--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It might otherwise appear paradoxical…" description: "\"It might otherwise appear paradoxical that money can be replaced by worthless paper; but that the slightest alloying of its metallic content depreciate..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/karl-marx-399_depreciate_it-might-otherwise-appear-paradoxical-th_851945.jpg" --- # It might otherwise appear paradoxical that money can be… ![“It might otherwise appear paradoxical that money can be replaced by worthless paper; but that the slightest alloying of its metallic content depreciates it.” quote by Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/karl-marx-399_depreciate_it-might-otherwise-appear-paradoxical-th_851945.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/karl-marx-399_depreciate_it-might-otherwise-appear-paradoxical-th_851945.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/karl-marx-399_depreciate_it-might-otherwise-appear-paradoxical-th_851945.jpg) > “It might otherwise appear paradoxical that money can be replaced by worthless paper; but that the slightest alloying of its metallic content depreciates it.” [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Money’s value is based on its material composition; even a small reduction in metal content lowers its worth. **In simple terms:** Money’s value drops with less metal. Key Takeaway Recognize that perceived value can be fragile and socially constructed. Themes economics value theory materialism inflation commodity Mood critical thought‑provoking historical Type economic philosophical When to use this quote - currency analysis - investment decisions - policy making - educational curricula Key Concepts marxist economics material culture valuation theory Questions to Reflect On - How does digital currency affect traditional notions of value? - Can value be sustained without physical backing? A Different Perspective Modern fiat money challenges this view, making material content less relevant. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Content Depreciates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/content-depreciates-759897/) [Depreciate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depreciate/) [Depreciates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depreciates-587419/) [Happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happiness/) [Metallic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/metallic/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paper/) [Paradoxical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradoxical/) [Paradoxical Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paradoxical-money-759894/) [Replaced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/replaced/) [Slightest Alloying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slightest-alloying-759896/) [Worthless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worthless/) [Worthless Paper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worthless-paper-759895/) ## Related quotes > [We should create a holiday that celebrates money for what it is, essentially worthless paper, upon which we agree to pretend it has value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dov-davidoff/we-should-create-a-holiday-that-celebrates-money-for-what-it-is/) [Dov Davidoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dov-davidoff/) > [“Everything depreciates, except time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-dejesus/everything-depreciates-except-time/) [Noel DeJesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-dejesus/) > [“Employment depreciates you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/employment-depreciates-you/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Effort that is not appreciated depreciates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-matobo/effort-that-is-not-appreciated-depreciates/) [Frank Matobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-matobo/) > [Real merit of any kind cannot long be concealed; it will be discovered, and nothing can depreciate it but a man exhibiting it himself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/real-merit-of-any-kind-cannot-long-be-concealed-it-will-be-discovered/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [The duty of criticism is neither to depreciate nor dignify by partial representations, but to hold out the light of reason, whatever it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-duty-of-criticism-is-neither-to-depreciate-nor-dignify-by-partial/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [ All that stock of arguments \[the skeptics\] produce to depreciate our faculties, and make mankind appear ignorant and low, are drawn principally from this… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/all-that-stock-of-arguments-the-skeptics-produce-to-depreciate-our/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [An over-readiness to criticise or to depreciate a minister of Christ is proof of a lack of devotion to Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay-trumbull/an-over-readiness-to-criticise-or-to-depreciate-a-minister-of-christ/) [Henry Clay Trumbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay-trumbull/) > [To form our taste, we must neither depreciate nor imitate, but we should understand and originate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-polk/to-form-our-taste-we-must-neither-depreciate-nor-imitate-but-we/) [Willis Polk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-polk/) > [There exists in human nature a strong propensity to depreciate the advantages, and to magnify the evils, of the present times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/there-exists-in-human-nature-a-strong-propensity-to-depreciate-the/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“Every asset that you're entrusted with--whether it's money, procedures, materials, technology--all of it is depreciating. All of it is becoming obsolete. Human assets can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/every-asset-that-you-re-entrusted-with-whether-it-s-money-procedures/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [“And