---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The less the skill and exertion of…"
description: "\"“The less the skill and exertion of strength implied in manual labour, in other words, the more modern industry becomes developed, the more is the labo..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6b/karl-marx-399_feminism_the-less-the-skill-and-exertion-of-stren_3203599.jpg"
---

#  The less the skill and exertion of strength implied in…

![“The less the skill and exertion of strength implied in manual labour, in other words, the more modern industry becomes developed, the more is the labour of men superseded by that of women. Differences of age and sex have no longer any distinctive social validity for the working class. All are…” quote by Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6b/karl-marx-399_feminism_the-less-the-skill-and-exertion-of-stren_3203599.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6b/karl-marx-399_feminism_the-less-the-skill-and-exertion-of-stren_3203599.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6b/karl-marx-399_feminism_the-less-the-skill-and-exertion-of-stren_3203599.jpg)

> ““The less the skill and exertion of strength implied in manual labour, in other words, the more modern industry becomes developed, the more is the labour of men superseded by that of women. Differences of age and sex have no longer any distinctive social validity for the working class. All are instruments of labour, more or less expensive to use, according to their age and sex.””

[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.

Industrial progress reduces manual labor, making gender and age less relevant, treating all workers as interchangeable economic units.

**In simple terms:** Technology makes labor less gender‑specific, treating workers as similar.

Key Takeaway

Advocate for labor policies that recognize human dignity beyond economics.

Themes

labor technology gender age economics equality

Mood

analytical critical thoughtful

Type

political historical sociological

When to use this quote

- factory automation
- policy making
- union negotiations
- academic research

Key Concepts

marxism labor theory sociology

Questions to Reflect On

- How does automation affect gender roles today?
- What policies protect workers’ dignity?

A Different Perspective

Economic focus can ignore social and emotional impacts on workers.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Developed Labour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/developed-labour-5957211/) [Feminism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/) [Instruments Labour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/instruments-labour-5957210/) [Labour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour/) [Labour Words](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour-words-5957212/) [Manual labour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/manual-labour-117359/) [Working class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/working-class/)

## Related quotes

> [I have always regarded manual labour as creative and looked with respect-and, yes, wonder-at people who work with their hands. It seems to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-casals/i-have-always-regarded-manual-labour-as-creative-and-looked-with/)

[Pablo Casals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-casals/)

> [Useful manual labour, intelligently performed, is the means par excellence for developing the intellect.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/useful-manual-labour-intelligently-performed-is-the-means-par/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [It is a sad thing that our schoolboys look upon manual labour with disfavour, if not contempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/it-is-a-sad-thing-that-our-schoolboys-look-upon-manual-labour-with/)

[Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/)

> [“In proportion as the bourgeoisie, i.e., capital, is developed, in the same proportion is the proletariat, the modern working class, developed—a class of labourers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/in-proportion-as-the-bourgeoisie-i-e-capital-is-developed-in-the-same/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [I had a very tough upbringing. We all had to do something called 'manual labour.' Mostly it meant getting up at 5 A.M. and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemi-badenoch/i-had-a-very-tough-upbringing-we-all-had-to-do-something-called/)

[Kemi Badenoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemi-badenoch/)

> [“I was fifteen when I left school. And what did I get to show for my ten years in the British education system? A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ozzy-osbourne/i-was-fifteen-when-i-left-school-and-what-did-i-get-to-show-for-my/)

[Ozzy Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ozzy-osbourne/)

> [“She replied that the manual labour exercised her body while allowing her mind and spirit to rest, adding that she believed there was value…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-j-bishop/she-replied-that-the-manual-labour-exercised-her-body-while-allowing/)

[K.J. Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-j-bishop/)

> [Now in regard to trades and other means of livelihood, which ones are to be considered becoming to a gentleman and which ones are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/now-in-regard-to-trades-and-other-means-of-livelihood-which-ones-are/)

[Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/)

> [At Leeds the idea of an international labour organization appeared in a trade-union text which also drew attention to the danger to the working…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-jouhaux/at-leeds-the-idea-of-an-international-labour-organization-appeared-in/)

[Leon Jouhaux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-jouhaux/)

> [If emancipation of the working classes requires their fraternal conncurrence, how are they to fulfill that great mission with a foreign policy in pursuit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/if-emancipation-of-the-working-classes-requires-their-fraternal/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [It appears then, that capitalist production comprises conditions independent of good or bad will, conditions which permit the working-class to enjoy that relative prosperity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/it-appears-then-that-capitalist-production-comprises-conditions/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [The working class is revolutionary or it is nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-working-class-is-revolutionary-or-it-is-nothing/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [The French need a thrashing. If the Prussians win, the centralisation of the state power will be useful for the centralisation of the German…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-french-need-a-thrashing-if-the-prussians-win-the-centralisation/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [“It is not enough that the conditions of labour are concentrated at one pole of society in the shape of capital, while at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/it-is-not-enough-that-the-conditions-of-labour-are-concentrated-at/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [Since the working-class lives from hand to mouth,it buys as long as it has the means to buy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/since-the-working-class-lives-from-hand-to-mouth-it-buys-as-long-as/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

