--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Capitalism is like this fractal thing…" description: "\"Capitalism is like this fractal thing where anything that contains an element of capitalism anywhere inside it is just something that turns into capita..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/david-graeber-4667_attitude_capitalism-is-like-this-fractal-thing-wh_3201521.png" --- # Capitalism is like this fractal thing where anything that… ![“Capitalism is like this fractal thing where anything that contains an element of capitalism anywhere inside it is just something that turns into capitalism. It is an incredibly defeatist attitude. If you choose to look at reality that way, I suppose you can, but you have to do enormous violence to…” quote by David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/david-graeber-4667_attitude_capitalism-is-like-this-fractal-thing-wh_3201521.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/david-graeber-4667_attitude_capitalism-is-like-this-fractal-thing-wh_3201521.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/149/david-graeber-4667_attitude_capitalism-is-like-this-fractal-thing-wh_3201521.png) > “Capitalism is like this fractal thing where anything that contains an element of capitalism anywhere inside it is just something that turns into capitalism. It is an incredibly defeatist attitude. If you choose to look at reality that way, I suppose you can, but you have to do enormous violence to reality to do so consistently.” [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Capitalism spreads like a pattern; seeing everything as capitalist can become a self‑defeating mindset. **In simple terms:** Seeing everything as capitalism can be limiting. Key Takeaway Question the lens you use to view systems. Themes economics critical theory philosophy Mood critical analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy analysis - media critique - personal worldview Key Concepts marxism systems thinking Questions to Reflect On - How does labeling everything as capitalist affect change? - What alternative frameworks can reveal hidden structures? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex social dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) [Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Capitalism Incredibly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism-incredibly-251176/) [Capitalism Inside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism-inside-5945519/) [Capitalism Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism-like-1171328/) [Consistently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consistently/) [Defeatist Attitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/defeatist-attitude-2962473/) [Elements](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/elements/) [Enormous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enormous/) [Fractals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fractals/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Looks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/looks/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) [Turns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns/) [Turns Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/turns-capitalism-5945520/) [Violence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violence/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [You choose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/you-choose/) ## Related quotes > [A term like capitalism is incredibly slippery, because there's such a range of different kinds of market economies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/a-term-like-capitalism-is-incredibly-slippery-because-there-s-such-a-2/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [“A term like capitalism is incredibly slippery, because there's such a range of different kinds of market economies. Essentially, what we've been debating over—certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/a-term-like-capitalism-is-incredibly-slippery-because-there-s-such-a/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [In practice, getting rid of crony capitalism is incredibly difficult.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/in-practice-getting-rid-of-crony-capitalism-is-incredibly-difficult/) [Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/) > [I literally make music for my wife and my friends. I don't feel beholden to my fans. I don't even really know who they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lee/i-literally-make-music-for-my-wife-and-my-friends-i-don-t-feel/) [Ben Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-lee/) > [I cannot overemphasize this, the attitude, the defeatist attitude that everybody on the Republican side had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/i-cannot-overemphasize-this-the-attitude-the-defeatist-attitude-that/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“Some say it is better to rule in hell than serve in heaven. That is a defeatist attitude. I intend to rule everywhere, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/some-say-it-is-better-to-rule-in-hell-than-serve-in-heaven-that-is-a/) [Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/) > [A defeatist attitude kills almost as many marriages as do affairs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-thomas/a-defeatist-attitude-kills-almost-as-many-marriages-as-do-affairs/) [Gary L. Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-thomas/) > [I'm not going to take this defeatist attitude and listen to all this crap any more from all these people who have nothing except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carroll-shelby/i-m-not-going-to-take-this-defeatist-attitude-and-listen-to-all-this/) [Carroll Shelby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carroll-shelby/) > [“Because he refused to adopt a defeatist attitude, he overcame the obstacles in his path.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-c-dobson/because-he-refused-to-adopt-a-defeatist-attitude-he-overcame-the/) [James C. Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-c-dobson/) > [“I think the difficulty with people who can't follow printed directions for knitting or anything else is that they try to understand them. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-dickinson-rich/i-think-the-difficulty-with-people-who-can-t-follow-printed/) [Louise Dickinson Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-dickinson-rich/) > [The single biggest surprise about arriving to the Senate is the defeatist attitude here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-cruz/the-single-biggest-surprise-about-arriving-to-the-senate-is-the/) [Ted Cruz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-cruz/) > [There's a real difference between venture capitalism and vulture capitalism. Venture capitalism we like. Vulture capitalism, no. And the fact of the matter is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perry/there-s-a-real-difference-between-venture-capitalism-and-vulture/) [Rick Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perry/) > [Latter-day capitalism. Like it or not, it's the society we live in. Even the standard of right and wrong has been subdi-vided, made sophisticated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/latter-day-capitalism-like-it-or-not-it-s-the-society-we-live-in-even/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Capitalism is like a child: if you want the child to grow up free and productive, somebody's got to look over the shoulder of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tavis-smiley/capitalism-is-like-a-child-if-you-want-the-child-to-grow-up-free-and/) [Tavis Smiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tavis-smiley/) > [Capitalism is like the law of the jungle with a few rules. There isn't another system that works for our society but left unchecked,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/capitalism-is-like-the-law-of-the-jungle-with-a-few-rules-there-isn-t/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) ## More by David Graeber > [People don't have an ongoing relation unless it's a form of debt because everything is an exchange, so ongoing relationships are incomplete exchanges, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/people-don-t-have-an-ongoing-relation-unless-it-s-a-form-of-debt/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [I would like, then, to end by putting in a good word for the non-industrious poor. At least they aren’t hurting anyone. Insofar