--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We're now in a situation in which Capital…" description: "\"We're now in a situation in which Capital is highly mobile and Labour is basically immobile.\" — Noam Chomsky" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/noam-chomsky-42_labour_we-re-now-in-a-situation-in-which-capita_2168375.jpg" --- # We're now in a situation in which Capital is highly mobile… ![“We're now in a situation in which Capital is highly mobile and Labour is basically immobile.” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/noam-chomsky-42_labour_we-re-now-in-a-situation-in-which-capita_2168375.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/noam-chomsky-42_labour_we-re-now-in-a-situation-in-which-capita_2168375.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/noam-chomsky-42_labour_we-re-now-in-a-situation-in-which-capita_2168375.jpg) > “We're now in a situation in which Capital is highly mobile and Labour is basically immobile.” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Capital moves freely while labor remains fixed, creating power imbalance and social tension. **In simple terms:** Capital is mobile, labor is not. Key Takeaway Address labor mobility and equity. Themes economics labor inequality globalization Mood concerned urgent Type political analytical When to use this quote - policy reform - union organizing - education - public discourse Key Concepts political economy structuralism social justice Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance capital fluidity with labor stability? - What policies protect immobile workers? A Different Perspective Increasing labor mobility may cause other social disruptions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Immobile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immobile/) [Labour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour/) ## Related quotes > [I'm fascinated by the emergence of a global class. They're highly mobile; they reject the idea of place.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hari-kunzru/i-m-fascinated-by-the-emergence-of-a-global-class-they-re-highly/) [Hari Kunzru](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hari-kunzru/) > [Mass becomes immobile; it cannot manoeuvre and therefore cannot win victories, it can only crush by sheer weight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-von-seeckt/mass-becomes-immobile-it-cannot-manoeuvre-and-therefore-cannot-win/) [Hans von Seeckt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-von-seeckt/) > [“Non so se in amore vince chi fugge, ma di sicuro chi perde rimane dov'è: immobile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-gramellini/non-so-se-in-amore-vince-chi-fugge-ma-di-sicuro-chi-perde-rimane-dov/) [Massimo Gramellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-gramellini/) > [One may come armoured, Invinsible. His will immobile meets the mobile hour. The world blows cannot bend this Victor Head. Calm and sure are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/one-may-come-armoured-invinsible-his-will-immobile-meets-the-mobile/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [“The rest of his body is unmemorable, and he's also a turtle-he lies on his back and gets stuck there, immobile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-southgate/the-rest-of-his-body-is-unmemorable-and-he-s-also-a-turtle-he-lies-on/) [Edward Southgate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-southgate/) > [“He sank back into his black-and-white world, his immobile world of inanimate drawings that had been granted the secret of motion, his death-world with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-millhauser/he-sank-back-into-his-black-and-white-world-his-immobile-world-of/) [Steven Millhauser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-millhauser/) > [“Words are dead, until action brings them life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/words-are-dead-until-action-brings-them-life/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [I think it was hard at first for my dad to transition to being immobile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/i-think-it-was-hard-at-first-for-my-dad-to-transition-to-being/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [“I guessed that one day the restrictions I imposed on myself would end. But first, it seemed that my range of possible activities would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/i-guessed-that-one-day-the-restrictions-i-imposed-on-myself-would-end/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [“She felt trapped, but she didn't have to. The world is wide open and ready, waiting for us to escape this bubble and join…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/she-felt-trapped-but-she-didn-t-have-to-the-world-is-wide-open-and/) [C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/) > [I hate being immobile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rj-mitte/i-hate-being-immobile/) [RJ Mitte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rj-mitte/) > [I go everywhere by boat. I don't fly. It makes me feel really immobile but great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chantal-joffe/i-go-everywhere-by-boat-i-don-t-fly-it-makes-me-feel-really-immobile/) [Chantal Joffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chantal-joffe/) > [Mobile is going to change e-commerce as much as e-commerce has changed brick and mortar retailers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-g-rubin/mobile-is-going-to-change-e-commerce-as-much-as-e-commerce-has/) [Michael G. Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-g-rubin/) > [The big problem retailers are facing is the world is moving to mobile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-schulman/the-big-problem-retailers-are-facing-is-the-world-is-moving-to-mobile/) [Dan Schulman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-schulman/) > [I've been in real estate for a long time and I always try to stay on the edge. I'm really excited about the partnership…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mc-hammer/i-ve-been-in-real-estate-for-a-long-time-and-i-always-try-to-stay-on/) [MC Hammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mc-hammer/) ## More by Noam Chomsky > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's plenty to criticize about the mass media, but they are the source of regular information about a wide range of topics. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Explore all 2,129 Noam Chomsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More Immobile quotes > [I go everywhere by boat. I don't fly. It makes me feel really immobile but great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chantal-joffe/i-go-everywhere-by-boat-i-don-t-fly-it-makes-me-feel-really-immobile/) [Chantal Joffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chantal-joffe/) > [I hate being immobile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rj-mitte/i-hate-being-immobile/) [RJ Mitte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rj-mitte/) > [“She felt trapped, but she didn't have to. The world is wide open and ready, waiting for us to escape this bubble and join…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-m-stunich/she-felt-trapped-but-she-didn-t-have-to-the-world-is-wide-open-and/) [C.M. Stunich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-m-stunich/) > [“I guessed that one day the restrictions I imposed on myself would end. But first, it seemed that my range of possible activities would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-martin/i-guessed-that-one-day-the-restrictions-i-imposed-on-myself-would-end/) [Steve Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-martin/) > [I think it was hard at first for my dad to transition to being immobile.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeb-bush/i-think-it-was-hard-at-first-for-my-dad-to-transition-to-being/) [Jeb Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeb-bush/) > [“Words are dead, until action brings them life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-liccione/words-are-dead-until-action-brings-them-life/) [Anthony Liccione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-liccione/) > [“He sank back into his black-and-white world, his immobile world of inanimate drawings that had been granted the secret of motion, his death-world with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-millhauser/he-sank-back-into-his-black-and-white-world-his-immobile-world-of/) [Steven Millhauser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-millhauser/) > [“The rest of his body is unmemorable, and he's also a turtle-he lies on his back and gets stuck there, immobile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-southgate/the-rest-of-his-body-is-unmemorable-and-he-s-also-a-turtle-he-lies-on/) [Edward Southgate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-southgate/) > [One may come armoured, Invinsible. His will immobile meets the mobile hour. The world blows cannot bend this Victor Head. Calm and sure are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-aurobindo/one-may-come-armoured-invinsible-his-will-immobile-meets-the-mobile/) [Sri Aurobindo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-aurobindo/) > [“Non so se in amore vince chi fugge, ma di sicuro chi perde rimane dov'è: immobile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/massimo-gramellini/non-so-se-in-amore-vince-chi-fugge-ma-di-sicuro-chi-perde-rimane-dov/) [Massimo Gramellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/massimo-gramellini/) > [Mass becomes immobile; it cannot manoeuvre and therefore cannot win victories, it can only crush by sheer weight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-von-seeckt/mass-becomes-immobile-it-cannot-manoeuvre-and-therefore-cannot-win/) [Hans von Seeckt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-von-seeckt/) [Browse all 12 Immobile quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immobile/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We're now in a situation in which Capital is highly mobile and Labour is basically immobile.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/we-re-now-in-a-situation-in-which-capital-is-highly-mobile-and-labour/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Immobile" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/we-re-now-in-a-situation-in-which-capital-is-highly-mobile-and-labour/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/noam-chomsky-42_labour_we-re-now-in-a-situation-in-which-capita_2168375.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/noam-chomsky-42_labour_we-re-now-in-a-situation-in-which-capita_2168375.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae7/noam-chomsky-42_labour_we-re-now-in-a-situation-in-which-capita_2168375.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We're now in a situation in which Capital is highly mobile and Labour is basically immobile.” — Noam Chomsky", "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": "Noam Chomsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We're now in a situation in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/we-re-now-in-a-situation-in-which-capital-is-highly-mobile-and-labour/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/we-re-now-in-a-situation-in-which-capital-is-highly-mobile-and-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 } } ] } ```