--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What is crucial in the true state is not…" description: "\"“What is crucial in the true state is not the fact that every citizen has the chance to devote himself to the universal interest in the shape of a part..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/karl-marx-399_quote_what-is-crucial-in-the-true-state-is-not_1445142.jpg" --- # What is crucial in the true state is not the fact that… ![“What is crucial in the true state is not the fact that every citizen has the chance to devote himself to the universal interest in the shape of a particular class, but the capacity of the universal class to be really universal, i.e. to be the class of every citizen.” quote by Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/karl-marx-399_quote_what-is-crucial-in-the-true-state-is-not_1445142.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/karl-marx-399_quote_what-is-crucial-in-the-true-state-is-not_1445142.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/karl-marx-399_quote_what-is-crucial-in-the-true-state-is-not_1445142.jpg) > ““What is crucial in the true state is not the fact that every citizen has the chance to devote himself to the universal interest in the shape of a particular class, but the capacity of the universal class to be really universal, i.e. to be the class of every citizen.”” [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. The quote argues that true universality in society depends on the universal class truly representing all citizens, not just offering a chance to serve a specific class. **In simple terms:** Universal class must genuinely include everyone. Key Takeaway Ensure institutions serve all citizens equally. Themes equality politics class universality Mood critical analytical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - policy making - education reform - social movements - community organizing Key Concepts Marxism social theory democratic representation Questions to Reflect On - How can a universal class be defined in diverse societies? - What mechanisms ensure true representation? A Different Perspective Assumes a homogeneous universal class which may not exist in practice. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Citizen Chance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citizen-chance-5181566/) [Class Capacity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class-capacity-5181567/) [Class Citizen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class-citizen-616814/) [Fact Citizen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fact-citizen-3752442/) [Universal Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universal-class-5181565/) ## Related quotes > [“That I was, in fact, a citizen of nowhere”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/that-i-was-in-fact-a-citizen-of-nowhere/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Ethereum will be a first-class citizen on Coinbase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-ehrsam/ethereum-will-be-a-first-class-citizen-on-coinbase/) [Fred Ehrsam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-ehrsam/) > [I've never seen myself as a second-class citizen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dabo-swinney/i-ve-never-seen-myself-as-a-second-class-citizen/) [Dabo Swinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dabo-swinney/) > [That has to come to an end and end now. No citizen is a second-class citizen in the city of Chicago. If my children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/that-has-to-come-to-an-end-and-end-now-no-citizen-is-a-second-class/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [The American uppermiddle-class citizen is a composite of negatives. He is largely delineated by what he is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/the-american-uppermiddle-class-citizen-is-a-composite-of-negatives-he-2/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [I love just working. I love the idea of being a working class citizen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/i-love-just-working-i-love-the-idea-of-being-a-working-class-citizen/) [Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/) > [If you don't have an academic brain, if you are not interested in maths or science, you are treated as a second-class citizen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlene-phillips/if-you-don-t-have-an-academic-brain-if-you-are-not-interested-in/) [Arlene Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlene-phillips/) > [No citizen is a second class citizen in the city of Chicago. If my children are treated one way, every child is treated the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahm-emanuel/no-citizen-is-a-second-class-citizen-in-the-city-of-chicago-if-my/) [Rahm Emanuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahm-emanuel/) > [“No second class citizen, but only the third class citizens think there is a superior race”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/godswill-chiedozie-stephen/no-second-class-citizen-but-only-the-third-class-citizens-think-there/) [Godswill Chiedozie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/godswill-chiedozie-stephen/) > [If you think you're a second-class citizen, you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/if-you-think-you-re-a-second-class-citizen-you-are/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [“If you continue to treat yourself like a 3rd class citizen, you’ll stay a 3rd class citizen. You’re better than that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-norton/if-you-continue-to-treat-yourself-like-a-3rd-class-citizen-you-ll/) [Richie Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-norton/) > [The American uppermiddle-class citizen is a composite of negatives. He is largely delineated by what he is not. - pg. 41](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/the-american-uppermiddle-class-citizen-is-a-composite-of-negatives-he/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [I was taught from a young age that many people would treat me as a second-class citizen because I was African-American and because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-latifah/i-was-taught-from-a-young-age-that-many-people-would-treat-me-as-a/) [Queen Latifah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-latifah/) > [I think most women do not want to be treated as sort of a special class of citizen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-maccallum/i-think-most-women-do-not-want-to-be-treated-as-sort-of-a-special/) [Martha