---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The concept that one ought to restrict…"
description: "\"The concept that one ought to restrict one's political involvement to one's own state was deeply antithetical to those who were pursuing the accumulati..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/immanuel-wallerstein-11305_accumulation_the-concept-that-one-ought-to-restrict-o_319593.jpg"
---

#  The concept that one ought to restrict one's political…

![“The concept that one ought to restrict one's political involvement to one's own state was deeply antithetical to those who were pursuing the accumulation of capital for its own sake.” quote by Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/immanuel-wallerstein-11305_accumulation_the-concept-that-one-ought-to-restrict-o_319593.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/immanuel-wallerstein-11305_accumulation_the-concept-that-one-ought-to-restrict-o_319593.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/immanuel-wallerstein-11305_accumulation_the-concept-that-one-ought-to-restrict-o_319593.jpg)

> “The concept that one ought to restrict one's political involvement to one's own state was deeply antithetical to those who were pursuing the accumulation of capital for its own sake.”

[Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Restricting political activity to local levels opposes global capital accumulation motives.

**In simple terms:** Local politics clash with global capitalism.

Key Takeaway

Recognize transnational influences on politics.

Themes

politics globalization economics

Mood

critical thoughtful

Type

theoretical philosophical

When to use this quote

- international NGOs
- multinational corporations
- global trade negotiations

Key Concepts

world-systems capital accumulation

Questions to Reflect On

- How do global markets shape local policies?
- Can local action affect global capital flows?

A Different Perspective

Some argue local autonomy protects communities.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Accumulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation/) [Antithetical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antithetical-951240/) [Antithetical Pursuing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/antithetical-pursuing-3014289/) [Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Concepts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/concepts/) [Deeply Antithetical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deeply-antithetical-3014288/) [Involvement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/involvement/) [Ought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political involvement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-involvement/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Restrict Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/restrict-political-3014290/) [Sake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sake/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/)

## Related quotes

> [I've personally backed off from direct political involvement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-robertson/i-ve-personally-backed-off-from-direct-political-involvement/)

[Pat Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-robertson/)

> [“Many outsiders clarified that they believe Christians have a right (even an obligation) to pursue political involvement, but they disagree with our methods and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kinnaman/many-outsiders-clarified-that-they-believe-christians-have-a-right/)

[David Kinnaman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kinnaman/)

> [I can't imagine myself outside any kind of social or political involvement. Yes, I'm a writer, but I live in this world, and my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-can-t-imagine-myself-outside-any-kind-of-social-or-political-2/)

[Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [The Tea Party has definitely increased political involvement, not only among Tea Party members but among people who oppose the Tea Party members. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/the-tea-party-has-definitely-increased-political-involvement-not-only/)

[P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/)

> [“The painter paints, the musician makes music, the novelist writes novels. But I believe that we all have some influence, not because of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/the-painter-paints-the-musician-makes-music-the-novelist-writes/)

[Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [An excessive amount of my time is taken with political involvement. It's unavoidable; that's my temperament.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wole-soyinka/an-excessive-amount-of-my-time-is-taken-with-political-involvement-it/)

[Wole Soyinka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wole-soyinka/)

> [Despite the array of groups and organizations working on global warming, we are still missing a key element: the movement. Along with the hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/despite-the-array-of-groups-and-organizations-working-on-global/)

[Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/)

> [True holiness does not mean a flight from the world; rather, it lies in the effort to incarnate the Gospel in everyday life, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/true-holiness-does-not-mean-a-flight-from-the-world-rather-it-lies-in/)

[Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/)

> [I can't imagine myself outside any kind of social or political involvement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-saramago/i-can-t-imagine-myself-outside-any-kind-of-social-or-political/)

[Jose Saramago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jos-saramago/)

> [My philosophy - inclusive and pluralist Islam, dedicated to service to human beings from every faith - is antithetical to armed rebellion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fethullah-gulen/my-philosophy-inclusive-and-pluralist-islam-dedicated-to-service-to/)

[Fethullah Gulen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fethullah-gulen/)

