--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When I hear the word 'culture', I reach…" description: "\"When I hear the word 'culture', I reach for my checkbook.\" — Edward Abbey" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db2/edward-abbey-254_culture_when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for_1400287.png" --- # When I hear the word 'culture', I reach for my checkbook. ![“When I hear the word 'culture', I reach for my checkbook.” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db2/edward-abbey-254_culture_when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for_1400287.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db2/edward-abbey-254_culture_when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for_1400287.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db2/edward-abbey-254_culture_when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for_1400287.png) > “When I hear the word 'culture', I reach for my checkbook.” [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Viewing culture as a market transaction reduces its intrinsic value. **In simple terms:** Culture isn’t a commodity. Key Takeaway Value culture beyond money. Themes culture commercialism authenticity critique Mood skeptical critical Type philosophical satirical When to use this quote - museum funding - festival sponsorship - art sales - public art projects Key Concepts sociology economics of art Questions to Reflect On - Can culture thrive without economic support? - How to balance profit and authenticity? A Different Perspective Some cultural initiatives need funding to survive. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Goering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goering/) [Gun culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun-culture/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Revolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolver/) ## Related quotes > [Whenever I hear the word culture, I reach for my revolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goring/whenever-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-revolver/) [Hermann Goring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goring/) > [“When I hear the word 'culture' I reach for my pistol.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-johst/when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-pistol/) Hanns Johst > [Whenever I hear the word culture, I reach for my revolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whenever-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-revolve/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“When I hear the word culture, I reach for my gun”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-johst/when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-gun/) Hanns Johst > [Whenever I hear the word culture, I reach for my Browning!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-goering/whenever-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-browning/) [Hermann Goering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-goering/) > [May God want for man to be able to be a child again to understand that he is mistaken if he thinks he can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/facundo-cabral/may-god-want-for-man-to-be-able-to-be-a-child-again-to-understand/) [Facundo Cabral](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/facundo-cabral/) > [What’s the best way to build a brand for the long term? In a word: culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-hsieh/what-s-the-best-way-to-build-a-brand-for-the-long-term-in-a-word/) [Tony Hsieh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-hsieh/) > [“Before the war, the domain of culture seemed to offer a haven from the increasingly hateful world of politics. Now, when I hear the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/before-the-war-the-domain-of-culture-seemed-to-offer-a-haven-from-the/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [I think that hip-hop should be spelled with a capital "H," and as one word. It's the name of the culture, and it's the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krs-one/i-think-that-hip-hop-should-be-spelled-with-a-capital-h-and-as-one-2/) [KRS-One](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krs-one/) > [It was play rather than work which enabled man to evolve his higher faculties - everything we mean by the word 'culture'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-read/it-was-play-rather-than-work-which-enabled-man-to-evolve-his-higher/) [Herbert Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-read/) > [ I have always, privately and humbly, thought it a pity that so good a word \[as culture\] should go out of the best vocabularies;… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katharine-fullerton-gerould/i-have-always-privately-and-humbly-thought-it-a-pity-that-so-good-a/) [Katharine Fullerton Gerould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katharine-fullerton-gerould/) > [The best definition of the word culture (workplaces included) that I've heard is that it's how people behave when nobody is watching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gwyn-morgan/the-best-definition-of-the-word-culture-workplaces-included-that-i-ve/) Gwyn Morgan > [“When politicians and civil servants hear the word culture they feel for their blue pencils.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-esher/when-politicians-and-civil-servants-hear-the-word-culture-they-feel/) Lionel Esher > [When I hear the word 'culture,' I get out my revolver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-johst/when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-get-out-my-revolver/) Hanns Johst > [When I hear the word culture - I release the safety-catch of my Browning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanns-johst/when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-release-the-safety-catch-of-my-browning/) Hanns Johst ## More by Edward Abbey > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. By submitting to huge hierarchies of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-institutions-are-too-big-they-represent-not-the-best-but-the/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it's likely that no one is thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/where-all-pretend-to-be-thinking-alike-it-s-likely-that-no-one-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“But why, the questioner insists, why do people like you pretend to love uninhabited country so much? Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Civilization is a youth with a molotov cocktail in his hand. Culture is the Soviet tank or L.A. cop that guns him down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/civilization-is-a-youth-with-a-molotov-cocktail-in-his-hand-culture/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Me, I'm living under a sword too, as Jack may have told you. An old wino's disease, which could lay me in the grave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/me-i-m-living-under-a-sword-too-as-jack-may-have-told-you-an-old-wino/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“Look here, I want to say, for godsake folks get out of them there machines, take off those fucking sunglasses and unpeel both eyeballs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/look-here-i-want-to-say-for-godsake-folks-get-out-of-them-there/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/reason-has-seldom-failed-us-because-it-has-seldom-been-tried/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [“What is the essence of the art of writing? Part One: Have something to say. Part Two: Say it well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/what-is-the-essence-of-the-art-of-writing-part-one-have-something-to/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) [Explore all 807 Edward Abbey quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More Culture quotes > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [In the hearing world, I'm constantly having to lip-read and trying to understand what's going on. Sign language is so beautiful. It gives you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-ayling-ellis/in-the-hearing-world-i-m-constantly-having-to-lip-read-and-trying-to/) [Rose Ayling-Ellis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-ayling-ellis/) > [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [Our times demand the declaration of the world's resources as the common heritage of all people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacque-fresco/our-times-demand-the-declaration-of-the-world-s-resources-as-the/) [Jacque Fresco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacque-fresco/) > [The U.S.-Mexican border es un herida abierta where the Third World grates against the first and bleeds. And before a scab forms it hemorrhages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gloria-e-anzald-a/the-u-s-mexican-border-es-un-herida-abierta-where-the-third-world/) [Gloria E. Anzaldúa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gloria-e-anzald-a/) > [What it comes down to for me is this: Will the technologies of communication in our culture, serve to enlighten us and help us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/what-it-comes-down-to-for-me-is-this-will-the-technologies-of/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [I think it's useful to experience other types of dance and other cultures, and the life of a classical dancer these days is certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-bull/i-think-it-s-useful-to-experience-other-types-of-dance-and-other/) [Deborah Bull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-bull/) > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [It is not my intention to explain Turkey, its culture and its problems. My literature has a universal concern: I want to bring people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/it-is-not-my-intention-to-explain-turkey-its-culture-and-its-problems/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [I don't think the distinction between high and low culture exists anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-scott/i-don-t-think-the-distinction-between-high-and-low-culture-exists/) [Jeremy Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-scott/) > [You get below the Mason-Dixon line and you have some of the best music, culture, the two races, the literature, and it's so rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-duvall/you-get-below-the-mason-dixon-line-and-you-have-some-of-the-best/) [Robert Duvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-duvall/) > [It is proposed that a form of free dialogue may well be one of the most effective ways of investigating the crisis which faces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bohm/it-is-proposed-that-a-form-of-free-dialogue-may-well-be-one-of-the/) [David Bohm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bohm/) > [“Being grounded in your lifelong culture and your personal perspective, you are comfortable with the way you see things and may believe it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/being-grounded-in-your-lifelong-culture-and-your-personal-perspective/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) [Browse all 15,940 Culture quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When I hear the word 'culture', I reach for my checkbook.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Edward Abbey" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-checkbook/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Culture" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-checkbook/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db2/edward-abbey-254_culture_when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for_1400287.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db2/edward-abbey-254_culture_when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for_1400287.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/db2/edward-abbey-254_culture_when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for_1400287.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When I hear the word 'culture', I reach for my checkbook.” — Edward Abbey", "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": "Edward Abbey", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When I hear the word 'culture',...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-checkbook/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/when-i-hear-the-word-culture-i-reach-for-my-checkbook/#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 } } ] } ```