Business Quote by Eric Hoffer
““If free enterprise becomes a proselytizing holy cause, it will be a sign that its workability and advantages have ceased to be self-evident.””
About This Quote
Source Essay: The True Believer, 1951
When free market ideas are treated as a religion, it signals they no longer prove their practical value.
In simple terms: Treating markets as a faith shows they’re losing credibility.
Key Takeaway
Question assumptions about market supremacy.
Themes
economics
ideology
skepticism
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
philosophical
economic
When to use this quote
- Business leaders
- policy makers
- activists
Key Concepts
market theory
social influence
political rhetoric
Questions to Reflect On
- Why do people turn to market ideology as a belief system?
- What alternatives address its shortcomings?
A Different Perspective
May discount genuine benefits of free enterprise.
![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)