--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As it is, the profusion of commodities is…" description: "\"“As it is, the profusion of commodities is a genuine and powerful compensation for oppression.”\" — Ellen Willis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/ellen-willis-14968_commodities_as-it-is-the-profusion-of-commodities-is_1857422.png" --- # As it is, the profusion of commodities is a genuine and… ![“As it is, the profusion of commodities is a genuine and powerful compensation for oppression.” quote by Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/ellen-willis-14968_commodities_as-it-is-the-profusion-of-commodities-is_1857422.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/ellen-willis-14968_commodities_as-it-is-the-profusion-of-commodities-is_1857422.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/ellen-willis-14968_commodities_as-it-is-the-profusion-of-commodities-is_1857422.png) > ““As it is, the profusion of commodities is a genuine and powerful compensation for oppression.”” [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Abundant consumer goods can serve as a form of relief or compensation for systemic oppression. **In simple terms:** Material abundance can mask deeper injustices. Key Takeaway Critically assess what comforts you. Themes consumerism politics oppression Mood critical analytical Type political social commentary When to use this quote - shopping habits - advertising - economic policy - personal budgeting Key Concepts commodities compensation social critique Questions to Reflect On - What comforts do you use to avoid confronting oppression? - Can consumption ever be truly liberating? A Different Perspective Material comforts can distract from addressing root causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Commodities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commodities/) [Commodities Genuine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commodities-genuine-2477668/) [Compensation Oppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compensation-oppression-2477665/) [Oppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression/) [Powerful Compensation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful-compensation-2477667/) [Profusion Commodities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profusion-commodities-2477666/) ## Related quotes > [“Revelation Chapter 18 details the many goods which are sold through the Daughter of Babylon’s ports. The lengthy list appears in Revelation 18:11-13. Take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-price/revelation-chapter-18-details-the-many-goods-which-are-sold-through/) [John Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-price/) > [There is a physical relation between physical things. But it is different with commodities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/there-is-a-physical-relation-between-physical-things-but-it-is/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [In commodities, when prices go up, demand goes down. In stocks, when prices go up, demand goes up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakesh-jhunjhunwala/in-commodities-when-prices-go-up-demand-goes-down-in-stocks-when/) [Rakesh Jhunjhunwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakesh-jhunjhunwala/) > [I never looked at people or singing as commodities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-benatar/i-never-looked-at-people-or-singing-as-commodities/) [Pat Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-benatar/) > [The essence of capitalism is to turn nature into commodities and commodities into capital. The live green earth is transformed into dead gold bricks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-parenti/the-essence-of-capitalism-is-to-turn-nature-into-commodities-and/) [Michael Parenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-parenti/) > [Ships are a strange kind of commodity because they're very lumpy, very big individual units, but they're commodities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-ross/ships-are-a-strange-kind-of-commodity-because-they-re-very-lumpy-very/) [Wilbur Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-ross/) > [“Your life and knowledge are the most valuable commodities you have, Polar―don't be so hasty to throw them away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-walt/your-life-and-knowledge-are-the-most-valuable-commodities-you-have/) [Jasmine Walt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-walt/) > [Let's embrace productive capitalism, not casino capitalism, by restoring transparency and true competition in the commodities markets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-cantwell/let-s-embrace-productive-capitalism-not-casino-capitalism-by/) [Maria Cantwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-cantwell/) > [The positive aspect of my negative view is essentially that you shouldn't own cash and government bonds, but you should be in assets like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-faber/the-positive-aspect-of-my-negative-view-is-essentially-that-you/) [Marc Faber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-faber/) > [It is obvious, moreover, that the formation of price in capitalist society must differ from the formation of price in social conditions based upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-hiferding/it-is-obvious-moreover-that-the-formation-of-price-in-capitalist/) [Rudolf Hiferding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-hiferding/) > [Given the current state of publishing, I think it helps to have a brand name on the cover of your book. Comedians are proven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-showalter/given-the-current-state-of-publishing-i-think-it-helps-to-have-a/) [Michael Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-showalter/) > [You can no longer buy commodities at Merrill Lynch. My guess is many analysts and even executives are too young to know how profitable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rogers/you-can-no-longer-buy-commodities-at-merrill-lynch-my-guess-is-many/) [Jim Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rogers/) > [It