--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We have a market-driven society so…" description: "\"We have a market-driven society so obsessed with buying and selling and obsessed with power and pleasure and property, it doesn't leave a whole lot of ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d02/cornel-west-708_activity_we-have-a-market-driven-society-so-obses_2465767.jpg" --- # We have a market-driven society so obsessed with buying… ![“We have a market-driven society so obsessed with buying and selling and obsessed with power and pleasure and property, it doesn't leave a whole lot of time for non-market values and non-market activity so that love and trust and justice, concern for the poor, that's being pushed to the margins…” quote by Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d02/cornel-west-708_activity_we-have-a-market-driven-society-so-obses_2465767.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d02/cornel-west-708_activity_we-have-a-market-driven-society-so-obses_2465767.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d02/cornel-west-708_activity_we-have-a-market-driven-society-so-obses_2465767.jpg) > “We have a market-driven society so obsessed with buying and selling and obsessed with power and pleasure and property, it doesn't leave a whole lot of time for non-market values and non-market activity so that love and trust and justice, concern for the poor, that's being pushed to the margins, and you can see it.” [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He critiques how market dominance marginalizes moral values like love, trust, and justice, reducing societal focus on profit. **In simple terms:** Market focus pushes out moral concerns. Key Takeaway Balance economic goals with ethical responsibilities. Themes economics ethics social justice Mood critical concerned Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy debates - community organizing - academic courses Key Concepts critical theory political economy Questions to Reflect On - How can we reintegrate non‑market values? - What policies protect love and trust? A Different Perspective Economic growth may conflict with ethics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Activity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/activity/) [Buying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buying/) [Buying and selling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buying-and-selling/) [Concern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concern/) [Concern Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concern-poor-707297/) [Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven/) [Driven Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/driven-society-707294/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Love and trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love-and-trust/) [Margins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/margins/) [Market Driven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/market-driven-707296/) [Market Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/market-values-707295/) [Obsessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/obsessed/) [Pleasure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pleasure/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Property](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/property/) [Selling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selling/) [Society Obsessed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-obsessed-707293/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Trust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trust/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Whole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole/) ## Related quotes > [We have a market-driven society so obsessed with buying and selling and obsessed with power and pleasure and property.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/we-have-a-market-driven-society-so-obsessed-with-buying-and-selling-2/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Love and trust and justice, concern for the poor, that's being pushed to the margins, and you can see it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/love-and-trust-and-justice-concern-for-the-poor-that-s-being-pushed/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Students need to learn how to unlearn those elements of a market driven society that deform their sense of agency, reducing them to simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-giroux/students-need-to-learn-how-to-unlearn-those-elements-of-a-market/) [Henry Giroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-giroux/) > [A market economy is a tool - a valuable and effective tool - for organizing productive activity. A market society is a way of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sandel/a-market-economy-is-a-tool-a-valuable-and-effective-tool-for/) [Michael Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-sandel/) > [People are realistic enough to appreciate what the market values of different people are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azim-premji/people-are-realistic-enough-to-appreciate-what-the-market-values-of/) [Azim Premji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azim-premji/) > [Market values are fixed only in part by balance sheets and income statements; much more by the hopes and fears of humanity; by greed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-m-loeb/market-values-are-fixed-only-in-part-by-balance-sheets-and-income/) [Gerald M. Loeb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-m-loeb/) > [The most fateful change that unfolded during the past three decades was not an increase in greed. It was the expansion of markets, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-sandel/the-most-fateful-change-that-unfolded-during-the-past-three-decades/) [Michael Sandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-sandel/) > [When it comes to setting the market values, I let that stuff take care of itself. I know my value in this league, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rodgers/when-it-comes-to-setting-the-market-values-i-let-that-stuff-take-care/) [Aaron Rodgers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rodgers/) > [“Although the impression might be given from this discussion that economists wish to preserve some kind of balance between contrasting values in the market…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vaddhaka-linn/although-the-impression-might-be-given-from-this-discussion-that/) [Vaddhaka Linn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vaddhaka-linn/) > [In our society, to be obsessed with a vision about how to make a better automobile makes you a genius, but to be obsessed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodger-kamenetz/in-our-society-to-be-obsessed-with-a-vision-about-how-to-make-a/) [Rodger Kamenetz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodger-kamenetz/) > [Our