--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The most important thing in industry is…" description: "\"“The most important thing in industry is the person who does the industry, which is the worker…. Labor is the only source of wealth. There is no other ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/eli-siegel-21460_labor_the-most-important-thing-in-industry-is_124762.jpg" --- # The most important thing in industry is the person who… ![“The most important thing in industry is the person who does the industry, which is the worker…. Labor is the only source of wealth. There is no other source, except land, the raw material….Every bit of capital that exists was made by labor, just as everything that is consumed is.” quote by Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/eli-siegel-21460_labor_the-most-important-thing-in-industry-is_124762.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/eli-siegel-21460_labor_the-most-important-thing-in-industry-is_124762.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ecd/eli-siegel-21460_labor_the-most-important-thing-in-industry-is_124762.jpg) > ““The most important thing in industry is the person who does the industry, which is the worker…. Labor is the only source of wealth. There is no other source, except land, the raw material….Every bit of capital that exists was made by labor, just as everything that is consumed is.”” [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Labor is the sole creator of wealth; capital and consumption are derived from workers, not from abstract resources. **In simple terms:** Workers create all wealth. Key Takeaway Labor underpins economy. Themes economics labor theory wealth Mood critical analytical Type political economic When to use this quote - policy debates - union negotiations - business ethics Key Concepts marxist theory value creation Practical Applications - fair wage structures - recognize worker contribution Questions to Reflect On - How does labor value shape modern economies? - What balance exists between labor and capital? A Different Perspective Capital and land also influence production; ignoring them oversimplifies complex economies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [The most important thing in industry is the person who does the industry, which is the worker... Labor is the only source of wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/the-most-important-thing-in-industry-is-the-person-who-does-the-2/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [The world is agreed that labor is the source from which human wants are mainly supplied. There is no dispute upon this point.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-world-is-agreed-that-labor-is-the-source-from-which-human-wants/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [Labor is the source of all wealth and all culture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ferdinand-lassalle/labor-is-the-source-of-all-wealth-and-all-culture/) [Ferdinand Lassalle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ferdinand-lassalle/) > [“Time is the raw material for creation”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/time-is-the-raw-material-for-creation/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Fear is the raw material from which courage is manufactured. Without it, we wouldn't even know what it means to be brave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/fear-is-the-raw-material-from-which-courage-is-manufactured-without/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [Carving is a source of joy to the artist. . . . To attack the raw material, gradually to extract a shape out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristide-maillol/carving-is-a-source-of-joy-to-the-artist-to-attack-the-raw-material/) Aristide Maillol > [As hundreds of millions of Chinese have improved their standard of living, this has put enormous pressure on natural resources, raw materials, and food…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-lubetzky/as-hundreds-of-millions-of-chinese-have-improved-their-standard-of/) [Daniel Lubetzky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-lubetzky/) > [“No longer were the prices of ordinary mortgage bonds allowed to roam inefficiently, for they were now linked to the CMO market, in much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-lewis/no-longer-were-the-prices-of-ordinary-mortgage-bonds-allowed-to-roam/) [Michael Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-lewis/) > [“Fabulous. If you possess it, you don’t need to ask what it is. When you attempt to delineate it, you move away from it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-kushner/fabulous-if-you-possess-it-you-don-t-need-to-ask-what-it-is-when-you/) [Tony Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-kushner/) > [I say that human nature is the original beginning and the raw material, and deliberate effort is what makes it patterned, ordered, and exalted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/xun-kuang/i-say-that-human-nature-is-the-original-beginning-and-the-raw/) [Xun Kuang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/xun-kuang/) > [Attractive Etonians who go straight onto the Stock Exchange missing University on their fathers advice: the raw material of the great bores.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-madan/attractive-etonians-who-go-straight-onto-the-stock-exchange-missing/) [Geoffrey Madan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-madan/) > [“Societies only have waste products while acquiring fresh raw material remains a cheaper option than recycling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-f-hamilton/societies-only-have-waste-products-while-acquiring-fresh-raw-material/) [Peter F. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-f-hamilton/) > [We're fortunate enough to live on a planet that's bathed in thousands of times more energy than we use and that's stocked with thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramez-naam/we-re-fortunate-enough-to-live-on-a-planet-that-s-bathed-in-thousands/) [Ramez Naam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramez-naam/) > [“My family had been denied the things his family had taken for granted. I had a natural talent for selling to people, but without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trevor-noah/my-family-had-been-denied-the-things-his-family-had-taken-for-granted/) [Trevor Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trevor-noah/) > [“Taiichi Ohno blamed this batch-and-queue mode of thinking on civilization’s first farmers, who he claimed lost the one-thing-at-a-time wisdom of the hunter as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-womack/taiichi-ohno-blamed-this-batch-and-queue-mode-of-thinking-on/) [James P. Womack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-womack/) ## More by Eli Siegel > [There is not one thing that music does which does not say something about how a person should organize himself, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/there-is-not-one-thing-that-music-does-which-does-not-say-something/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [There is a quality of murky grandeur we give ourselves in having our own feelings, recoiling, separate from other things... To feel that we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/there-is-a-quality-of-murky-grandeur-we-give-ourselves-in-having-our/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [The purpose of photography is to create an emotion about the world through what has been carefully seen and selected.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/the-purpose-of-photography-is-to-create-an-emotion-about-the-world/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [To see the outside world as the same stuff as our most secret or unknown thoughts is a fine necessity...