--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Capitalism has destroyed our belief in…" description: "\"Capitalism has destroyed our belief in any effective power but that of self interest backed by force.\" — George Bernard Shaw" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/175/george-bernard-shaw-68_belief_capitalism-has-destroyed-our-belief-in-a_2209654.png" --- # Capitalism has destroyed our belief in any effective power… ![“Capitalism has destroyed our belief in any effective power but that of self interest backed by force.” quote by George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/175/george-bernard-shaw-68_belief_capitalism-has-destroyed-our-belief-in-a_2209654.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/175/george-bernard-shaw-68_belief_capitalism-has-destroyed-our-belief-in-a_2209654.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/175/george-bernard-shaw-68_belief_capitalism-has-destroyed-our-belief-in-a_2209654.png) > “Capitalism has destroyed our belief in any effective power but that of self interest backed by force.” [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Capitalism reduces power to self‑interest enforced by force. **In simple terms:** Power lies in self‑interest and force. Key Takeaway Critique economic structures. Themes politics economics power Mood critical provocative Type dramatic philosophical When to use this quote - policy debates - activist movements - business ethics - educational curricula Key Concepts capitalism force social critique Questions to Reflect On - How does self‑interest shape society? - What alternatives challenge this view? A Different Perspective Complexities of modern economies may oversimplify. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belief/) [Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Self interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-interest/) ## Related quotes > [Capitalism has destroyed our belief in any effective power but that of self interest backed by force. 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That destroyed financial systems, hollowed out state systems and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-schulz/it-became-obvious-that-we-had-completely-failed-to-impose-rules-on/) [Martin Schulz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-schulz/) > [“Western capitalism contained is Western capitalism destroyed. Toothless and drugged, the caged tiger is prey to lethargy, disease, premature senility. Worse, only the bars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernard-connolly/western-capitalism-contained-is-western-capitalism-destroyed/) [Bernard Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernard-connolly/) > [“It is often asked: Why was capitalism destroyed in spite of its incomparably beneficent record? The answer lies in the fact that the lifeline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/it-is-often-asked-why-was-capitalism-destroyed-in-spite-of-its/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [A man's interest in the world is only an overflow from his interest in himself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-s-interest-in-the-world-is-only-an-overflow-from-his-interest/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“Sometimes it seems as though my life operating system is frozen. I get stuck, and I know things will not change until I power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-alsdorf/sometimes-it-seems-as-though-my-life-operating-system-is-frozen-i-get/) [Debbie Alsdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-alsdorf/) > [Life may be defined to be the power of self-augmentation or assimilation, not of self-nurture; for then a steam-engine over a coal-pit might be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augustus-william-hare/life-may-be-defined-to-be-the-power-of-self-augmentation-or/) [Augustus William Hare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augustus-william-hare/) > [“Be aware of the power of self awareness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alin-sav/be-aware-of-the-power-of-self-awareness/) [Alin Sav](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alin-sav/) > [ I do not want to give my power, my self-esteem, or my autonomy, to any person, place, or thing outside myself. \[...\] The only… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-judd/i-do-not-want-to-give-my-power-my-self-esteem-or-my-autonomy-to-any/) [Ashley Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-judd/) > [To assign unanswered letters their proper weight, to free us from the expectations of others, to give us back to ourselves--there lies the great,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-assign-unanswered-letters-their-proper-weight-to-free-us-from-the/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [What we misunderstand as a lack of personal power or self discipline is nothing but a lack of real desire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/senoraroy/what-we-misunderstand-as-a-lack-of-personal-power-or-self-discipline/) Senoraroy > [Power is the strongest drug we can feed on. Power over the self is strengthening. The need for power over others is an addiction…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-papian/power-is-the-strongest-drug-we-can-feed-on-power-over-the-self-is/) [Ruben Papian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-papian/) > [“The main interest in life and work is to become someone else that you were not in the beginning’ (‘Truth, Power, Self’, 9). Foucault”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-gutting/the-main-interest-in-life-and-work-is-to-become-someone-else-that-you/) [Gary Gutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-gutting/) > [Truly, the greatest power you have in this world is the power of your own self-transformation. It starts with the one in the mirror.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/truly-the-greatest-power-you-have-in-this-world-is-the-power-of-your/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) ## More by George Bernard Shaw > [I love little children too but I don't cut off their heads and stick them in vases.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-love-little-children-too-but-i-don-t-cut-off-their-heads-and-stick/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Blasphemy and sedition (meaning the truth about Church and State).](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/blasphemy-and-sedition-meaning-the-truth-about-church-and-state/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of life, man invents nothing; but in the arts of death he outdoes Nature herself, and produces by chemistry and machinery…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-life-man-invents-nothing-but-in-the-arts-of-death-he/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“My religious convictions and scientific views cannot at present be more specifically defined than as those of a believer in creative evolution. I desire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/my-religious-convictions-and-scientific-views-cannot-at-present-be/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [What a man believes may be ascertained, not from his creed, but from the assumptions on which he habitually acts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/what-a-man-believes-may-be-ascertained-not-from-his-creed-but-from/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Men have to do some awfully mean things to keep up their respectability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/men-have-to-do-some-awfully-mean-things-to-keep-up-their/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The schoolmaster is the person who takes the children off the parents' hands for a consideration. That is to say, he establishes a child…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-schoolmaster-is-the-person-who-takes-the-children-off-the-parents/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [As long as I have a want, I have a reason for living. Satisfaction is death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/as-long-as-i-have-a-want-i-have-a-reason-for-living-satisfaction-is/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The camera can represent flesh so superbly that, if I dared, I would never photograph a figure without asking that figure to take its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-camera-can-represent-flesh-so-superbly-that-if-i-dared-i-would/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [A man who is not a communist at the age of twenty is a fool. Any man who is still communist at the age…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-man-who-is-not-a-communist-at-the-age-of-twenty-is-a-fool-any-man/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [But to admire a strong person and to live under that strong person’s thumb are two different things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/but-to-admire-a-strong-person-and-to-live-under-that-strong-person-s/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Socialism is the same as Communism, only better English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/socialism-is-the-same-as-communism-only-better-english/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [The person who is ignorant enough to believe that his nourishment depends on meat is in a horrible dilemma.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/the-person-who-is-ignorant-enough-to-believe-that-his-nourishment/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [In the arts of peace Man is a bungler.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/in-the-arts-of-peace-man-is-a-bungler/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Explore all 1,640 George Bernard Shaw quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) ## More Belief quotes > [“Cine a ucis stelele? 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If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/) [Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/) > [It took me 20 years of hard training to get the physique I have today. what you need is what i had - BELIEF…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branch-warren/it-took-me-20-years-of-hard-training-to-get-the-physique-i-have-today/) [Branch Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branch-warren/) > [“Here is a fundamental difference between the man of faith and the man of unbelief. The unbeliever is 'of the world', judges everything by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-w-pink/here-is-a-fundamental-difference-between-the-man-of-faith-and-the-man/) [Arthur W. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-w-pink/) > [“She herself vacillated when it came to belief. She did not particularly believe in God. 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Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [The inner defenses are unconscious. They consist of a kind of magic aura which the mind builds around cherished belief. 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