## 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 Feminism quotes

> [“But benevolent patriarchy is still patriarchy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/but-benevolent-patriarchy-is-still-patriarchy/)

[Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/)

> [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/)

[Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/)

> [“This story is not at all an uncommon one in tech circles, including gaming. The popular notion is that women who get ahead must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bailey-poland/this-story-is-not-at-all-an-uncommon-one-in-tech-circles-including/)

[Bailey Poland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bailey-poland/)

> [Without meaning to sound anti-men, ghastly women are the closest you get to a male role.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-burke/without-meaning-to-sound-anti-men-ghastly-women-are-the-closest-you/)

[Kathy Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-burke/)

> [If the women in the factories stopped work for twenty minutes, the Allies would lose the war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-joffre/if-the-women-in-the-factories-stopped-work-for-twenty-minutes-the/)

[Joseph Joffre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-joffre/)

> [“It took me years to learn to sit at my desk for more than two minutes at a time, to put up with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erica-jong/it-took-me-years-to-learn-to-sit-at-my-desk-for-more-than-two-minutes/)

[Erica Jong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erica-jong/)

> [“If attempting to make the world a civilized one, makes you a bad woman in the eyes of the dumb patriarchal society, then, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/if-attempting-to-make-the-world-a-civilized-one-makes-you-a-bad-woman/)

[Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/)

> [“there was something of the women molded into the great, stalwart frame of Hollingsworth; nor was he ashamed of it; as men often are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-was-something-of-the-women-molded-into-the-great-stalwart-frame/)

[Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/)

> [Women rule the world. It's not really worth fighting because they know what they're doing. Ask Napoleon. Ask Adam. Ask Richard Burton or Richie…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-bon-jovi/women-rule-the-world-it-s-not-really-worth-fighting-because-they-know/)

[Jon Bon Jovi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-bon-jovi/)

> [“Bármilyen idiótának, aki azt kérdezi: „Feminista vagy? Akkor elégeted a melltartóidat, mi? HE? Melltartókat égetsz, te feminista?” – szép nyugodtan így kell válaszolni: „Ostoba.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-moran/b-rmilyen-idi-t-nak-aki-azt-k-rdezi-feminista-vagy-akkor-el-geted-a/)

[Caitlin Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-moran/)

> [People are capable of great, great change during the span of one lifetime. And women even more than men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabrielle-zevin/people-are-capable-of-great-great-change-during-the-span-of-one/)

[Gabrielle Zevin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabrielle-zevin/)

> [Susan B. Anthony must be turning in her grave if she knew that millions of women who have the right to vote are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/susan-b-anthony-must-be-turning-in-her-grave-if-she-knew-that/)

[Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/)

> [Success will come when the societal attitude changes and not a single woman in America asks herself the question 'What did I do?'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/success-will-come-when-the-societal-attitude-changes-and-not-a-single/)

[Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/)

> [Women know things that men will never know. We keep the best secrets. We tell the best stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/women-know-things-that-men-will-never-know-we-keep-the-best-secrets/)

[Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/)

> [“Women will be at least 50 percent of the communications community workforce … from executive suite to interns. Why? The “integrated” agency will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoram-wind/women-will-be-at-least-50-percent-of-the-communications-community/)

[Yoram Wind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoram-wind/)

[Browse all 15,705 Feminism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feminism/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“The less the skill and exertion of strength implied in manual labour, in other words, the more modern industry becomes developed, the more is the labour of men superseded by that of women. Differences of age and sex have no longer any distinctive social validity for the working class. All are instruments of labour, more or less expensive to use, according to their age and sex.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Karl Marx"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-less-the-skill-and-exertion-of-strength-implied-in-manual-labour/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Feminism"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-less-the-skill-and-exertion-of-strength-implied-in-manual-labour/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6b/karl-marx-399_feminism_the-less-the-skill-and-exertion-of-stren_3203599.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6b/karl-marx-399_feminism_the-less-the-skill-and-exertion-of-stren_3203599.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6b/karl-marx-399_feminism_the-less-the-skill-and-exertion-of-stren_3203599.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The less the skill and exertion of strength implied in manual labour, in other words, the more modern…” — 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": "“The less the skill and exertion...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-less-the-skill-and-exertion-of-strength-implied-in-manual-labour/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-less-the-skill-and-exertion-of-strength-implied-in-manual-labour/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