is therefore utterly false to say that Marx revokes the law of value as far as individual commodities are concerned, and maintains it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-hiferding/it-is-therefore-utterly-false-to-say-that-marx-revokes-the-law-of/) [Rudolf Hiferding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-hiferding/) > [“You see, Flavia, silence is sometimes the most costly of commodities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/you-see-flavia-silence-is-sometimes-the-most-costly-of-commodities/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [While foreign competitors, French or Japanese or German, merrily bid for contracts abroad, American companies find themselves tangled in a web of legislation designed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/while-foreign-competitors-french-or-japanese-or-german-merrily-bid/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) ## More by Ellen Willis > [You don't have to be Sigmund Freud to surmise that war has a perverse appeal for the human race, nor is the attraction limited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/you-don-t-have-to-be-sigmund-freud-to-surmise-that-war-has-a-perverse/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [For democrats, it's as crucial to defend secular culture as to preserve secular law. And in fact the two projects are inseparable: When religion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/for-democrats-it-s-as-crucial-to-defend-secular-culture-as-to/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [What turns me on is erotica; what turns you on is pornographic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/what-turns-me-on-is-erotica-what-turns-you-on-is-pornographic/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [Some conservatives have expressed outrage that the views of professors are at odds with the views of students, as if ideas were entitled to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/some-conservatives-have-expressed-outrage-that-the-views-of/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [For the most part, Americans speak of culture and politics as if they were two separate realms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/for-the-most-part-americans-speak-of-culture-and-politics-as-if-they/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [Mass consumption, advertising, and mass art are a corporate Frankenstein; while they reinforce the system, they also undermine it. By continually pushing the message…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/mass-consumption-advertising-and-mass-art-are-a-corporate/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [My education was dominated by modernist thinkers and artists who taught me that the supreme imperative was courage to face the awful truth, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/my-education-was-dominated-by-modernist-thinkers-and-artists-who/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [The public's continuing ambivalence about cultural matters is all the more striking given that the political conversation on these issues has for 30 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/the-public-s-continuing-ambivalence-about-cultural-matters-is-all-the/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [Music that boldly and aggressively laid out what the singer wanted, loved, hated — as good rock ’n’ roll did — challenged me to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/music-that-boldly-and-aggressively-laid-out-what-the-singer-wanted/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [Individuals bearing witness do not change history; only movements that understand their social world can do that. Movements encourage solidarity; the moral individual is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/individuals-bearing-witness-do-not-change-history-only-movements-that/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [Whatever their limitations, Freud and Marx developed complex and subtle theories of human nature grounded in their observation of individual and social behavior. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/whatever-their-limitations-freud-and-marx-developed-complex-and/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [The drug war has nothing to do with making communities livable or creating a decent future for black kids. On the contrary, prohibition is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/the-drug-war-has-nothing-to-do-with-making-communities-livable-or/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [I was a 'Big Brother' fan. I thought they were better musicians than their detractors claimed, but more to the point, technical accomplishment was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/i-was-a-big-brother-fan-i-thought-they-were-better-musicians-than/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [The Democratic power elite on some level feels delegitimized by its working-class, black and female constituencies. What it wants are the "legitimate" votes of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/the-democratic-power-elite-on-some-level-feels-delegitimized-by-its/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) > [On one level the sixties revolt was an impressive illustration of Lenin's remark that the capitalist will sell you the rope to hang him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/on-one-level-the-sixties-revolt-was-an-impressive-illustration-of/) [Ellen Willis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) [Explore all 44 Ellen Willis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/) ## More Commodities quotes > [“Revelation Chapter 18 details the many goods which are sold through the Daughter of Babylon’s ports. The lengthy list appears in Revelation 18:11-13. Take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-price/revelation-chapter-18-details-the-many-goods-which-are-sold-through/) [John Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-price/) > [“You