--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: While the romantic individualist deludes…" description: "\"“While the romantic individualist deludes himself with unrealizable fantasies, in the attempt to evade bourgeois society, and only succeeds in destroyi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/edmund-wilson-14512_individualist_while-the-romantic-individualist-deludes_2914762.jpg" --- # While the romantic individualist deludes himself with… ![“While the romantic individualist deludes himself with unrealizable fantasies, in the attempt to evade bourgeois society, and only succeeds in destroying himself, he lets humanity fall a victim to the industrial-commercial processes, which, unimpeded by his dreaming, go on with their deadly work.” quote by Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/edmund-wilson-14512_individualist_while-the-romantic-individualist-deludes_2914762.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/edmund-wilson-14512_individualist_while-the-romantic-individualist-deludes_2914762.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/edmund-wilson-14512_individualist_while-the-romantic-individualist-deludes_2914762.jpg) > ““While the romantic individualist deludes himself with unrealizable fantasies, in the attempt to evade bourgeois society, and only succeeds in destroying himself, he lets humanity fall a victim to the industrial-commercial processes, which, unimpeded by his dreaming, go on with their deadly work.”” [Edmund Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Critiques romantic individualists who chase fantasies, evade society, and inadvertently aid industrial exploitation. **In simple terms:** Romantic fantasies can harm society. Key Takeaway Balance idealism with social responsibility. Themes philosophy critique society Mood critical thought‑provoking Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - political activism - artistic creation - social reform Key Concepts individualism industrialization self‑destruction Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do dreamers have? - How can idealism coexist with societal duties? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex motivations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bourgeois Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bourgeois-society-573342/) [Individualist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individualist/) [Individualist Deludes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individualist-deludes-4216161/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Romantic Individualist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romantic-individualist-4216159/) [Unrealizable Fantasies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unrealizable-fantasies-4216163/) ## Related quotes > [Advancing bourgeois society liquidates memory, time, recollection as irrational leftovers of the past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodor-adorno/advancing-bourgeois-society-liquidates-memory-time-recollection-as/) [Theodor Adorno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodor-adorno/) > [Modern bourgeois society with its relations of production, of exchange, and of property, a society that has conjured up such gigantic means of production…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/modern-bourgeois-society-with-its-relations-of-production-of-exchange/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Bourgeois society is not fundamentally opposed to the bourgeois women's movement, which is proven by the fact that in various states reforms of private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clara-zetkin/bourgeois-society-is-not-fundamentally-opposed-to-the-bourgeois-women/) [Clara Zetkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clara-zetkin/) > [In bourgeois society capital is independent and has individuality, while the living person is dependent and has no individuality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/in-bourgeois-society-capital-is-independent-and-has-individuality/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [The disparagement of empirical evidence in favor of a metaphysical world of illusion has its origin in the conflicy between the emancipated individual of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-horkheimer/the-disparagement-of-empirical-evidence-in-favor-of-a-metaphysical/) [Max Horkheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-horkheimer/) > [Photography is our exorcism. 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The system deploys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/capitalism-far-from-affording-privileges-to-the-middle-classes-tends/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [Bourgeois society ought long ago to have gone to the dogs through sheer idleness; for those of its members who work, acquire nothing, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/bourgeois-society-ought-long-ago-to-have-gone-to-the-dogs-through/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“...the working classes—that motor of social transformation which Marx increasingly stipulated for the role of the proletariat; the dispossessed and alienated revolutionary vehicle of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-p-nettl/the-working-classes-that-motor-of-social-transformation-which-marx/) [J. P. 