--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Think of this: If it weren’t for greed…" description: "\"“Think of this: If it weren’t for greed, intolerance, hate, passion and murder, you would have no works of art, no great buildings, no medical science,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c15/jasper-fforde-797_art_think-of-this-if-it-weren-t-for-greed-in_2554243.jpg" --- # Think of this: If it weren’t for greed, intolerance, hate… ![“Think of this: If it weren’t for greed, intolerance, hate, passion and murder, you would have no works of art, no great buildings, no medical science, no Mozart, no van Gogh, no Muppets and no Louis Armstrong. The civilization that devises the infrastructure to allow these wonderful things to be…” quote by Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c15/jasper-fforde-797_art_think-of-this-if-it-weren-t-for-greed-in_2554243.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c15/jasper-fforde-797_art_think-of-this-if-it-weren-t-for-greed-in_2554243.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c15/jasper-fforde-797_art_think-of-this-if-it-weren-t-for-greed-in_2554243.jpg) > ““Think of this: If it weren’t for greed, intolerance, hate, passion and murder, you would have no works of art, no great buildings, no medical science, no Mozart, no van Gogh, no Muppets and no Louis Armstrong. The civilization that devises the infrastructure to allow these wonderful things to be created is essentially a product of war—death and suffering—and commerce—deceit and inequality. Even your liberty to discuss the shortcomings of your own species has its foundations in blood and hardship.” “That’s a depressing thought,”” [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that many cultural achievements arise from humanity’s darker impulses and the conflicts that drive innovation, suggesting progress is built on suffering and inequality. **In simple terms:** Great art and science often stem from greed, hate, and war. Key Takeaway Recognize the cost behind progress. Themes art science conflict ethics history Mood reflective critical thoughtful Type philosophical analytical commentary When to use this quote - discussing art - evaluating scientific breakthroughs - examining societal values Key Concepts human nature creative tension war economy moral paradox Questions to Reflect On - How do we foster creativity without suffering? - Can societies thrive on peace rather than war? A Different Perspective Progress may also emerge from compassion and cooperation, not just conflict. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) [Civilization](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization/) [Civilization Devises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/civilization-devises-1548778/) [Depressing Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressing-thought-550642/) [Freedom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/freedom/) [Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) [Greed Intolerance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed-intolerance-1548098/) [Inequality Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality-liberty-1082945/) [Louis Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/louis-armstrong/) [Medical science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medical-science/) [Science](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science/) [Wonderful things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonderful-things/) ## Related quotes > [If it weren't for greed, intolerance, hate, passion and murder, you would have no works of art, no great buildings, no medical science, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/if-it-weren-t-for-greed-intolerance-hate-passion-and-murder-you-would/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [ “To check the growth of inequality, liberty must be sacrificed \[.\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/to-check-the-growth-of-inequality-liberty-must-be-sacrificed/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [It's difficult for the public to realize how powerful the mind is, and how much pain the mind can give you. When you're depressed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-steiger/it-s-difficult-for-the-public-to-realize-how-powerful-the-mind-is-and/) [Rod Steiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-steiger/) > [The chief problem about death ... is the fear that there may be no afterlife - a depressing thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-allen/the-chief-problem-about-death-is-the-fear-that-there-may-be-no/) [Woody Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-allen/) > [“Well, there it was. If a perfect stranger could plainly see after only five minutes of watching us together that it was always going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-crownover/well-there-it-was-if-a-perfect-stranger-could-plainly-see-after-only/) [Jay Crownover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-crownover/) > [“Maybe not having me around was actually making him a better person. Wow. Now that was a depressing thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-lynch/maybe-not-having-me-around-was-actually-making-him-a-better-person/) [Karen Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-lynch/) > [Oh God, to think that you only fall in love once in your entire life is such a depressing thought.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-wilde/oh-god-to-think-that-you-only-fall-in-love-once-in-your-entire-life/) [Olivia Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-wilde/) > [“Today, if you have one depressing thought in you, you will sit depressed. Why? The whole cosmos is going on phenomenally well today, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadhguru/today-if-you-have-one-depressing-thought-in-you-you-will-sit/) [Sadhguru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadhguru/) > [Even after the greatest defeats, the depressing thought of being a failure is best combated by taking stock of all your past achievements.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-selye/even-after-the-greatest-defeats-the-depressing-thought-of-being-a/) [Hans Selye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-selye/) > [ “\[...\] however big our world is - in our hearts, our minds, and our outsized digital maps - the universe is even bigger. A… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/however-big-our-world-is-in-our-hearts-our-minds-and-our-outsized/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I'd accepted a while ago that there were too many reasons for me to even think about him romantically anymore. Every once in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/i-d-accepted-a-while-ago-that-there-were-too-many-reasons-for-me-to/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [“That's an incredibly depressing thought," I said "that if you're in a room and at one end lies madness and at the other end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-ronson/that-s-an-incredibly-depressing-thought-i-said-that-if-you-re-in-a/) [Jon Ronson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-ronson/) > [“I began to come into close contact with poverty, with hunger, with disease, with the inability to cure a child because of a lack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernesto-che-guevara/i-began-to-come-into-close-contact-with-poverty-with-hunger-with/) [Ernesto Che Guevara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernesto-che-guevara/) > [“You can't be too careful about work. It's the most dangerous habit known to medical science.