--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Corporations are getting better and…" description: "\"“Corporations are getting better and better at seducing us into thinking the way they think—of profits as the telos and responsibility as something to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/david-foster-wallace-161_getting-better_corporations-are-getting-better-and-bett_1689726.jpg" --- # Corporations are getting better and better at seducing us… ![“Corporations are getting better and better at seducing us into thinking the way they think—of profits as the telos and responsibility as something to be enshrined in symbol and evaded in reality. Cleverness as opposed to wisdom. Wanting and having instead of thinking and making. We cannot stop it…” quote by David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/david-foster-wallace-161_getting-better_corporations-are-getting-better-and-bett_1689726.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/david-foster-wallace-161_getting-better_corporations-are-getting-better-and-bett_1689726.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/david-foster-wallace-161_getting-better_corporations-are-getting-better-and-bett_1689726.jpg) > ““Corporations are getting better and better at seducing us into thinking the way they think—of profits as the telos and responsibility as something to be enshrined in symbol and evaded in reality. Cleverness as opposed to wisdom. Wanting and having instead of thinking and making. We cannot stop it. I suspect what’ll happen is that there will be some sort of disaster—depression, hyperinflation—and then it’ll be showtime: We’ll either wake up and retake our freedom or we’ll fall apart utterly. Like Rome—conqueror of its own people.”” [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Corporate culture reshapes values, prioritizing profit over genuine responsibility, leading to societal crises and potential awakening. **In simple terms:** Companies push profit over real duty, causing future crises. Key Takeaway Recognize and resist profit‑driven narratives. Themes capitalism ethics societal collapse awakening Mood critical urgent reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - workplace decisions - political activism - personal finance - mental health - community building Key Concepts consumerism moral philosophy systemic risk Questions to Reflect On - How can individuals counter profit‑centric messaging? - What safeguards prevent societal collapse? A Different Perspective Economic pressures can also empower individual agency and reform. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Corporations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) [Fall apart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fall-apart/) [Getting better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-better/) [Getting Better And Better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-better-and-better/) [Instead Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instead-thinking-352399/) [Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think/) [Think Profits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-profits-1041482/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [“Perfect. I would have an unbalanced psychopath on my hands armed with immortal supernatural power. This night kept getting better and better.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/courtney-cole/perfect-i-would-have-an-unbalanced-psychopath-on-my-hands-armed-with/) [Courtney Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/courtney-cole/) > [“craft-centric.” Getting better and better at what I did became what mattered most, and getting better required the strain of deliberate practice. This is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-newport/craft-centric-getting-better-and-better-at-what-i-did-became-what/) [Cal Newport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-newport/) > [I always believed in getting better and better in each and every format and give my best. As a batsman, it is important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ajinkya-rahane/i-always-believed-in-getting-better-and-better-in-each-and-every/) [Ajinkya Rahane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ajinkya-rahane/) > [I'm just trying to do whatever is asked of me. I've been thrown into many different positions. Sometimes I'm on the left. Sometimes I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddy-adu/i-m-just-trying-to-do-whatever-is-asked-of-me-i-ve-been-thrown-into/) [Freddy Adu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddy-adu/) > [Through the years I've been getting better and better and better, and it's what you learn though the seasons.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ortiz/through-the-years-i-ve-been-getting-better-and-better-and-better-and/) [David Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ortiz/) > [Music moves forward so quickly; music is an accumulation of knowledge, and musicians keep getting better and better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allan-holdsworth/music-moves-forward-so-quickly-music-is-an-accumulation-of-knowledge/) [Allan Holdsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allan-holdsworth/) > [Alec's Spanish is getting better and better. His accent is very good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilaria-baldwin/alec-s-spanish-is-getting-better-and-better-his-accent-is-very-good/) [Hilaria Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilaria-baldwin/) > [You start off slowly, getting 'better and 'better, getting that confidence in yourself. It brought that out of me which I had inside but,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-gayle/you-start-off-slowly-getting-better-and-better-getting-that/) [Chris Gayle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-gayle/) > [Usually the way to screw up some good fishing is to have a tournament. This just keeps getting better and better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walker/usually-the-way-to-screw-up-some-good-fishing-is-to-have-a-tournament/) [David Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walker/) > [You're sad-looking," she said. "My grandson used to be such a happy boy. He used to write me stories. 