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but it is a mere matter of common sense to recognize that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/i-am-a-strong-individualist-by-personal-habit-inheritance-and/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [It is true that the virtues which are less esteemed and practiced now--independence, self-reliance, and the willingness to bear risks, the readiness to back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/it-is-true-that-the-virtues-which-are-less-esteemed-and-practiced-now/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [ I'm glad \[Ornette Coleman\] is such an individualist. I like the firmness of thought and purpose that goes into what he's doing, even though… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-desmond/i-m-glad-ornette-coleman-is-such-an-individualist-i-like-the-firmness/) [Paul Desmond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-desmond/) > [My father was an individualist, and I took after him. At school, however, one is forced to be gregarious. I didn't resent this, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-robin-milne/my-father-was-an-individualist-and-i-took-after-him-at-school-however/) [Christopher Robin Milne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-robin-milne/) > [Do not make the mistake of the ignorant who think that an individualist is a man who says: “I’ll do as I please at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/do-not-make-the-mistake-of-the-ignorant-who-think-that-an/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [I don't feel the individualist anarchists, particularly in the American tradition, including the Transcendental tradition of New England, in any way deserve the derogatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/i-don-t-feel-the-individualist-anarchists-particularly-in-the/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [Right now it is a terrible thing to be a rugged individualist; but we don't know what else to be except a feeble nonentity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-paterson/right-now-it-is-a-terrible-thing-to-be-a-rugged-individualist-but-we/) [Isabel Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-paterson/) > [To be a genuine individualist requires a great deal of strength and courage. It is never easy to chart new territory, to cross new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toller-cranston/to-be-a-genuine-individualist-requires-a-great-deal-of-strength-and/) [Toller Cranston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toller-cranston/) > [A Conformist is a man who declares, "It's true because others believe it" - but an Individualist is NOT a man who declares, "It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/a-conformist-is-a-man-who-declares-it-s-true-because-others-believe/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“On Individualism: "Because I say Republicans are stupid, and hold that liberty, equality, and fraternity are exploded bubbles, does not make me a socialist,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/on-individualism-because-i-say-republicans-are-stupid-and-hold-that/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [“The adventurer, by minimum definition, is an individualist. The life of adventure is an unsocial game; therefore in direct contrast with the married, supported…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-bolitho/the-adventurer-by-minimum-definition-is-an-individualist-the-life-of/) [William Bolitho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-bolitho/) > [“mold—William Henry Yale also subscribed to Roosevelt’s notions of the ideal American man and of the dangers of “over-civilization,” code for effeminacy. The true…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-anderson/mold-william-henry-yale-also-subscribed-to-roosevelt-s-notions-of-the/) [Scott Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-anderson/) > [“Whereas, in the west, individuality and drive are considered positive qualities, they are not seen the same way, in Japan. In that country, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexei-maxim-russell/whereas-in-the-west-individuality-and-drive-are-considered-positive/) [Alexei Maxim Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexei-maxim-russell/) > [If anarcho-communism served to regiment the population in the name of libertarian unity, if it served in any way through collectivist measures to deny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/if-anarcho-communism-served-to-regiment-the-population-in-the-name-of/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [Every painter must traverse for himself that distance from Paris to Aix (where Paul Cézanne worked a lot, fh) or from Venice to Toledo…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/every-painter-must-traverse-for-himself-that-distance-from-paris-to/) [Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/) [Browse all 54 Individualist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individualist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“While the romantic individualist deludes himself with unrealizable fantasies, in the attempt to evade bourgeois society, and only succeeds in destroying himself, he lets humanity fall a victim to the industrial-commercial processes, which, unimpeded by his dreaming, go on with their deadly work.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edmund Wilson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/while-the-romantic-individualist-deludes-himself-with-unrealizable/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Individualist" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/while-the-romantic-individualist-deludes-himself-with-unrealizable/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/edmund-wilson-14512_individualist_while-the-romantic-individualist-deludes_2914762.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/edmund-wilson-14512_individualist_while-the-romantic-individualist-deludes_2914762.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/edmund-wilson-14512_individualist_while-the-romantic-individualist-deludes_2914762.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“While the romantic individualist deludes himself with unrealizable fantasies, in the attempt to evade…” — Edmund Wilson", "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": "Edmund Wilson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-wilson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“While the romantic individualist deludes himself...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/while-the-romantic-individualist-deludes-himself-with-unrealizable/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-wilson/while-the-romantic-individualist-deludes-himself-with-unrealizable/#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 } } ] } ```