--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The surpluses will have to be expended…" description: "\"“The surpluses will have to be expended somehow, and trust the oligarchs to find a way. Magnificent roads will be built. There will be great achievemen..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/jack-london-595_art_the-surpluses-will-have-to-be-expended-s_2023693.jpg" --- # The surpluses will have to be expended somehow, and trust… ![“The surpluses will have to be expended somehow, and trust the oligarchs to find a way. Magnificent roads will be built. There will be great achievements in science, and especially in art. When the oligarchs have completely mastered the people, they will have time to spare for other things. They…” quote by Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/jack-london-595_art_the-surpluses-will-have-to-be-expended-s_2023693.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/jack-london-595_art_the-surpluses-will-have-to-be-expended-s_2023693.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49a/jack-london-595_art_the-surpluses-will-have-to-be-expended-s_2023693.jpg) > ““The surpluses will have to be expended somehow, and trust the oligarchs to find a way. Magnificent roads will be built. There will be great achievements in science, and especially in art. When the oligarchs have completely mastered the people, they will have time to spare for other things. They will become worshippers of beauty. They will become art-lovers. And under their direction and generously rewarded, will toil the artists. The result will be great art; for no longer, as up to yesterday, will the artists pander to the bourgeois taste of the middle class. It will be great art, I tell you, and wonder cities will arise that will make tawdry and cheap the cities of old time. And in these cities will the oligarchs dwell and worship beauty”” [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. If the ruling elite control resources, they will fund grand projects and indulge in art, creating cities of beauty while artists serve their tastes. **In simple terms:** Elite wealth may fund spectacular art and architecture. Key Takeaway Expect opulent patronage. Themes power art future societies Mood speculative critical Type visionary philosophical When to use this quote - government commissions - private foundations - cultural megaprojects Key Concepts patronage elitism urban design Questions to Reflect On - Will beauty thrive under power? - Can art remain authentic when funded by oligarchs? A Different Perspective Art may lose independent voice under elite control. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Art Oligarchs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art-oligarchs-3679858/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Cities Oligarchs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cities-oligarchs-3679860/) [Jack-london](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jack-london-95602/) [Middle class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-class/) [Old time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-time/) [Oligarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oligarch/) [Oligarchs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oligarchs/) [Oligarchs Dwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oligarchs-dwell-3679859/) [Oligarchs Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oligarchs-way-3679861/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Worship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worship/) ## Related quotes > [“Then he dozed off to sleep and to dream dreams that for madness and audacity rivalled those of poppy-eaters”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/then-he-dozed-off-to-sleep-and-to-dream-dreams-that-for-madness-and/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [“He was a large, fleshy man, weighing at least two hundred pounds, and he quickly became a faithful representation of a quivering jelly mountain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/he-was-a-large-fleshy-man-weighing-at-least-two-hundred-pounds-and-he/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [“Perhaps the greatest charm of tramp-life is the absence of monotony. 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I am a servant and I try to align my interests and those of my investors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuri-milner/i-am-not-an-oligarch-i-am-a-servant-and-i-try-to-align-my-interests/) [Yuri Milner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuri-milner/) > [I've never been an oligarch. The definition of an oligarch is someone who has co-operated with the government, and I never did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bidzina-ivanishvili/i-ve-never-been-an-oligarch-the-definition-of-an-oligarch-is-someone/) [Bidzina Ivanishvili](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bidzina-ivanishvili/) > [If I still lived in Russia, I'd be dead... or a really effective oligarch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/if-i-still-lived-in-russia-i-d-be-dead-or-a-really-effective-oligarch/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [“Koch believed that what the famed economist Joseph Schumpeter called "creative destruction" was so critical to the health of the capitalist system that empathy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-maclean/koch-believed-that-what-the-famed-economist-joseph-schumpeter-called/) [Nancy MacLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-maclean/) ## More by Jack London > [It's better to stand by someone's side than by yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/it-s-better-to-stand-by-someone-s-side-than-by-yourself/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [“And all the while the four men lay beside me and watched and made no move. 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One may dream, and even in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/as-i-my-real-self-grew-older-i-entered-more-and-more-into-the/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [A good soldier is a blind, heartless, soulless, murderous machine. He is not a man. His is not a brute, for brutes kill only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/a-good-soldier-is-a-blind-heartless-soulless-murderous-machine-he-is/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [I would rather be ashes than dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/i-would-rather-be-ashes-than-dust/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [“I believe that when I am dead, I am dead. 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