as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/i-would-like-then-to-end-by-putting-in-a-good-word-for-the-non/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“But if Smith was right, and gold and silver became money through the natural workings of the market completely independently of governments, then wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/but-if-smith-was-right-and-gold-and-silver-became-money-through-the/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“A revolution on a world scale will take a very long time. But it is also possible to recognize that it is already starting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/a-revolution-on-a-world-scale-will-take-a-very-long-time-but-it-is/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“money has no essence. It's not "really" anything; therefore, its nature has always been and presumably always will be a matter of political conten­tion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/money-has-no-essence-it-s-not-really-anything-therefore-its-nature/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [We don't live in a capitalist totality. Capitalism couldn't survive as a totality anyway. We live in this complex system and we already live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/we-don-t-live-in-a-capitalist-totality-capitalism-couldn-t-survive-as/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“About the only thing we can imagine is catastrophe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/about-the-only-thing-we-can-imagine-is-catastrophe/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [The working poor are the people suffering out subprime mortgages and fatal loans and more and more of our money - you know, capitalism…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-working-poor-are-the-people-suffering-out-subprime-mortgages-and/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“Solitary pleasures will always exist, but for most human beings, the most pleasurable activities almost always involve sharing something: music, food, liquor, drugs, gossip,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/solitary-pleasures-will-always-exist-but-for-most-human-beings-the/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“IMF is really designed to protect creditors not debtors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/imf-is-really-designed-to-protect-creditors-not-debtors/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“The criminalization of debt, then, was the criminalization of the very basis of human society. It cannot be overemphasized that in a small community,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/the-criminalization-of-debt-then-was-the-criminalization-of-the-very/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [If you imagine that everything is an exchange, then we're supposed to just transact and walk away. If we haven't walked away and we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/if-you-imagine-that-everything-is-an-exchange-then-we-re-supposed-to/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“As Pierre Bourdieu was later to point out in describing a similar economy of trust in contemporary Algeria: it’s quite possible to turn honor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/as-pierre-bourdieu-was-later-to-point-out-in-describing-a-similar/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [ \[A\] great embarrassing fact… haunts all attempts to represent the market as the highest form of human freedom: that historically, impersonal, commercial markets originate… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/a-great-embarrassing-fact-haunts-all-attempts-to-represent-the-market/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) > [“As the events of 2011 reveal, the age of revolutions is by no means over. The human imagination stubbornly refuses to die. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-graeber/as-the-events-of-2011-reveal-the-age-of-revolutions-is-by-no-means/) [David Graeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) [Explore all 106 David Graeber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-graeber/) ## More Attitude quotes > [“WE CAN'T ALWAYS CONTROL OUR CIRCUMSTANCES BUT WE CAN CONTROL OUR ATTITUDE. WE MUST BE MORE CONCERNED WITH WHAT WE DO WITH WHAT HAPPENS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marvin-j-ashton/we-can-t-always-control-our-circumstances-but-we-can-control-our/) [MARVIN J. ASHTON](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marvin-j-ashton/) > [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/) [Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/) > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Changes before your eyes, things you can do and things you can't. My attitude is always let it keep rolling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terrence-malick/changes-before-your-eyes-things-you-can-do-and-things-you-can-t-my/) [Terrence Malick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terrence-malick/) > [Vow to be valiant. Resolve to be radiant. Determine to be dynamic. Strive to be sincere. Aspire to be attuned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/vow-to-be-valiant-resolve-to-be-radiant-determine-to-be-dynamic/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [Don't judge me because I'm stupid. Don't judge me because I'm, mean. Don't judge me because I'm weird. Don't judge me for mistakes. Because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaiah-harden-me/don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-stupid-don-t-judge-me-because-i-m-mean-don/) [Isaiah Harden (Me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaiah-harden-me/) > [Your feelings (mood) dictate your thought, your thought determines your attitude (reactions) and your attitude describes your lifestyle, so: be careful how you feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheye-hassan/your-feelings-mood-dictate-your-thought-your-thought-determines-your/) [Sheye Hassan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheye-hassan/) > [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/) [Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/) > [“Good Seeds! Gratitude is the Greatest Attitude that has no Substitute.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-kelvin-clive/good-seeds-gratitude-is-the-greatest-attitude-that-has-no-substitute/) [Bernard Kelvin Clive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-kelvin-clive/) > [Jeff Chu's pilgrimage across America to discover his own place as a gay man in the Christian church as well as attitudes about being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-freitas/jeff-chu-s-pilgrimage-across-america-to-discover-his-own-place-as-a/) [Donna Freitas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-freitas/) > [One genuine reason to feel jealous of my parents:-) I will never ever have a kid as awesome as their's...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-genuine-reason-to-feel-jealous-of-my-parents-i-will-never-ever/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm optimistic Hong Kong will achieve universal suffrage - no matter the attitude of Beijing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-wong/i-m-optimistic-hong-kong-will-achieve-universal-suffrage-no-matter/) [Joshua Wong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-wong/) > [My attitude it that you don't give in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-taylor/my-attitude-it-that-you-don-t-give-in/) [Phil Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-taylor/) > [Transparency pertains to impartial behavior, implies openness, communication, and accountability. Inculcate transparency in attitude and experience a life free of controversy and blame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-anil-kr-sinha/transparency-pertains-to-impartial-behavior-implies-openness/) [Dr Anil Kr Sinha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-anil-kr-sinha/) > [And if the mind thinks with a believing attitude one can do amazing things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/and-if-the-mind-thinks-with-a-believing-attitude-one-can-do-amazing/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) [Browse all 9,543 Attitude quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attitude/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Capitalism is like this fractal thing where anything that contains an element of capitalism anywhere inside it is just something that turns into capitalism. It is an incredibly defeatist attitude. 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