--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was with the Industrial Revolution, as…" description: "\"It was with the Industrial Revolution, as society plunged ever more eagerly into the conquest of material riches and bent all its energies to the accum..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/jacques-ellul-4407_abandonment_it-was-with-the-industrial-revolution-as_953099.jpg" --- # It was with the Industrial Revolution, as society plunged… ![“It was with the Industrial Revolution, as society plunged ever more eagerly into the conquest of material riches and bent all its energies to the accumulation of goods, that material poverty became a major problem. Obviously, this meant abandonment or downgrading of spiritual values, virtue, etc…” quote by Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/jacques-ellul-4407_abandonment_it-was-with-the-industrial-revolution-as_953099.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/jacques-ellul-4407_abandonment_it-was-with-the-industrial-revolution-as_953099.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/489/jacques-ellul-4407_abandonment_it-was-with-the-industrial-revolution-as_953099.jpg) > “It was with the Industrial Revolution, as society plunged ever more eagerly into the conquest of material riches and bent all its energies to the accumulation of goods, that material poverty became a major problem. Obviously, this meant abandonment or downgrading of spiritual values, virtue, etc. To share or not to share in the increase of the collective wealth-this was the Number One question. It was the desire to acquire wealth that prompted the poor to start fighting.” [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Industrial progress increased material wealth but also heightened poverty and eroded spiritual values, making wealth distribution a central moral dilemma. **In simple terms:** Wealth growth can worsen poverty and moral decline. Key Takeaway Consider how wealth is shared. Themes ethics economics spirituality inequality Mood reflective concerned Type philosophical critical When to use this quote - policy making - community development - personal finance - philanthropy Key Concepts materialism social justice human values Questions to Reflect On - How does society balance material progress with spiritual health? - What responsibilities accompany wealth? A Different Perspective Wealth alone cannot solve poverty without ethical frameworks. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Abandonment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandonment/) [Accumulation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/accumulation/) [Acquire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acquire/) [Bent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bent/) [Collective Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collective-wealth-637157/) [Collectives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collectives/) [Conquest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conquest/) [Consumerism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumerism/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Downgrading](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/downgrading/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Etc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/etc/) [Fighting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fighting/) [Goods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/goods/) [Increase](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/increase/) [Industrial revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/industrial-revolution/) [Major problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/major-problems/) [Majors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majors/) [Material Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/material-poverty-894977/) [Materials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/materials/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Numbers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers/) [Overconsumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/overconsumption/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Problem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/problem/) [Revolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/revolution/) [Riches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/riches/) [Share](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/share/) [Spiritual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual/) [Spiritual values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spiritual-values/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/virtue/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) [Wealth Prompted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth-prompted-1712167/) ## Related quotes > [To the ideal of high consumption and the downgrading of spiritual values corresponds a conception of injustice that centers exclusively on the problem of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/to-the-ideal-of-high-consumption-and-the-downgrading-of-spiritual/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [“The author assumed that the main task of government is to distribute the collective wealth of society among its members, and that, in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/the-author-assumed-that-the-main-task-of-government-is-to-distribute/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [“The financing option favoured by this writer would be to fund a basic income from the construction of sovereign wealth funds, along the lines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/the-financing-option-favoured-by-this-writer-would-be-to-fund-a-basic/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“The support stems from an awareness of the fact that the welfare model turns our collective wealth into well-being. We are not paying taxes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meik-wiking/the-support-stems-from-an-awareness-of-the-fact-that-the-welfare/) [Meik Wiking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meik-wiking/) > [Possession of material riches, without inner peace, is like dying of thirst while bathing in a lake. If material poverty is to be avoided,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/possession-of-material-riches-without-inner-peace-is-like-dying-of/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [On certain continents poverty is more spiritual than material, a poverty that consists of loneliness, discouragement, and the lack of meaning in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/on-certain-continents-poverty-is-more-spiritual-than-material-a/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [“Even if we act to erase material poverty, there is another greater task, it is to confront the poverty of satisfaction - purpose and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy/even-if-we-act-to-erase-material-poverty-there-is-another-greater-2/) [Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) > [“Even if we act to erase material poverty, there is another greater task; it is to confront the poverty of satisfaction – purpose and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nic-marks/even-if-we-act-to-erase-material-poverty-there-is-another-greater-3/) [Nic Marks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nic-marks/) > [There is no worse material poverty, I am keen to stress, than the poverty which prevents people from earning their bread and deprives them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/there-is-no-worse-material-poverty-i-am-keen-to-stress-than-the/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“Even if we act to erase material poverty, there is another greater task; it is to confront the poverty of satisfaction – purpose and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nic-marks/even-if-we-act-to-erase-material-poverty-there-is-another-greater/) [Nic Marks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nic-marks/) > [How many kinds of moral and material poverty we face today as a result of denying God and putting so many idols in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/how-many-kinds-of-moral-and-material-poverty-we-face-today-as-a/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [There is no worse material poverty than one that does not allow for earning one’s bread and deprives one of the dignity of work.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/there-is-no-worse-material-poverty-than-one-that-does-not-allow-for/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [No matter how valuable you are and your ideas, fools will certainly play both of you down, so exclude yourselves from the inflammatory environs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/no-matter-how-valuable-you-are-and-your-ideas-fools-will-certainly/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Don't try to compare yourself with anyone in this world if you are doing so you are downgrading your ability to be on top…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hemant-kshatriya/don-t-try-to-compare-yourself-with-anyone-in-this-world-if-you-are/) [Hemant Kshatriya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hemant-kshatriya/) > [The victorious Christian neither exalts nor downgrades himself. His interests have shifted from self to Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/the-victorious-christian-neither-exalts-nor-downgrades-himself-his-2/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) ## More by Jacques Ellul > [The individual, by means of the discipline imposed on him by sport, not only plays and finds relaxation from the various compulsions to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-individual-by-means-of-the-discipline-imposed-on-him-by-sport-not/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Propaganda begins when dialogue ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/propaganda-begins-when-dialogue-ends/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Christians were never meant to be normal. We’ve always been holy troublemakers, we’ve always been creators of uncertainty, agents of dimension that’s incompatible with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/christians-were-never-meant-to-be-normal-we-ve-always-been-holy/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [It is inconceivable that the God who gives Himself in His Son to save us, should have created some people ordained to evil and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/it-is-inconceivable-that-the-god-who-gives-himself-in-his-son-to-save/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Technological society leads to increasing numbers of people who cannot adapt to the inhuman rhythm of modern life with its emphasis on specialization. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/technological-society-leads-to-increasing-numbers-of-people-who/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [It is the multiplication of men who are exluded from working which provokes war. We ought at least to bear this in mind when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/it-is-the-multiplication-of-men-who-are-exluded-from-working-which/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [The orchestration of press, radio and television to create a continuous, lasting and total environment renders the influence of propaganda virtually unnoticed precisely because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-orchestration-of-press-radio-and-television-to-create-a/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [“No society can last in conditions of anarchy. This is self-evident and I am in full agreement. But my aim is not the establishment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/no-society-can-last-in-conditions-of-anarchy-this-is-self-evident-and/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [The qualities which technique requires for its advance are precisely those characteristics of a technical order which do not represent indivisual intelligence...The individual, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-qualities-which-technique-requires-for-its-advance-are-precisely/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Education no longer has a humanist end or any value in itself; it has only one goal, to create technicians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/education-no-longer-has-a-humanist-end-or-any-value-in-itself-it-has/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [The goal of modern propaganda is no longer to transform opinion but to arouse an active and mythical belief](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-goal-of-modern-propaganda-is-no-longer-to-transform-opinion-but/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Freedom is