society is obsessed with personal rights, but it will survive only if we adopt personal obligations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/our-society-is-obsessed-with-personal-rights-but-it-will-survive-only/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [We live in a society obsessed with public opinion. But leadership has never been about popularity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/we-live-in-a-society-obsessed-with-public-opinion-but-leadership-has/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [“It was one thing to read about a society obsessed with female purity—quite another to find yourself living in one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-croy-barker/it-was-one-thing-to-read-about-a-society-obsessed-with-female-purity/) [Emily Croy Barker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-croy-barker/) > [“Society is obsessed with women's bodies and I take my body back by doing whatever it is that I want to do with my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malebo-sephodi/society-is-obsessed-with-women-s-bodies-and-i-take-my-body-back-by/) [Malebo Sephodi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malebo-sephodi/) > [“Not only has there never before been a society so obsessed with the cultural artifacts of its immediate past, but there has never before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-reynolds/not-only-has-there-never-before-been-a-society-so-obsessed-with-the/) [Simon Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-reynolds/) ## More by Cornel West > [There has certainly been ugly, right-wing hatred targeting Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-has-certainly-been-ugly-right-wing-hatred-targeting-barack-obama/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I feel as if I have been blessed to undergo a transformation from 'gangster' to 'redeemed sinner with gangster proclivities.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-feel-as-if-i-have-been-blessed-to-undergo-a-transformation-from/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“Like King, we need to put on our cemetery clothes and be coffin-ready for the next great democratic battle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/like-king-we-need-to-put-on-our-cemetery-clothes-and-be-coffin-ready/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [ “You can't really move forward until you look back. \[From Remaking America panel discussion at George Washington University\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-t-really-move-forward-until-you-look-back-from-remaking/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [When we think of globalization we are thinking in part of structures and institutions that have been developed over time and that have allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/when-we-think-of-globalization-we-are-thinking-in-part-of-structures/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The challenge artists face today is whether to be an underground, unheard genius, or to dilute their art for the marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-challenge-artists-face-today-is-whether-to-be-an-underground/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The need of black conservatives to gain the respect of their white peers deeply shapes certain elements of their conservatism. In this regard, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain-the-respect-of-their-white/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-describes-himself-as-a-poet-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I don't draw any distinctions between forms of bigotry or forms of ideology that lose sight of the humanity of people. I can't stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-don-t-draw-any-distinctions-between-forms-of-bigotry-or-forms-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Barack Obama has domesticated the left in such a way that we feel as if we have no alternative but him...I refuse to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/barack-obama-has-domesticated-the-left-in-such-a-way-that-we-feel-as/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Larry Summers, I think, he had a long history of arrogance and relative ignorance about poor people's culture and working people's culture and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/larry-summers-i-think-he-had-a-long-history-of-arrogance-and-relative/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-someone-is-the-gift-of-inspiration/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [You can see it in terms of the obsession on Wall Street with not just profits but greed, more profit, more profit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-see-it-in-terms-of-the-obsession-on-wall-street-with-not-just/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Anybody who takes Martin Luther King seriously has got to go beyond the standard understanding of who he was, has to connect those dots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/anybody-who-takes-martin-luther-king-seriously-has-got-to-go-beyond/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Explore all 400 Cornel West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## More Activity quotes > [Where I grew up, learning was a collective activity. 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If he attempts several, he will fail to achieve distinction in any.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/each-man-is-capable-of-doing-one-thing-well-if-he-attempts-several-he/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [And also I think the rise of other, you could say, destinations for international jihadis mean that Pakistan isn't necessarily the place where people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/and-also-i-think-the-rise-of-other-you-could-say-destinations-for/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [To evoke in oneself a feeling one has once experienced, and having evoked it in oneself, then by means of movements, lines, colors, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/to-evoke-in-oneself-a-feeling-one-has-once-experienced-and-having/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Fighting's fun, man. It's a great activity, it's a great sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-mitrione/fighting-s-fun-man-it-s-a-great-activity-it-s-a-great-sport/) [Matt Mitrione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-mitrione/) > [There were books everywhere in my house. Books were very present. I just loved books. I never understood reading as anything but a pleasurable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-lucas/there-were-books-everywhere-in-my-house-books-were-very-present-i/) [Lisa Lucas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-lucas/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. 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