MacCallum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-maccallum/) > [You grow up Latin in this country and you're a third class citizen from the word go, and so you have to deal with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-leguizamo/you-grow-up-latin-in-this-country-and-you-re-a-third-class-citizen/) [John Leguizamo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-leguizamo/) ## 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 Class Citizen quotes > [You grow up Latin in this country and you're a third class citizen from the word go, and so you have to deal with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-leguizamo/you-grow-up-latin-in-this-country-and-you-re-a-third-class-citizen/) [John Leguizamo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-leguizamo/) > [I think most women do not want to be treated as sort of a special class of citizen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-maccallum/i-think-most-women-do-not-want-to-be-treated-as-sort-of-a-special/) [Martha MacCallum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-maccallum/) > [I was taught from a young age that many people would treat me as a second-class citizen because I was African-American and because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-latifah/i-was-taught-from-a-young-age-that-many-people-would-treat-me-as-a/) [Queen Latifah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-latifah/) > [The American uppermiddle-class citizen is a composite of negatives. He is largely delineated by what he is not. - pg. 41](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/the-american-uppermiddle-class-citizen-is-a-composite-of-negatives-he/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“If you continue to treat yourself like a 3rd class citizen, you’ll stay a 3rd class citizen. You’re better than that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richie-norton/if-you-continue-to-treat-yourself-like-a-3rd-class-citizen-you-ll/) [Richie Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richie-norton/) > [If you think you're a second-class citizen, you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/if-you-think-you-re-a-second-class-citizen-you-are/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [“No second class citizen, but only the third class citizens think there is a superior race”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/godswill-chiedozie-stephen/no-second-class-citizen-but-only-the-third-class-citizens-think-there/) [Godswill Chiedozie Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/godswill-chiedozie-stephen/) > [No citizen is a second class citizen in the city of Chicago. If my children are treated one way, every child is treated the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahm-emanuel/no-citizen-is-a-second-class-citizen-in-the-city-of-chicago-if-my/) [Rahm Emanuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahm-emanuel/) > [If you don't have an academic brain, if you are not interested in maths or science, you are treated as a second-class citizen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arlene-phillips/if-you-don-t-have-an-academic-brain-if-you-are-not-interested-in/) [Arlene Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arlene-phillips/) > [I love just working. I love the idea of being a working class citizen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/i-love-just-working-i-love-the-idea-of-being-a-working-class-citizen/) [Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/) > [The American uppermiddle-class citizen is a composite of negatives. He is largely delineated by what he is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/the-american-uppermiddle-class-citizen-is-a-composite-of-negatives-he-2/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [That has to come to an end and end now. No citizen is a second-class citizen in the city of Chicago. If my children…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hayes/that-has-to-come-to-an-end-and-end-now-no-citizen-is-a-second-class/) [Chris Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hayes/) > [I've never seen myself as a second-class citizen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dabo-swinney/i-ve-never-seen-myself-as-a-second-class-citizen/) [Dabo Swinney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dabo-swinney/) > [Ethereum will be a first-class citizen on Coinbase.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-ehrsam/ethereum-will-be-a-first-class-citizen-on-coinbase/) [Fred Ehrsam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-ehrsam/) > [There is probably no more obnoxious class of citizen, taken end for end, than the returning vacationist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/there-is-probably-no-more-obnoxious-class-of-citizen-taken-end-for/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) [Browse all 19 Class Citizen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class-citizen-616814/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What is crucial in the true state is not the fact that every citizen has the chance to devote himself to the universal interest in the shape of a particular class, but the capacity of the universal class to be really universal, i.e. to be the class of every citizen.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Karl Marx" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/what-is-crucial-in-the-true-state-is-not-the-fact-that-every-citizen/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Class Citizen" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/what-is-crucial-in-the-true-state-is-not-the-fact-that-every-citizen/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/karl-marx-399_quote_what-is-crucial-in-the-true-state-is-not_1445142.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/karl-marx-399_quote_what-is-crucial-in-the-true-state-is-not_1445142.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0ca/karl-marx-399_quote_what-is-crucial-in-the-true-state-is-not_1445142.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What is crucial in the true state is not the fact that every citizen has the chance to devote himself to the…” — 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": "“What is crucial in the true...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/what-is-crucial-in-the-true-state-is-not-the-fact-that-every-citizen/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/what-is-crucial-in-the-true-state-is-not-the-fact-that-every-citizen/#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 } } ] } ```