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-o-neill/you-can-t-be-too-careful-about-work-it-s-the-most-dangerous-habit/) [Eugene O'Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-o-neill/) > [Progress of medical science so what's the use? When my heart scan can not show you his recent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/progress-of-medical-science-so-what-s-the-use-when-my-heart-scan-can/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) ## More by Jasper Fforde > [Palindrome as well. My sister's name is Hannah. Father liked word games. He was fourteen times World Scrabble Champion. When he died, we buried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/palindrome-as-well-my-sister-s-name-is-hannah-father-liked-word-games/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [Ill-fitting grammar are like ill-fitting shoes. You can get used to it for a bit, but then one day your toes fall off and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/ill-fitting-grammar-are-like-ill-fitting-shoes-you-can-get-used-to-it/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [Agents and publishers only want one thing - good writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/agents-and-publishers-only-want-one-thing-good-writing/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [Take no heed of her… She reads a lot of books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/take-no-heed-of-her-she-reads-a-lot-of-books/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [“Our own dimension was coded ID-11 and was the only League member with diphtheria, David Hasselhoff and the French, which amused the rest of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/our-own-dimension-was-coded-id-11-and-was-the-only-league-member-with/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [Don't ever call me mad, Mycroft. I'm not mad. I'm just ... well, differently moraled, that's all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/don-t-ever-call-me-mad-mycroft-i-m-not-mad-i-m-just-well-differently/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [“They had just digested a recent meal of prepositions and were happily farting out apostrophes and ampersands; the air was heav'y with th'em&.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/they-had-just-digested-a-recent-meal-of-prepositions-and-were-happily/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [After all, reading is arguably a far more creative and imaginative process than writing; when the reader creates emotion in their head, or the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/after-all-reading-is-arguably-a-far-more-creative-and-imaginative/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [“Sometimes your destiny takes you to dark places where you'd rather not be, but destiny, as they say, is destiny.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/sometimes-your-destiny-takes-you-to-dark-places-where-you-d-rather/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [“Whoever controls the supply of metaphor controls fiction! . . . Metaphor should be controlled. A glut on the market would make fiction overtly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/whoever-controls-the-supply-of-metaphor-controls-fiction-metaphor/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [“A sloppy half-Windsor is the first symptom of serial indolence' she replied in the patronizing voice that Yellows reserved for Rule-breakers, 'and ignoring the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/a-sloppy-half-windsor-is-the-first-symptom-of-serial-indolence-she/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [The universe always moves from an ordered state to a disordered one; that a glass may fall to the ground and shatter yet you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/the-universe-always-moves-from-an-ordered-state-to-a-disordered-one/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [To espresso or to latte, that is the question...whether 'tis tastier on the palate to choose white mocha over plain...or to take a cup…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/to-espresso-or-to-latte-that-is-the-question-whether-tis-tastier-on/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [I've got six months to sort out the hackers, get the Japanese knotweed under control and find an acceptable form of narcissus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/i-ve-got-six-months-to-sort-out-the-hackers-get-the-japanese-knotweed/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [“They keep an eye on forgery, illegal dealing and overtly free thespian interpretations. The actor in with them was Graham Huxtable. He was putting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/they-keep-an-eye-on-forgery-illegal-dealing-and-overtly-free-thespian/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) [Explore all 356 Jasper Fforde quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) ## More Art quotes > [True works of art contain their own theory and give us the measurement according to which we should judge them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/true-works-of-art-contain-their-own-theory-and-give-us-the/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Before Noah, men having only water to drink, could not find the truth. Accordingly...they became abominably wicked, and they were justly exterminated by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/before-noah-men-having-only-water-to-drink-could-not-find-the-truth/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [“Hear the sum of the whole matter in the compass of one brief word — every art possessed by man comes from Prometheus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aeschylus/hear-the-sum-of-the-whole-matter-in-the-compass-of-one-brief-word/) [Aeschylus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aeschylus/) > [I think most artists feel like they're outside society - no matter how many accolades they receive, or how much money is in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-rose/i-think-most-artists-feel-like-they-re-outside-society-no-matter-how/) [Aaron Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-rose/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [That's the great secret of creativity. You treat ideas like cats: you make them follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/that-s-the-great-secret-of-creativity-you-treat-ideas-like-cats-you/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“So, really," continued Jacob as if this were perfectly normal to expound on art in these circumstances, "when you think about it, the artists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justina-chen-headley/so-really-continued-jacob-as-if-this-were-perfectly-normal-to-expound/) [Justina Chen Headley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justina-chen-headley/) > [“There are two options in art; either to adopt philosophical life by dissecting art, or to write your own philosophical life and claim it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taf-teh/there-are-two-options-in-art-either-to-adopt-philosophical-life-by/) [Taf Teh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taf-teh/) > [The house has to serve comfort. 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And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [“The only thing--I tell you this straight from the heart--that disgusts me in Salzburg is that one can't have any proper social intercourse with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/the-only-thing-i-tell-you-this-straight-from-the-heart-that-disgusts/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [The sublime in art is the attempt to express the infinite without finding in the realm of phenomena any object which proves itself fitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/the-sublime-in-art-is-the-attempt-to-express-the-infinite-without/) [Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georg-wilhelm-friedrich-hegel/) > [Art isn't done to decorate apartments, but to wage war against the enemy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/art-isn-t-done-to-decorate-apartments-but-to-wage-war-against-the/) [Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/) [Browse all 48,643 Art quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/art/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Think of this: If it weren’t for greed, intolerance, hate, passion and murder, you would have no works of art, no great buildings, no medical science, no Mozart, no van Gogh, no Muppets and no Louis Armstrong. 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