> [Things that Hillary Clinton advocates are antithetical to Christian values: killing babies, redefining institutions established by God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-carson/things-that-hillary-clinton-advocates-are-antithetical-to-christian/)

[Benjamin Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-carson/)

> [“The problem with our “change the world” rhetoric is that it is too often a thinly veiled grasp for power and a quest for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-zahnd/the-problem-with-our-change-the-world-rhetoric-is-that-it-is-too/)

[Brian Zahnd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-zahnd/)

> [A canon is antithetical to everything the New York art world has been about for the past 40 years, during which we went from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-saltz/a-canon-is-antithetical-to-everything-the-new-york-art-world-has-been/)

[Jerry Saltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-saltz/)

> [To speak plainly and truthfully about the state of our world - to say, for instance, that the Bible and the Koran both contain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/to-speak-plainly-and-truthfully-about-the-state-of-our-world-to-say/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [Socialism is antithetical to freedom, because when it breeds and thrives, people die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kennedy-montgomery/socialism-is-antithetical-to-freedom-because-when-it-breeds-and/)

[Lisa Kennedy Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kennedy-montgomery/)

## More by Immanuel Wallerstein

> [“La science sociale di XIXe siecle nous a legue un terrible heritage, l'idee que els processus se divisent en trois champs separes: le politique,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/la-science-sociale-di-xixe-siecle-nous-a-legue-un-terrible-heritage-l/)

[Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/)

> [Uncertainty is wondrous, and.. certainty, were it to be real, would be moral death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/uncertainty-is-wondrous-and-certainty-were-it-to-be-real-would-be/)

[Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/)

> [A second variety concentrated on presumed major transformations of the capitalist system as of some recent point in time, in which the whole earlier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/a-second-variety-concentrated-on-presumed-major-transformations-of/)

[Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/)

> [I am suggesting that there is, and always has been, a rather high correlation between ethnicity and occupation/economic role throughout the various time-space zones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/i-am-suggesting-that-there-is-and-always-has-been-a-rather-high/)

[Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/)

> [One by one, these governments came undone, and were forced into IMF tutelage (and national illegitimacy) by the careening oil prices, the debt imbroglio,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/one-by-one-these-governments-came-undone-and-were-forced-into-imf/)

[Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/)

> [The language of intrinsic human rights represented a significant advance beyond the previous language of world religions in terms of its universal applicability and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/the-language-of-intrinsic-human-rights-represented-a-significant/)

[Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/)

> [Wars between states and people seem to have existed under all historical systems for as long as we have some recorded evidence. War is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/wars-between-states-and-people-seem-to-have-existed-under-all/)

[Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/)

> [Production for sale in a market in which the object is to realize the maximum profit is the essential feature of a capitalist world-economy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/production-for-sale-in-a-market-in-which-the-object-is-to-realize-the/)

[Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/)

> [We seem to be in the midst of a process of cascading bifurcations that may last some 50 more years. We can be sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/we-seem-to-be-in-the-midst-of-a-process-of-cascading-bifurcations/)

[Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/)

> [Scientific culture created a framework within which individual mobility was possible without threatening hierarchical work-force allocation. On the contrary, meritocracy reinforced hierarchy. Finally, meritocracy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/scientific-culture-created-a-framework-within-which-individual/)

[Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/)

> [It is not surprising that liberals believed in progress. The idea of progress justified the entire transition from feudalism to capitalism. It legitimated the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/it-is-not-surprising-that-liberals-believed-in-progress-the-idea-of/)

[Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/)

> [The very concept of universal formal education is a product (and a relatively late product) of the capitalist world-economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/the-very-concept-of-universal-formal-education-is-a-product-and-a/)

[Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/)

> [What is different in capitalist civilization has been two things. First, the process of meritocracy has been proclaimed as an official virtue instead of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/what-is-different-in-capitalist-civilization-has-been-two-things/)

[Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/)

> [Finally, states have monopolized, or sought to monopolize, armed force.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/finally-states-have-monopolized-or-sought-to-monopolize-armed-force/)

[Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/)

> [We can tentatively credit capitalist civilization with a positive, if very geographically uneven, record in the struggle against disease.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/we-can-tentatively-credit-capitalist-civilization-with-a-positive-if/)

