Computers Quote by Kirkpatrick Sale
““It was the task of industrial society to destroy all of that. All that "community" implies -- self-sufficiency, mutual aid, morality in the marketplace, stubborn tradition, regulation by custom, organic knowledge instead of mechanistic science -- had to be steadily and systematically disrupted and displaced. All of the practices that kept the individual from being a consumer had to be done away with so that the cogs and wheels of an unfettered machine called "the economy" could operate without interference, influenced merely by invisible hands and inevitable balances and all the rest of that benevolent free-market system guided by what Cobbett called, his lip curled toward Hume and James Steuart and Adam Smith, "Scotch Feelosophy.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The New Economy by Kirkpatrick Sale, 1994
Industrial society disrupts community bonds, replacing them with market-driven individualism.
In simple terms: Industrialization erodes community and mutual aid.
Key Takeaway
Recognize and protect community values.
Themes
community
industrialization
market
individualism
Mood
critical
analytical
Type
philosophical
political
When to use this quote
- urban development
- local economies
- community activism
- policy making
Key Concepts
sociology
economic critique
Questions to Reflect On
- What community practices can survive industrial pressures?
- How can markets support rather than undermine mutual aid?
A Different Perspective
Market forces can also create new forms of community.