she looked upon the mirror that was given as a gift. She hated everything about it, from the circular size of it, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/and-she-looked-upon-the-mirror-that-was-given-as-a-gift-she-hated/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [By creating the European Central Bank, the member states exposed their own government bonds to the risk of default. Developed countries that issue bonds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/by-creating-the-european-central-bank-the-member-states-exposed-their/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [They hurt me many times, I forgive them many time but my love for them depreciate each time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usman-ismaheel/they-hurt-me-many-times-i-forgive-them-many-time-but-my-love-for-them/) [Usman Ismaheel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usman-ismaheel/) > [Flesh-meats will depreciate the blood. Cook meat with spices, and eat it with rich cakes and pies, and you have a bad quality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-g-white/flesh-meats-will-depreciate-the-blood-cook-meat-with-spices-and-eat/) [Ellen G. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-g-white/) ## More by Karl Marx > [“Economists have a singular method of procedure. There are only two kinds of institutions for them, artificial and natural. The institutions of feudalism are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/economists-have-a-singular-method-of-procedure-there-are-only-two/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [As the variable capital always stays in the hands of the capitalist in some form or other, it cannot be claimed in any way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/as-the-variable-capital-always-stays-in-the-hands-of-the-capitalist/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Money degrades all the gods of man and converts them into commodities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/money-degrades-all-the-gods-of-man-and-converts-them-into-commodities/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [As a beast of toil an ox is fixed capital. If he is eaten, he no longer functions as an instrument of labour, nor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/as-a-beast-of-toil-an-ox-is-fixed-capital-if-he-is-eaten-he-no-longer/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Communism... is the genuine resolution of the antagonism between man and nature and between man and man; it is the true resolution of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/communism-is-the-genuine-resolution-of-the-antagonism-between-man-and/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [It is not the consciousness of men that determines their being, but, on the contrary, their social being that determines their consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/it-is-not-the-consciousness-of-men-that-determines-their-being-but-on/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Philosophy is to the real world as masturbation is to sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/philosophy-is-to-the-real-world-as-masturbation-is-to-sex/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“Go on, get out! Last words are for fools who haven't said enough!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/go-on-get-out-last-words-are-for-fools-who-haven-t-said-enough/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [“If you love without evoking love in return - if through the vital expression of yourself as a loving person you fail to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/if-you-love-without-evoking-love-in-return-if-through-the-vital/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Do not be deluded by the abstract word Freedom. Whose freedom? Not the freedom of one individual in relation to another, but freedom of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/do-not-be-deluded-by-the-abstract-word-freedom-whose-freedom-not-the/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [The burgeoisie, by the rapid improvement of all instruments of production, by the immensely facilitated means of communication, draws all nations into civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-burgeoisie-by-the-rapid-improvement-of-all-instruments-of/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [Ideas do not exist separately from language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/ideas-do-not-exist-separately-from-language/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [So in Jewry we recognise a contemporary universal anti-social phenomenon, which has reached its present pitch through a process of, historical development in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/so-in-jewry-we-recognise-a-contemporary-universal-anti-social/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [The class struggle necessarily leads to the dictatorship of the proletariat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-class-struggle-necessarily-leads-to-the-dictatorship-of-the/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [If this labourer were in possession of his own means of production, and was satisfied to live as a labourer, he need not work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/if-this-labourer-were-in-possession-of-his-own-means-of-production/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) [Explore all 571 Karl Marx quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) ## More Depreciate quotes > [Flesh-meats will depreciate the blood. Cook meat with spices, and eat it with rich cakes and pies, and you have a bad quality of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-g-white/flesh-meats-will-depreciate-the-blood-cook-meat-with-spices-and-eat/) [Ellen G. