--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: After Spain, World War II was simple. I…" description: "\"“After Spain, World War II was simple. I wasn't even tempted to pick up a gun to fight for General Motors, U.S. Steel, or the Chase Manhattan Bank, eve..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f6/david-dellinger-10905_general-motors_after-spain-world-war-ii-was-simple-i-wa_3086402.jpg" --- # After Spain, World War II was simple. I wasn't even… ![“After Spain, World War II was simple. I wasn't even tempted to pick up a gun to fight for General Motors, U.S. Steel, or the Chase Manhattan Bank, even if Hitler was running the other side.” quote by David Dellinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f6/david-dellinger-10905_general-motors_after-spain-world-war-ii-was-simple-i-wa_3086402.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f6/david-dellinger-10905_general-motors_after-spain-world-war-ii-was-simple-i-wa_3086402.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1f6/david-dellinger-10905_general-motors_after-spain-world-war-ii-was-simple-i-wa_3086402.jpg) > ““After Spain, World War II was simple. I wasn't even tempted to pick up a gun to fight for General Motors, U.S. Steel, or the Chase Manhattan Bank, even if Hitler was running the other side.”” [David Dellinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-dellinger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker contrasts the clear moral clarity of WWII with later conflicts driven by corporate interests, implying that war became a tool for profit rather than principle. **In simple terms:** Later wars feel driven by profit, not principle. Key Takeaway Question corporate motives behind war. Themes war corporate power morality Mood cynical critical Type political historical When to use this quote - political activism - media analysis - historical study Key Concepts anti‑war political economy Questions to Reflect On - How do corporate interests shape modern conflicts? - Can individuals resist profit‑driven wars? A Different Perspective War may be justified by profit, blurring ethical lines. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bank Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bank-hitler-5288242/) [General motors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/general-motors/) [Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitler/) [Hitler Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hitler-running-5288243/) [Spain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spain/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) [Wasn Tempted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wasn-tempted-2269442/) [World war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war/) [World war ii](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world-war-ii/) ## Related quotes > [I wasn't tempted to go into academia for a second.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-o-connor/i-wasn-t-tempted-to-go-into-academia-for-a-second/) [Frances O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-o-connor/) > [I wasn't tempted to have my private parts decorated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-dimbleby/i-wasn-t-tempted-to-have-my-private-parts-decorated/) [David Dimbleby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-dimbleby/) > [I hate to let people down. I was like that in sports and I was like that in comedy. 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If I tell you a racist or dirty joke and you laugh, you're telling me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-landau/people-are-in-denial-all-the-time-hiding-things-if-i-tell-you-a/) [Martin Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-landau/) > [I don't hurt the industry. The industry hurts itself, by making so many lousy movies - as if General Motors deliberately put out a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphrey-bogart/i-don-t-hurt-the-industry-the-industry-hurts-itself-by-making-so-many/) [Humphrey Bogart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphrey-bogart/) > [Well, as you know, General Motors does not make hybrids. Ford only made 4,000 hybrids last year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-markey/well-as-you-know-general-motors-does-not-make-hybrids-ford-only-made/) [Ed Markey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-markey/) ## More by David Dellinger > [The Yippies, their lifestyle is different from mine. But I consider Jerry Rubin and Abbie Hoffman inspired critics of the kind of society that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-dellinger/the-yippies-their-lifestyle-is-different-from-mine-but-i-consider/) [David Dellinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-dellinger/) > [In prison, the gloves were off, the comforting rhetoric and rationalization were absent. 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Ford only made 4,000 hybrids last year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-markey/well-as-you-know-general-motors-does-not-make-hybrids-ford-only-made/) [Ed Markey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-markey/) > [I don't hurt the industry. The industry hurts itself, by making so many lousy movies - as if General Motors deliberately put out a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/humphrey-bogart/i-don-t-hurt-the-industry-the-industry-hurts-itself-by-making-so-many/) [Humphrey Bogart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/humphrey-bogart/) > [People are in denial all the time, hiding things. If I tell you a racist or dirty joke and you laugh, you're telling me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-landau/people-are-in-denial-all-the-time-hiding-things-if-i-tell-you-a/) [Martin Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-landau/) > [The power of branding, particularly when it comes to automobiles, is overwhelming. You go back to the seventies and eighties with the General Motor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/the-power-of-branding-particularly-when-it-comes-to-automobiles-is/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Instead of mindlessly tossing billions at or taking billions from the Net as such, investors should be spending their time making sure that it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/instead-of-mindlessly-tossing-billions-at-or-taking-billions-from-the/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [“It is a fact that today steel can be made more cheaply outside America. This is also true of many other products: shoes, shirts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/it-is-a-fact-that-today-steel-can-be-made-more-cheaply-outside/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [Sadly, at Ford, General Motors, and Chrysler sales continually trend downward, manufacturing costs rise, and employment declines. As the result of the decrease in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-o-toole/sadly-at-ford-general-motors-and-chrysler-sales-continually-trend/) [James O'Toole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-o-toole/) > [Investing is the greatest business in the world because you never have to swing. You stand at the plate; the pitcher throws you General…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/investing-is-the-greatest-business-in-the-world-because-you-never/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [“To make good decisions, CEOs need the courage to seek out disagreement. Alfred Sloan, the longtime CEO and chairman of General Motors, once interrupted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath/to-make-good-decisions-ceos-need-the-courage-to-seek-out-disagreement/) [Chip Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath/) > [We knew we had to act for the middle class. We immediately went out and rescued General Motors. We went ahead and made sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/we-knew-we-had-to-act-for-the-middle-class-we-immediately-went-out/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [Although the reasons for Michigan's malaise are varied, one big reason is our state's almost uniquely uncompetitive tax structure, which one General Motors official…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-bouchard/although-the-reasons-for-michigan-s-malaise-are-varied-one-big-reason/) [Mike Bouchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-bouchard/) > [No grant of feudal privilege has ever equaled, for effortless return, that of the grandparent who bought and endowed his descendants with a thousand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/no-grant-of-feudal-privilege-has-ever-equaled-for-effortless-return/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [I hate to let people down. I was like that in sports and I was like that in comedy. 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Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-e-wilson/) > [The size of General Motors is in the service not of monopoly or the economies of scale but of planning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/the-size-of-general-motors-is-in-the-service-not-of-monopoly-or-the/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) [Browse all 112 General motors quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/general-motors/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“After Spain, World War II was simple. 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