completely without meaning unless it is related to necessity, unless it represents victory over necessity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/freedom-is-completely-without-meaning-unless-it-is-related-to/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [When there is propaganda, we are no longer able to evaluate certain questions, or even to discuss them](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/when-there-is-propaganda-we-are-no-longer-able-to-evaluate-certain/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [True technique will know how to maintain the illusion of liberty, choice, and individuality; but these will have been carefully calculated so that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/true-technique-will-know-how-to-maintain-the-illusion-of-liberty/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [No one knows where we are going, the aim of life has been forgotten, the end has been left behind. Man has set out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/no-one-knows-where-we-are-going-the-aim-of-life-has-been-forgotten/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) [Explore all 106 Jacques Ellul quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) ## More Abandonment quotes > [If our faith in God is not the veriest sham, it demands, and will produce, the abandonment sometimes, the subordination always, of external helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-maclaren/if-our-faith-in-god-is-not-the-veriest-sham-it-demands-and-will/) [Alexander MacLaren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-maclaren/) > [I don't believe in fate or destiny. I believe in various degrees of hatred, paranoia, and abandonment. However much of that gets heaped upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-don-t-believe-in-fate-or-destiny-i-believe-in-various-degrees-of/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [In the eyes of those lovers of perfection, a work is never finished a word that for them has no sense but abandoned; and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-valery/in-the-eyes-of-those-lovers-of-perfection-a-work-is-never-finished-a/) [Paul Valery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-valery/) > [“Sometimes people walk away from love because it is so beautiful that it terrifies them. Sometimes they leave because the connection shines a bright…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-brown/sometimes-people-walk-away-from-love-because-it-is-so-beautiful-that/) [Jeff Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-brown/) > [Modern societies accepted the treasures and the power offered them by science. But they have not accepted - they have scarcely even heard -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-monod/modern-societies-accepted-the-treasures-and-the-power-offered-them-by/) [Jacques Monod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-monod/) > [Judaism is absolutely incompatible with the abandonment of the Torah.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-schechter/judaism-is-absolutely-incompatible-with-the-abandonment-of-the-torah/) [Solomon Schechter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-schechter/) > [“Abandonment is ugly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-moore/abandonment-is-ugly/) [Michelle Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-moore/) > [In our culture of constant access and nonstop media, nothing feels more like a curse from God than time in the wilderness. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-martin/in-our-culture-of-constant-access-and-nonstop-media-nothing-feels/) [Jonathan Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-martin/) > [“When you give everything, you have nothing to lose.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mcgahan/when-you-give-everything-you-have-nothing-to-lose/) [Kate McGahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mcgahan/) > [The only thing worse than being abandoned, is not being worthy of an explanation. It hurts to let go... but the feeling you're falling..…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joryneville/the-only-thing-worse-than-being-abandoned-is-not-being-worthy-of-an/) [JoryNeville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joryneville/) > [“I am not so different in my history of abandonment from anyone else after all. We have all been split away from each other,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-griffin/i-am-not-so-different-in-my-history-of-abandonment-from-anyone-else/) [Susan Griffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-griffin/) > [“The introduction to horrors so young impressed on me just how helpless and vulnerable I was. Parents are supposed to empower their children to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-enevoldsen/the-introduction-to-horrors-so-young-impressed-on-me-just-how/) [Christina Enevoldsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-enevoldsen/) > [Heartbreak has an archetypal core, all heartbroken individuals suffer from the same kind of torture.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ginette-paris/heartbreak-has-an-archetypal-core-all-heartbroken-individuals-suffer/) [Ginette Paris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ginette-paris/) > [“Lonely Balcony The deterioration brought by weariness was visible. Its burden of abandonment can be perceived at a glance. The balcony ache with longings.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iqra-iqbal/lonely-balcony-the-deterioration-brought-by-weariness-was-visible-its/) [iqra iqbal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iqra-iqbal/) > [God causes us to promise in time of peace what He exacts from us in time of war; He enables us to make our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/god-causes-us-to-promise-in-time-of-peace-what-he-exacts-from-us-in/) [Jeanne Marie Bouvier de la Motte Guyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanne-marie-bouvier-de-la-motte-guyon/) [Browse all 348 Abandonment quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abandonment/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It was with the Industrial Revolution, as society plunged ever more eagerly into the conquest of material riches and bent all its energies to the accumulation of goods, that material poverty became a major problem. 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