--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Governments are deemed to succeed or fail…" description: "\"Governments are deemed to succeed or fail by how well they make money go round, regardless of whether it serves any useful purpose. They regard it as a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/george-monbiot-2762_annuals_governments-are-deemed-to-succeed-or-fai_3204100.png" --- # Governments are deemed to succeed or fail by how well they… ![“Governments are deemed to succeed or fail by how well they make money go round, regardless of whether it serves any useful purpose. They regard it as a sacred duty to encourage the country’s most revolting spectacle: the annual feeding frenzy in which shoppers queue all night, then stampede into…” quote by George Monbiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/george-monbiot-2762_annuals_governments-are-deemed-to-succeed-or-fai_3204100.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/george-monbiot-2762_annuals_governments-are-deemed-to-succeed-or-fai_3204100.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/135/george-monbiot-2762_annuals_governments-are-deemed-to-succeed-or-fai_3204100.png) > “Governments are deemed to succeed or fail by how well they make money go round, regardless of whether it serves any useful purpose. They regard it as a sacred duty to encourage the country’s most revolting spectacle: the annual feeding frenzy in which shoppers queue all night, then stampede into the shops, elbow, trample and sometimes fight to be the first to carry off some designer junk which will go into landfill before the sales next year. The madder the orgy, the greater the triumph of economic management.” [George Monbiot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-monbiot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Governments judge success by monetary flow, ignoring real utility, and glorify wasteful consumer spectacles. **In simple terms:** Success measured by money movement, not usefulness. Key Takeaway Question policies that prioritize real over purpose. Themes economics consumerism government environment culture Mood critical reflective Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - holiday sales - black friday - shopping festivals - urban planning - policy debates Key Concepts circulation value sacred duty spectacle waste Questions to Reflect On - How can we redefine success beyond profit? - What alternatives to wasteful consumption exist? A Different Perspective Focus on monetary metrics can ignore social and ecological costs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Duty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/duty/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Governments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/governments/) [Landfills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/landfills/) [Making money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/making-money/) [Management](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/management/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Sacred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacred/) [Stampede](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stampede/) [Triumph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/triumph/) ## Related quotes > [I go 'what is it?' And she goes 'we're going on a shark feeding frenzy!' Okay, wait... we're in a boat looking down in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-engvall/i-go-what-is-it-and-she-goes-we-re-going-on-a-shark-feeding-frenzy/) [Bill Engvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-engvall/) > [As with the Princess Di crash, which sent the media on the most insane feeding frenzy. 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Fosdick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-b-fosdick/) > [Wherever I went, I was on the wrong end of the stampede.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-cohn/wherever-i-went-i-was-on-the-wrong-end-of-the-stampede/) [Rachel Cohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-cohn/) > [The Hitler movement is a stampede. It is something beyond reason, like a pulse beating, like a rush of blood to the head, like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-o-hare-mccormick/the-hitler-movement-is-a-stampede-it-is-something-beyond-reason-like/) [Anne O'Hare McCormick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-o-hare-mccormick/) > [The importance of fear as a factor in war-making cannot be overlooked, and can hardly be overestimated. Any politician can play on panic when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maude-royden/the-importance-of-fear-as-a-factor-in-war-making-cannot-be-overlooked/) [Maude Royden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maude-royden/) > [And I repeat: if there is anything that can divert the land of my birth from its current stampede into the Stone Age, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/and-i-repeat-if-there-is-anything-that-can-divert-the-land-of-my/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [Magnus was sure that the llama stampede he witnessed was a coincidence. 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