--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Each of these imperatives has a tendency…" description: "\"“Each of these imperatives has a tendency to degenerate into an excuse for greed and materialism in the absence of the other. Without the call to gener..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ef/greg-forster-40706_generosity_each-of-these-imperatives-has-a-tendency_2150330.jpg" --- # Each of these imperatives has a tendency to degenerate… ![“Each of these imperatives has a tendency to degenerate into an excuse for greed and materialism in the absence of the other. Without the call to generosity, the call to productivity makes people feel entitled to live materialistic lives—as long as they accumulate their wealth by working…” quote by Greg Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ef/greg-forster-40706_generosity_each-of-these-imperatives-has-a-tendency_2150330.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ef/greg-forster-40706_generosity_each-of-these-imperatives-has-a-tendency_2150330.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ef/greg-forster-40706_generosity_each-of-these-imperatives-has-a-tendency_2150330.jpg) > ““Each of these imperatives has a tendency to degenerate into an excuse for greed and materialism in the absence of the other. Without the call to generosity, the call to productivity makes people feel entitled to live materialistic lives—as long as they accumulate their wealth by working productively. But without the call to productivity, the call to generosity makes people feel entitled to live materialistic lives—as long as they pay off God by tithing their 10 percent. The only way to root out materialism is to reorient people’s attitudes about their entire economic lives. If you only lead people to do good work (productivity), they’ll use their wealth selfishly. If you only lead them to get their use of wealth right (generosity), they won’t orient their lives to good work. The whole life of a person has to turn away from selfishness and serve God and neighbor. As someone once said, the only effective place to intervene in a vicious circle is everywhere at once.”” [Greg Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-forster/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Balancing productivity and generosity is needed to avoid materialism; both alone lead to selfish wealth use. **In simple terms:** Both productivity and generosity must coexist. Key Takeaway Integrate work and giving. Themes ethics economics spirituality Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - personal finance - community service - corporate policy - faith practices Key Concepts materialism balance holistic living Questions to Reflect On - How can societies foster both values? - What structures support balanced economic life? A Different Perspective Hard to implement universally across cultures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Generosity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generosity/) [Generosity Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generosity-productivity-4518362/) [Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) [Greed Materialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed-materialism-2881880/) [Kindness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kindness/) [Materialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materialism/) [Materialism Reorient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materialism-reorient-4518364/) [Productivity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productivity/) [Selfishness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selfishness/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) [Wealth Selfishly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth-selfishly-4518363/) [Whole life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/whole-life/) ## Related quotes > [The whole Ireland was taken over by greed and materialism. 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But we want you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-hicks/some-say-that-you-should-not-want-money-at-all-because-the-desire-for/) [Esther Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-hicks/) > [“Salesmanship is usually the art of making it the prospect’s problem, the salesperson’s need or desire to earn money.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/salesmanship-is-usually-the-art-of-making-it-the-prospect-s-problem/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) ## More by Greg Forster > [“Whether we understand work spiritually depends in large part on whether we understand the economy spiritually. 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Sapolsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-sapolsky/) [Browse all 3,867 Generosity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/generosity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Each of these imperatives has a tendency to degenerate into an excuse for greed and materialism in the absence of the other. Without the call to generosity, the call to productivity makes people feel entitled to live materialistic lives—as long as they accumulate their wealth by working productively. But without the call to productivity, the call to generosity makes people feel entitled to live materialistic lives—as long as they pay off God by tithing their 10 percent. The only way to root out materialism is to reorient people’s attitudes about their entire economic lives. If you only lead people to do good work (productivity), they’ll use their wealth selfishly. 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