--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Marxism exists in nineteenth-century…" description: "\"“Marxism exists in nineteenth-century thought like a fish in water: that is, it is unable to breathe anywhere else.”\" — FOUCAULT MICHEL" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/foucault-michel-62564_marxism_marxism-exists-in-nineteenth-century-tho_567581.jpg" --- # Marxism exists in nineteenth-century thought like a fish… ![“Marxism exists in nineteenth-century thought like a fish in water: that is, it is unable to breathe anywhere else.” quote by FOUCAULT MICHEL](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/foucault-michel-62564_marxism_marxism-exists-in-nineteenth-century-tho_567581.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/foucault-michel-62564_marxism_marxism-exists-in-nineteenth-century-tho_567581.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/foucault-michel-62564_marxism_marxism-exists-in-nineteenth-century-tho_567581.jpg) > ““Marxism exists in nineteenth-century thought like a fish in water: that is, it is unable to breathe anywhere else.”” [FOUCAULT MICHEL](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foucault-michel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ideas tied to a specific historical context lose relevance when removed from that era. **In simple terms:** Ideas need their original context to survive. Key Takeaway Recognize the historical limits of theories. Themes history context ideology philosophy Mood critical analytical Type philosophical academic When to use this quote - academic debate - political analysis - educational curricula Key Concepts structuralism historical materialism epistemology Questions to Reflect On - How do modern thinkers adapt outdated concepts? - Can context be transcended? A Different Perspective Ideas may still inspire reinterpretation in new contexts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Century Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century-thought-4692359/) [Exists Nineteenth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exists-nineteenth-4692358/) [Like Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-fish/) [Marxism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marxism/) [Marxism Exists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marxism-exists-4692357/) ## Related quotes > [“Perhaps history this century, thought Eigenvalue, is rippled with gathers in its fabric such that if we are situated, as Stencil seemed to be,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/perhaps-history-this-century-thought-eigenvalue-is-rippled-with/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“This daunting and wondrous century is throwing open basic questions the twentieth century thought it had answered. 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Fishing is always a way of relaxing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-felton/i-like-to-fish-fishing-is-always-a-way-of-relaxing/) [Tom Felton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-felton/) > [We have learned to fly the air like birds and swim the sea like fish, but we have not learned the simple art of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr-2/we-have-learned-to-fly-the-air-like-birds-and-swim-the-sea-like-fish/) [Martin Luther King Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr-2/) > [“They're not people at all, they're graduate students, there's a difference. They fuck like bunnies and drink like fish and stay up late worrying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-canty/they-re-not-people-at-all-they-re-graduate-students-there-s-a/) [Kevin Canty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-canty/) ## More by FOUCAULT MICHEL > [ “Calling sex by its name thereafter \[the 17th c.\] became more difficult and more costly. As if in order to gain mastery of it… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foucault-michel/calling-sex-by-its-name-thereafter-the-17th-c-became-more-difficult/) [Foucault Michel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foucault-michel/) > [“The game is worthwhile in so far as we don't know what will be the end.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foucault-michel/the-game-is-worthwhile-in-so-far-as-we-don-t-know-what-will-be-the-end/) [FOUCAULT MICHEL](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foucault-michel/) > [“To all those who still wish to talk about man, about his reign or his liberation, to all those who still ask themselves questions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foucault-michel/to-all-those-who-still-wish-to-talk-about-man-about-his-reign-or-his/) [FOUCAULT MICHEL](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foucault-michel/) [Explore all 4 FOUCAULT MICHEL quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foucault-michel/) ## More Marxism quotes > [“I should say that it was only for me that Marxism seemed over. 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Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [“Time is the ultimate form of socialism. Each receives the same amount equally, yet how we manage our time is reflected by our lives.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-mol/time-is-the-ultimate-form-of-socialism-each-receives-the-same-amount/) [Donald Mol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-mol/) [Browse all 366 Marxism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marxism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Marxism exists in nineteenth-century thought like a fish in water: that is, it is unable to breathe anywhere else.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "FOUCAULT MICHEL" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foucault-michel/marxism-exists-in-nineteenth-century-thought-like-a-fish-in-water/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Marxism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foucault-michel/marxism-exists-in-nineteenth-century-thought-like-a-fish-in-water/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/foucault-michel-62564_marxism_marxism-exists-in-nineteenth-century-tho_567581.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/foucault-michel-62564_marxism_marxism-exists-in-nineteenth-century-tho_567581.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f83/foucault-michel-62564_marxism_marxism-exists-in-nineteenth-century-tho_567581.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Marxism exists in nineteenth-century thought like a fish in water: that is, it is unable to breathe anywhere…” — FOUCAULT MICHEL", "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": "FOUCAULT MICHEL", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foucault-michel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Marxism exists in nineteenth-century thought like...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foucault-michel/marxism-exists-in-nineteenth-century-thought-like-a-fish-in-water/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foucault-michel/marxism-exists-in-nineteenth-century-thought-like-a-fish-in-water/#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 } } ] } ```