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-g-white/) > [They hurt me many times, I forgive them many time but my love for them depreciate each time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/usman-ismaheel/they-hurt-me-many-times-i-forgive-them-many-time-but-my-love-for-them/) [Usman Ismaheel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/usman-ismaheel/) > [By creating the European Central Bank, the member states exposed their own government bonds to the risk of default. Developed countries that issue bonds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/by-creating-the-european-central-bank-the-member-states-exposed-their/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [“And she looked upon the mirror that was given as a gift. She hated everything about it, from the circular size of it, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/and-she-looked-upon-the-mirror-that-was-given-as-a-gift-she-hated/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [“Every asset that you're entrusted with--whether it's money, procedures, materials, technology--all of it is depreciating. All of it is becoming obsolete. Human assets can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-c-maxwell/every-asset-that-you-re-entrusted-with-whether-it-s-money-procedures/) [John C. Maxwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-c-maxwell/) > [There exists in human nature a strong propensity to depreciate the advantages, and to magnify the evils, of the present times.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/there-exists-in-human-nature-a-strong-propensity-to-depreciate-the/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [To form our taste, we must neither depreciate nor imitate, but we should understand and originate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willis-polk/to-form-our-taste-we-must-neither-depreciate-nor-imitate-but-we/) [Willis Polk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willis-polk/) > [An over-readiness to criticise or to depreciate a minister of Christ is proof of a lack of devotion to Christ.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-clay-trumbull/an-over-readiness-to-criticise-or-to-depreciate-a-minister-of-christ/) [Henry Clay Trumbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-clay-trumbull/) > [ All that stock of arguments \[the skeptics\] produce to depreciate our faculties, and make mankind appear ignorant and low, are drawn principally from this… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-berkeley/all-that-stock-of-arguments-the-skeptics-produce-to-depreciate-our/) [George Berkeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-berkeley/) > [The duty of criticism is neither to depreciate nor dignify by partial representations, but to hold out the light of reason, whatever it may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-duty-of-criticism-is-neither-to-depreciate-nor-dignify-by-partial/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Real merit of any kind cannot long be concealed; it will be discovered, and nothing can depreciate it but a man exhibiting it himself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-chesterfield/real-merit-of-any-kind-cannot-long-be-concealed-it-will-be-discovered/) [Lord Chesterfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-chesterfield/) > [Today people who hold cash equivalents feel comfortable. They shouldn't. They have opted for a terrible long-term asset, one that pays virtually nothing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/today-people-who-hold-cash-equivalents-feel-comfortable-they-shouldn/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Everyone wants a piece of land. It's the only sure investment. It can never depreciate like a car or a washing machine. Land will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-shepard/everyone-wants-a-piece-of-land-it-s-the-only-sure-investment-it-can/) [Sam Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-shepard/) > [Left untended, knowledge and skill, like all assets, depreciate in value surprisingly quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-maister/left-untended-knowledge-and-skill-like-all-assets-depreciate-in-value/) [David Maister](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-maister/) > [The concepts "beyond" and "real world" were invented in order to depreciate the only world that exists-in order that no goal, no aim or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-concepts-beyond-and-real-world-were-invented-in-order-to/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) [Browse all 35 Depreciate quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depreciate/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It might otherwise appear paradoxical that money can be replaced by worthless paper; but that the slightest alloying of its metallic content depreciates it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karl Marx" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/it-might-otherwise-appear-paradoxical-that-money-can-be-replaced-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Depreciate" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/it-might-otherwise-appear-paradoxical-that-money-can-be-replaced-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/karl-marx-399_depreciate_it-might-otherwise-appear-paradoxical-th_851945.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/karl-marx-399_depreciate_it-might-otherwise-appear-paradoxical-th_851945.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/karl-marx-399_depreciate_it-might-otherwise-appear-paradoxical-th_851945.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It might otherwise appear paradoxical that money can be replaced by worthless paper; but that the slightest…” — Karl Marx", "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": "Karl Marx", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It might otherwise appear paradoxical that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/it-might-otherwise-appear-paradoxical-that-money-can-be-replaced-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/it-might-otherwise-appear-paradoxical-that-money-can-be-replaced-by/#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 } } ] } ```