [Reshma Saujani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reshma-saujani/) > [An estimated 2 million American women will be diagnosed with breast or cervical cancer this decade and screening could prevent up to 30% of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/an-estimated-2-million-american-women-will-be-diagnosed-with-breast/) [Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/) > [I have never been more proud of the United States than I am this year. 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We have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-stockett/i-have-never-been-more-proud-of-the-united-states-than-i-am-this-year/) [Kathryn Stockett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-stockett/) [Browse all 221 American women quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-women/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I had to give a definition of capitalism I would say: the process whereby American girls turn into American women.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Hampton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/if-i-had-to-give-a-definition-of-capitalism-i-would-say-the-process/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American women" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/if-i-had-to-give-a-definition-of-capitalism-i-would-say-the-process/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/christopher-hampton-24698_american-women_if-i-had-to-give-a-definition-of-capital_3031495.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/christopher-hampton-24698_american-women_if-i-had-to-give-a-definition-of-capital_3031495.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/91d/christopher-hampton-24698_american-women_if-i-had-to-give-a-definition-of-capital_3031495.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I had to give a definition of capitalism I would say: the process whereby American girls turn into…” — Christopher Hampton", "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": "Christopher Hampton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hampton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If I had to give a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/if-i-had-to-give-a-definition-of-capitalism-i-would-say-the-process/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hampton/if-i-had-to-give-a-definition-of-capitalism-i-would-say-the-process/#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 } } ] } ```