[Immanuel Wallerstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/)

[Explore all 60 Immanuel Wallerstein quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/)

## More Accumulation quotes

> [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/)

[Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/)

> [Before World War II, I was living a very cloistered existence, as most cartoonists do. The work I was pouring out did not come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-eisner/before-world-war-ii-i-was-living-a-very-cloistered-existence-as-most/)

[Will Eisner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-eisner/)

> [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/)

[Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/)

> [The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, selfappointed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-madison/the-accumulation-of-all-powers-legislative-executive-and-judiciary-in/)

[James Madison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-madison/)

> [I think that only daring speculation can lead us further and not accumulation of facts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/i-think-that-only-daring-speculation-can-lead-us-further-and-not/)

[Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/)

> [Karma is often wrongly confused with the notion of a fixed destiny. It is more like an accumulation of tendencies that can lock us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-kabat-zinn/karma-is-often-wrongly-confused-with-the-notion-of-a-fixed-destiny-it/)

[Jon Kabat-Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-kabat-zinn/)

> [There has been, for some reason (or more likely an unfortunate accumulation of reasons) a trend over the past several decades for parents to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carolyn-hax/there-has-been-for-some-reason-or-more-likely-an-unfortunate/)

[Carolyn Hax](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carolyn-hax/)

> [Ageing is, simply and clearly, the accumulation of damage in the body. That's all that ageing is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-de-grey/ageing-is-simply-and-clearly-the-accumulation-of-damage-in-the-body/)

[Aubrey de Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-de-grey/)

> [For me, personally, there is one really interesting thing. You're all a bit too young for that, but when you get to a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christoph-waltz/for-me-personally-there-is-one-really-interesting-thing-you-re-all-a/)

[Christoph Waltz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christoph-waltz/)

> [The mounting burden of taxation not only undermines individual incentives to increased work and earnings, but in a score of ways discourages capital accumulation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-mounting-burden-of-taxation-not-only-undermines-individual/)

[Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/)

> [When the accumulation of wealth is no longer of high social importance, there will be great changes in the code of morals. We shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/when-the-accumulation-of-wealth-is-no-longer-of-high-social/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [The native American has been generally despised by his white conquerors for his poverty and simplicity. They forget, perhaps, that his religion forbade the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-alexander-eastman/the-native-american-has-been-generally-despised-by-his-white/)

[Charles Alexander Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-alexander-eastman/)

> [The soul lives forever by giving, not receiving. This is the grand paradox. You get most by giving most. Conversely, by receiving much you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-johnson/the-soul-lives-forever-by-giving-not-receiving-this-is-the-grand/)

[Julian Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-johnson/)

> [Forgiveness of the present is even more important than forgiveness of the past. If you forgive every moment - allow it to be as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/forgiveness-of-the-present-is-even-more-important-than-forgiveness-of/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kennedy/too-much-and-too-long-we-seem-to-have-surrendered-community/)

[Robert Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kennedy/)

[Browse all 412 Accumulation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The concept that one ought to restrict one's political involvement to one's own state was deeply antithetical to those who were pursuing the accumulation of capital for its own sake.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Immanuel Wallerstein"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/the-concept-that-one-ought-to-restrict-one-s-political-involvement-to/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Accumulation"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/the-concept-that-one-ought-to-restrict-one-s-political-involvement-to/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/immanuel-wallerstein-11305_accumulation_the-concept-that-one-ought-to-restrict-o_319593.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/immanuel-wallerstein-11305_accumulation_the-concept-that-one-ought-to-restrict-o_319593.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6ee/immanuel-wallerstein-11305_accumulation_the-concept-that-one-ought-to-restrict-o_319593.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The concept that one ought to restrict one's political involvement to one's own state was deeply…” — Immanuel Wallerstein",
                "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": "Immanuel Wallerstein",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/immanuel-wallerstein/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The concept that one ought to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/the-concept-that-one-ought-to-restrict-one-s-political-involvement-to/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/immanuel-wallerstein/the-concept-that-one-ought-to-restrict-one-s-political-involvement-to/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