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/to-see-the-outside-world-as-the-same-stuff-as-our-most-secret-or/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [The world, art, and self explain each other: each is the aesthetic oneness of opposites,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/the-world-art-and-self-explain-each-other-each-is-the-aesthetic/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [True individuality is the repose arising from the relation of a self to all it has to do with. Bad individuality has in it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/true-individuality-is-the-repose-arising-from-the-relation-of-a-self/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [“The self can watch itself becoming lazy, or non-watchful; this is an asset that can make both for humor and profound well-being.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/the-self-can-watch-itself-becoming-lazy-or-non-watchful-this-is-an/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [One of the things called forth by the Imagist movement in poetry was neatness; and when we say keenness, we mean neatness. A knife…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/one-of-the-things-called-forth-by-the-imagist-movement-in-poetry-was/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [Is there in every work of art something which shows reality as one and also something which shows reality as many and diverse? -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/is-there-in-every-work-of-art-something-which-shows-reality-as-one/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [In reality opposites are one; art shows this.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/in-reality-opposites-are-one-art-shows-this/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [All beauty is a making one of opposites, and the making one of opposites is what we are going after in ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/all-beauty-is-a-making-one-of-opposites-and-the-making-one-of/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [In order to be deep, we sometimes have to cut through and cut apart. That is to be seen in the common phrase, 'Cut…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/in-order-to-be-deep-we-sometimes-have-to-cut-through-and-cut-apart/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [The most important thing for you to do is see that in hoping to be affected by other things as fully as possible, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/the-most-important-thing-for-you-to-do-is-see-that-in-hoping-to-be/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [Art is a way of showing greater fairness to things than is customary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/art-is-a-way-of-showing-greater-fairness-to-things-than-is-customary/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) > [We should see the desire for neatness, the desire for sharp impressions, as a desire in art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eli-siegel/we-should-see-the-desire-for-neatness-the-desire-for-sharp/) [Eli Siegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) [Explore all 29 Eli Siegel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eli-siegel/) ## More Labor quotes > [Less than 8 percent of private sector workers belonged to a union in 2004, and, overall, only 12.5 percent of American workers carry a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-chavez/less-than-8-percent-of-private-sector-workers-belonged-to-a-union-in/) [Linda Chavez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-chavez/) > [Maryland will always have the backs of working people and organized labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-moore/maryland-will-always-have-the-backs-of-working-people-and-organized/) [Wes Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-moore/) > [In an economy increasingly dominated by network effects, peer-to-peer transactions, self-regulation, and contract labor, the old frameworks are woefully irrelevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/in-an-economy-increasingly-dominated-by-network-effects-peer-to-peer/) [Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) > [Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labor in freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/everything-that-is-really-great-and-inspiring-is-created-by-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [For it is an absurdity to call a country civilized in which a decent and industrious man, laboriously mastering a trade which is valuble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/for-it-is-an-absurdity-to-call-a-country-civilized-in-which-a-decent/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [ \[In science any model depends on a pre-chosen taxonomy\] a set of classifications into which we divide the enormous complexity of the real world...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/in-science-any-model-depends-on-a-pre-chosen-taxonomy-a-set-of/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [We know, Southern men declare that their slaves are better off than hired laborers amongst us. How little they know, whereof they speak! There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/we-know-southern-men-declare-that-their-slaves-are-better-off-than/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [What we need is political leadership which can give guidance to the development of global governance. We need business leadership which goes beyond shareholder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-somavia/what-we-need-is-political-leadership-which-can-give-guidance-to-the/) [Juan Somavia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-somavia/) > [No matter the style, the farther one goes the more obstacles increase, and the more distant appears the object it is desired to attain.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-georges-noverre/no-matter-the-style-the-farther-one-goes-the-more-obstacles-increase/) [Jean-Georges Noverre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-georges-noverre/) > [Every step by which an individual substitutes concerted action for isolated action results in an immediate and recognizable improvement in his conditions. The advantages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/every-step-by-which-an-individual-substitutes-concerted-action-for/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [I am glad to see that a system of labor prevails under which laborers can strike when they want to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/i-am-glad-to-see-that-a-system-of-labor-prevails-under-which-laborers/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [With a full century of contrary proof in our possession and despite our demonstrated capacity for cooperative teamwork, some among us seem to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dwight-d-eisenhower/with-a-full-century-of-contrary-proof-in-our-possession-and-despite/) [Dwight D. Eisenhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dwight-d-eisenhower/) > [He who believes in God is not careful for the morrow, but labors joyfully and with a great heart. "For He giveth His beloved,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/he-who-believes-in-god-is-not-careful-for-the-morrow-but-labors/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [Labor is the law of happiness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-stevens/labor-is-the-law-of-happiness/) [Abel Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abel-stevens/) > [Genius is the power to labor better and more availably. Deserve thy genius: exalt it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/genius-is-the-power-to-labor-better-and-more-availably-deserve-thy/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) [Browse all 3,334 Labor quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The most important thing in industry is the person who does the industry, which is the worker…. Labor is the only source of wealth. 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