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On one side, many progressive liberals still think that we humans are essentially good and getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/os-guinness/american-views-today-are-weak-confused-and-divided-on-one-side-many/) [Os Guinness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/os-guinness/) > [Throughout college I was getting better and better at making recordings, producing songs, making different kinds of beats. I was starting to learn the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rostam-batmanglij/throughout-college-i-was-getting-better-and-better-at-making/) [Rostam Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rostam-batmanglij/) ## More by David Foster Wallace > [“I felt more solidly composed, now that I was horizontal. I was impossible to knock down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/i-felt-more-solidly-composed-now-that-i-was-horizontal-i-was/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“We all have our little solipsistic delusions, ghastly intuitions of utter singularity: that we are the only one in the house who ever fills…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/we-all-have-our-little-solipsistic-delusions-ghastly-intuitions-of/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It's no accident that in a bureaucracy getting fired is called 'termination,' as in ontological erasure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-s-no-accident-that-in-a-bureaucracy-getting-fired-is-called/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Footnote: 79) The anchor is gigantic and must weigh a hundred tons, and -- delightfully -- it really is anchor-shaped, i.e. the same shape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/footnote-79-the-anchor-is-gigantic-and-must-weigh-a-hundred-tons-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The paradoxical intercourse of audience and celebrity. 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Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“If you’re subjected to enough great salesmen and salespitches and marketing concepts for long enough—like from your earliest Saturday-morning cartoons, let’s say—it is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/if-you-re-subjected-to-enough-great-salesmen-and-salespitches-and/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“Why is the truth usually not just un- but anti-interesting?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/why-is-the-truth-usually-not-just-un-but-anti-interesting/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“She almost reminds the engineer of certain types in high school whom everyone adored because you sensed it made no difference to them whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/she-almost-reminds-the-engineer-of-certain-types-in-high-school-whom/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [To be, in a word, unborable… It is the key to modern life. If you are immune to boredom, there is literally nothing you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-be-in-a-word-unborable-it-is-the-key-to-modern-life-if-you-are/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“It is within your power to experience a crowded, loud, slow, consumer-hell-type situation as not only meaningful but sacred, on fire with the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/it-is-within-your-power-to-experience-a-crowded-loud-slow-consumer/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [“The happy pleasure of the person alone, yes?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/the-happy-pleasure-of-the-person-alone-yes/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [There is such a thing as raw, unalloyed, agendaless kindness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/there-is-such-a-thing-as-raw-unalloyed-agendaless-kindness/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) [Explore all 999 David Foster Wallace quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) ## More Corporations quotes > [It makes no sense to talk of the social obligations of the corporation without reference to its economic obligations. The two are intertwined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-r-raymond/it-makes-no-sense-to-talk-of-the-social-obligations-of-the/) [Lee R. Raymond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-r-raymond/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Everything affects hip-hop. The question is, how does it affect the money that corporations are going to invest to put out different kinds of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-i-am/everything-affects-hip-hop-the-question-is-how-does-it-affect-the/) [will.i.am](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-i-am/) > [Corporations have nothing to do with values, and they know it, and sometimes say it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kierans/corporations-have-nothing-to-do-with-values-and-they-know-it-and/) [Eric Kierans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kierans/) > [Corporations invest in sophisticated CRM, or Customer Relationship Management, programs to effectively oversee their relationship with their customers at every point during the buying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-ostrofsky/corporations-invest-in-sophisticated-crm-or-customer-relationship/) [Marc Ostrofsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-ostrofsky/) > [“Whatever happened in those more than one hundred years, from the time my great-great-great grandfather studied law to the time when my own father…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwenn-wright/whatever-happened-in-those-more-than-one-hundred-years-from-the-time/) [Gwenn Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gwenn-wright/) > [I am somewhat influenced by the years that I've spent trying to actually get things done, whether it was reforming education in Arkansas or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/i-am-somewhat-influenced-by-the-years-that-i-ve-spent-trying-to/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“Subsequently there ensues an epoch of complex, proliferating intrigues and conspiracies among the ranks of double agents, whose agendas become so densely intertwined that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-ligotti/subsequently-there-ensues-an-epoch-of-complex-proliferating-intrigues/) [Thomas Ligotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-ligotti/) > [I'm not only a fan of Apple products, I have stock in the company. 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They're counting on you to be standing at attention with your hand over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/they-re-counting-on-your-patriotism-to-distract-you-from-their/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) [Browse all 1,673 Corporations quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corporations/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Corporations are getting better and better at seducing us into thinking the way they think—of profits as the telos and responsibility as something to be enshrined in symbol and evaded in reality. Cleverness as opposed to wisdom. Wanting and having instead of thinking and making. We cannot stop it. I suspect what’ll happen is that there will be some sort of disaster—depression, hyperinflation—and then it’ll be showtime: We’ll either wake up and retake our freedom or we’ll fall apart utterly. 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