see, Flavia, silence is sometimes the most costly of commodities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bradley/you-see-flavia-silence-is-sometimes-the-most-costly-of-commodities/) [Alan Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bradley/) > [It is therefore utterly false to say that Marx revokes the law of value as far as individual commodities are concerned, and maintains it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-hiferding/it-is-therefore-utterly-false-to-say-that-marx-revokes-the-law-of/) [Rudolf Hiferding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-hiferding/) > [You can no longer buy commodities at Merrill Lynch. My guess is many analysts and even executives are too young to know how profitable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-rogers/you-can-no-longer-buy-commodities-at-merrill-lynch-my-guess-is-many/) [Jim Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-rogers/) > [Given the current state of publishing, I think it helps to have a brand name on the cover of your book. Comedians are proven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-showalter/given-the-current-state-of-publishing-i-think-it-helps-to-have-a/) [Michael Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-showalter/) > [It is obvious, moreover, that the formation of price in capitalist society must differ from the formation of price in social conditions based upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-hiferding/it-is-obvious-moreover-that-the-formation-of-price-in-capitalist/) [Rudolf Hiferding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-hiferding/) > [The positive aspect of my negative view is essentially that you shouldn't own cash and government bonds, but you should be in assets like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-faber/the-positive-aspect-of-my-negative-view-is-essentially-that-you/) [Marc Faber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-faber/) > [Let's embrace productive capitalism, not casino capitalism, by restoring transparency and true competition in the commodities markets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-cantwell/let-s-embrace-productive-capitalism-not-casino-capitalism-by/) [Maria Cantwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-cantwell/) > [“Your life and knowledge are the most valuable commodities you have, Polar―don't be so hasty to throw them away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasmine-walt/your-life-and-knowledge-are-the-most-valuable-commodities-you-have/) [Jasmine Walt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasmine-walt/) > [Ships are a strange kind of commodity because they're very lumpy, very big individual units, but they're commodities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-ross/ships-are-a-strange-kind-of-commodity-because-they-re-very-lumpy-very/) [Wilbur Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-ross/) > [The essence of capitalism is to turn nature into commodities and commodities into capital. The live green earth is transformed into dead gold bricks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-parenti/the-essence-of-capitalism-is-to-turn-nature-into-commodities-and/) [Michael Parenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-parenti/) > [I never looked at people or singing as commodities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-benatar/i-never-looked-at-people-or-singing-as-commodities/) [Pat Benatar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-benatar/) > [In commodities, when prices go up, demand goes down. In stocks, when prices go up, demand goes up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rakesh-jhunjhunwala/in-commodities-when-prices-go-up-demand-goes-down-in-stocks-when/) [Rakesh Jhunjhunwala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rakesh-jhunjhunwala/) > [There is a physical relation between physical things. But it is different with commodities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/there-is-a-physical-relation-between-physical-things-but-it-is/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [While foreign competitors, French or Japanese or German, merrily bid for contracts abroad, American companies find themselves tangled in a web of legislation designed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/while-foreign-competitors-french-or-japanese-or-german-merrily-bid/) [Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/) [Browse all 71 Commodities quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commodities/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As it is, the profusion of commodities is a genuine and powerful compensation for oppression.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ellen Willis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/as-it-is-the-profusion-of-commodities-is-a-genuine-and-powerful/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Commodities" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/as-it-is-the-profusion-of-commodities-is-a-genuine-and-powerful/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/ellen-willis-14968_commodities_as-it-is-the-profusion-of-commodities-is_1857422.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/ellen-willis-14968_commodities_as-it-is-the-profusion-of-commodities-is_1857422.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3cc/ellen-willis-14968_commodities_as-it-is-the-profusion-of-commodities-is_1857422.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As it is, the profusion of commodities is a genuine and powerful compensation for oppression.” — Ellen Willis", "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": "Ellen Willis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-willis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“As it is, the profusion of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/as-it-is-the-profusion-of-commodities-is-a-genuine-and-powerful/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-willis/as-it-is-the-profusion-of-commodities-is-a-genuine-and-powerful/#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 } } ] } ```