--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In order to progress, modern society…" description: "\"“In order to progress, modern society should be treating ruined entrepreneurs in the same way we honor dead soldiers, perhaps not with as much honor, b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_business_in-order-to-progress-modern-society-shou_2287687.png" --- # In order to progress, modern society should be treating… ![“In order to progress, modern society should be treating ruined entrepreneurs in the same way we honor dead soldiers, perhaps not with as much honor, but using exactly the same logic (the entrepreneur is still alive, though perhaps morally broken and socially stigmatized, particularly if he lives…” quote by Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_business_in-order-to-progress-modern-society-shou_2287687.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_business_in-order-to-progress-modern-society-shou_2287687.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cbc/nassim-nicholas-taleb-352_business_in-order-to-progress-modern-society-shou_2287687.png) > ““In order to progress, modern society should be treating ruined entrepreneurs in the same way we honor dead soldiers, perhaps not with as much honor, but using exactly the same logic (the entrepreneur is still alive, though perhaps morally broken and socially stigmatized, particularly if he lives in Japan). For there is no such thing as a failed soldier, dead or alive (unless he acted in a cowardly manner)—likewise, there is no such thing as a failed entrepreneur or failed scientific researcher, any more than there is a successful babbler, philosophaster, commentator, consultant, lobbyist, or business school professor who does not take personal risks. (Sorry.)”” [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society should honor living entrepreneurs like dead soldiers, recognizing their risk‑taking despite moral or social flaws. **In simple terms:** Respect risk‑taking entrepreneurs. Key Takeaway Value entrepreneurial risk. Themes risk honor entrepreneurship societal values Mood analytical critical Type philosophical sociological When to use this quote - startup funding - policy advocacy - public recognition Key Concepts economics ethics social perception Questions to Reflect On - How should we balance risk and ethics? - What criteria define a worthy entrepreneur? A Different Perspective Honoring entrepreneurs may overlook ethical failures. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Customer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/customer/) [Dead soldiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dead-soldiers/) [Modern society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modern-society/) ## Related quotes > [“You see, there is no such thing as a failed entrepreneur. You are a failed entrepreneur only when you quit. 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Most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/maggots-in-corpses-he-d-seen-whitely-churning-in-the-mouths-of-dead/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [Conservatives are pro-life because they want live babies so they can raise them up to be dead soldiers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/conservatives-are-pro-life-because-they-want-live-babies-so-they-can/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Bravery is a virtue people revere in dead soldiers and then turn to disparage in someone extending her hand to a weirdo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cord-jefferson/bravery-is-a-virtue-people-revere-in-dead-soldiers-and-then-turn-to/) [Cord Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cord-jefferson/) ## More by Nassim Nicholas Taleb > [To become a philosopher, start by walking very slowly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/to-become-a-philosopher-start-by-walking-very-slowly/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [Wittgenstein's ruler: Unless you have confidence in the ruler's reliability, if you use a ruler to measure a table you may also be using…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/wittgenstein-s-ruler-unless-you-have-confidence-in-the-ruler-s/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [In politics we face the choice between warmongering, nation-state loving, big-business agents on one hand; and risk-blind, top-down, epistemic arrogant big servants of large…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/in-politics-we-face-the-choice-between-warmongering-nation-state/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [My nightmare scenario is that the government saves Citibank once again, as well as the other banks, and business resumes as usual. 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