---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Luxury is the opposite of the naturally…"
description: "\"Luxury is the opposite of the naturally necessary.\" — Karl Marx"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/karl-marx-399_inspirational_luxury-is-the-opposite-of-the-naturally_2934771.jpg"
---

#  Luxury is the opposite of the naturally necessary.

![“Luxury is the opposite of the naturally necessary.” quote by Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/karl-marx-399_inspirational_luxury-is-the-opposite-of-the-naturally_2934771.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/karl-marx-399_inspirational_luxury-is-the-opposite-of-the-naturally_2934771.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/karl-marx-399_inspirational_luxury-is-the-opposite-of-the-naturally_2934771.jpg)

> “Luxury is the opposite of the naturally necessary.”

[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.

Excessive luxury contradicts essential human needs, highlighting class disparities and alienation.

**In simple terms:** Luxury opposes basic necessities.

Key Takeaway

Prioritize essential over extravagant.

Themes

luxury necessity class alienation

Mood

critical reflective

Type

philosophical political

When to use this quote

- consumer culture
- urban planning
- personal budgeting

Key Concepts

materialism social critique

Questions to Reflect On

- How does luxury affect your values?
- Can necessity be redefined?

A Different Perspective

Luxury can be a status symbol.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Luxury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luxury/) [Luxury Opposite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luxury-opposite-1029453/) [Naturally Necessary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naturally-necessary-4345185/) [Opposite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposite/) [Opposite Naturally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposite-naturally-4345186/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/)

## Related quotes

> [Some people think luxury is the opposite of poverty. It is not. It is the opposite of vulgarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coco-chanel/some-people-think-luxury-is-the-opposite-of-poverty-it-is-not-it-is/)

[Coco Chanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coco-chanel/)

> [Do exactly the opposite of what the sheep are doing in order to become the Shepherd.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marshall-sylver/do-exactly-the-opposite-of-what-the-sheep-are-doing-in-order-to/)

[Marshall Sylver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marshall-sylver/)

> [I prefer to believe the opposite - that there is always an indestructible beauty at the heart of darkness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-balogh/i-prefer-to-believe-the-opposite-that-there-is-always-an/)

[Mary Balogh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-balogh/)

> [To do just the opposite is also a form of imitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-do-just-the-opposite-is-also-a-form-of-imitation/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Entitlement is the opposite of enchantment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-kawasaki/entitlement-is-the-opposite-of-enchantment/)

[Guy Kawasaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-kawasaki/)

> [Prosperity is the opposite of greedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh-yogi/prosperity-is-the-opposite-of-greedy/)

[Harbhajan Singh Yogi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh-yogi/)

> [The very opposite of freedom is cliche, and nothing is less free, more inert with convention and hollow brutality, than a row of four-letter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-steiner/the-very-opposite-of-freedom-is-cliche-and-nothing-is-less-free-more/)

[George Steiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-steiner/)

> [Everyone in this room knows that Venus is probably one of the greatest people on the tour. She's really great. She's super professional. Complete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/serena-williams/everyone-in-this-room-knows-that-venus-is-probably-one-of-the/)

[Serena Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/serena-williams/)

> [The opposite of nature is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/the-opposite-of-nature-is-impossible/)

[R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/)

> [Death was not the opposite of life. It was already here, within my being, it had always been here, and no struggle would permit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/death-was-not-the-opposite-of-life-it-was-already-here-within-my/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [The opposite of play is not work—the opposite of play is depression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-opposite-of-play-is-not-work-the-opposite-of-play-is-depression/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The opposite of every great idea is another great idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niels-bohr/the-opposite-of-every-great-idea-is-another-great-idea/)

[Niels Bohr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niels-bohr/)

> [A Horcrux is the complete opposite of a human being.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-horcrux-is-the-complete-opposite-of-a-human-being/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Love and hate, despite their polar opposites, are both feelings that are induced by passion. I can handle that. It's the indifference I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/love-and-hate-despite-their-polar-opposites-are-both-feelings-that/)

[Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/)

> [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/)

[Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/)

## 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 Inspirational quotes

> [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [We talk to God--that is prayer; God talks to us--that is inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-emilie-cady/we-talk-to-god-that-is-prayer-god-talks-to-us-that-is-inspiration/)

[H. Emilie Cady](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-emilie-cady/)

> [You cant be controlling in improv.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-walsh/you-cant-be-controlling-in-improv/)

[Matt Walsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-walsh/)

> [The man who can master his time can master nearly anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/the-man-who-can-master-his-time-can-master-nearly-anything/)

[Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/)

> [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Just understand that the good that you want is already here. All you have to do is get in harmony with it. And you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/just-understand-that-the-good-that-you-want-is-already-here-all-you/)

[Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/)

> [“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up the men to gather wood, divide the work, and give orders. Instead, teach them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/if-you-want-to-build-a-ship-don-t-drum-up-the-men-to-gather-wood/)

[Antoine de Saint-Exupéry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/)

> [Obviously, if you don't love life, you can't enjoy an oyster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-clark/obviously-if-you-don-t-love-life-you-can-t-enjoy-an-oyster/)

[Eleanor Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-clark/)

> [It's not the method, it's the mindset.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gilbert/it-s-not-the-method-it-s-the-mindset/)

[Andy Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gilbert/)

> [It's a hard thing to describe. It's just this sense that you got something to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-lehrer/it-s-a-hard-thing-to-describe-it-s-just-this-sense-that-you-got/)

[Jonah Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-lehrer/)

> [Too much familiarity breeds contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/too-much-familiarity-breeds-contempt/)

[Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/)

> [We never really perceive what color is physically!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josef-albers/we-never-really-perceive-what-color-is-physically/)

[Josef Albers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josef-albers/)

> [Politics is not an issue whether you like or dislike , but every citizen must involve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khem-veasna/politics-is-not-an-issue-whether-you-like-or-dislike-but-every/)

[Khem Veasna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khem-veasna/)

> [God reveals Himself through surprises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/god-reveals-himself-through-surprises/)

[Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/)

> [Never underestimate the power of the human mind to believe what it wants to believe, no matter the conflicting evidence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-herbert/never-underestimate-the-power-of-the-human-mind-to-believe-what-it/)

[Brian Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-herbert/)

[Browse all 114,561 Inspirational quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Luxury is the opposite of the naturally necessary.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Karl Marx"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/luxury-is-the-opposite-of-the-naturally-necessary/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Inspirational"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/luxury-is-the-opposite-of-the-naturally-necessary/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/karl-marx-399_inspirational_luxury-is-the-opposite-of-the-naturally_2934771.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/karl-marx-399_inspirational_luxury-is-the-opposite-of-the-naturally_2934771.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/067/karl-marx-399_inspirational_luxury-is-the-opposite-of-the-naturally_2934771.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Luxury is the opposite of the naturally necessary.” — 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": "Luxury is the opposite of the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/luxury-is-the-opposite-of-the-naturally-necessary/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/luxury-is-the-opposite-of-the-naturally-necessary/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
