--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Over the last two decades, elites in even…" description: "\"“Over the last two decades, elites in even many formerly socialist countries came to uphold an ideal of cosmopolitan liberalism: the universal commerci..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/pankaj-mishra-2875_enlightenment-thinke_over-the-last-two-decades-elites-in-even_2993868.jpg" --- # Over the last two decades, elites in even many formerly… ![“Over the last two decades, elites in even many formerly socialist countries came to uphold an ideal of cosmopolitan liberalism: the universal commercial society of self-interested rational individuals that was originally advocated in the eighteenth century by such Enlightenment thinkers as…” quote by Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/pankaj-mishra-2875_enlightenment-thinke_over-the-last-two-decades-elites-in-even_2993868.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/pankaj-mishra-2875_enlightenment-thinke_over-the-last-two-decades-elites-in-even_2993868.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f4/pankaj-mishra-2875_enlightenment-thinke_over-the-last-two-decades-elites-in-even_2993868.jpg) > ““Over the last two decades, elites in even many formerly socialist countries came to uphold an ideal of cosmopolitan liberalism: the universal commercial society of self-interested rational individuals that was originally advocated in the eighteenth century by such Enlightenment thinkers as Montesquieu, Adam Smith, Voltaire and Kant. Indeed, we live today in a vast, homogeneous world market, in which human beings are programmed to maximize their self-interest and aspire to the same things, regardless of their difference of cultural background and individual temperament.”” [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern elites adopt Enlightenment ideas of rational self-interest, creating a global market where cultural differences matter less. **In simple terms:** Elites follow Enlightenment rational self-interest globally. Key Takeaway Question universal rationality. Themes economics globalization philosophy Mood critical analytical Type philosophical academic When to use this quote - policy analysis - academic study - business strategy Key Concepts liberalism cosmopolitanism Questions to Reflect On - How does self-interest shape your choices? - Can universal market respect diversity? A Different Perspective Oversimplifies cultural nuance. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Enlightenment thinkers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment-thinkers/) [Liberalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberalism/) [Live Today](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-today/) ## Related quotes > [“Or are we?” Langdon intoned overhead. “We consider ourselves modern rational individuals, and yet our species’ most widespread religion includes a whole host of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/or-are-we-langdon-intoned-overhead-we-consider-ourselves-modern/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [Near the end of the 1700s, philosophers began to declare that humans were rational individuals. 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No, he does not even want to convince; all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/the-true-enlightenment-thinker-the-true-rationalist-never-wants-to/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [Clearly, Enlightenment thinkers were seeking a God substitute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/clearly-enlightenment-thinkers-were-seeking-a-god-substitute/) [Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/) > [“The European prosperity driven by silver and Atlantic trade was the context of the rationalizing assertions of Enlightenment thinkers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tutino/the-european-prosperity-driven-by-silver-and-atlantic-trade-was-the/) John Tutino > [By any reasonable measure of achievement, the faith of the Enlightenment thinkers in science was justified. Today the greatest divide within humanity is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/by-any-reasonable-measure-of-achievement-the-faith-of-the-2/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [I have chosen to be happy because it is goo for my health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/i-have-chosen-to-be-happy-because-it-is-goo-for-my-health/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [By any reasonable measure of achievement, the faith of the Enlightenment thinkers in science was justified.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/by-any-reasonable-measure-of-achievement-the-faith-of-the/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [We who don't want radical Islam to spread must compete with the agents of radical Islam. I want to see what would happen if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayaan-hirsi-ali/we-who-don-t-want-radical-islam-to-spread-must-compete-with-the/) [Ayaan Hirsi Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayaan-hirsi-ali/) > [“Instead, contracts were awarded to American consultancies like Bearing Point, or Adam Smith from the UK, to bring in their own people to run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-lamb/instead-contracts-were-awarded-to-american-consultancies-like-bearing/) Christina Lamb > [“Adam Smith’s Wealth of Nations was in large part a critique of imperialism. We often associate opposition to imperialism with Marxism and the Left,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-brennan/adam-smith-s-wealth-of-nations-was-in-large-part-a-critique-of/) [Jason Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-brennan/) > [“A man must always live by his work, and his wages must at least be sufficient to maintain him. They must even upon most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-watson/a-man-must-always-live-by-his-work-and-his-wages-must-at-least-be/) [Bruce Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-watson/) ## More by Pankaj Mishra > [“Nationalism has again become a seductive but treacherous antidote to an experience of disorder and meaninglessness: the unexpectedly rowdy anticlimax, in a densely populated…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/nationalism-has-again-become-a-seductive-but-treacherous-antidote-to/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [I feel very privileged to get to read and write and not to have to do things that I don't like, and I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/i-feel-very-privileged-to-get-to-read-and-write-and-not-to-have-to-do/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [There was great political uncertainty in South Asia at the time of the Buddha. The older small tribal societies were cracking up and gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/there-was-great-political-uncertainty-in-south-asia-at-the-time-of/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [Buddhism resonated very powerfully with a lot of my preoccupations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/buddhism-resonated-very-powerfully-with-a-lot-of-my-preoccupations/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [Our tolerance of the intolerable found a low threshold as early as the late 1950s with the grotesque excesses of McCarthyism, which destroyed so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/our-tolerance-of-the-intolerable-found-a-low-threshold-as-early-as/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [Freedom of speech doesn't guarantee great literature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/freedom-of-speech-doesn-t-guarantee-great-literature/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [“As Keynes wrote, with devastating understatement, ‘The age of economic internationalism was not particularly successful in avoiding war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/as-keynes-wrote-with-devastating-understatement-the-age-of-economic/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) > [“Voltaire was soon turned, with Catherine’s encouragement, into a patron saint for the secular Russian aristocracy. 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It's mostly in your head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/most-suffering-is-human-made-and-avoidable-it-s-mostly-in-your-head/) [Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) [Explore all 147 Pankaj Mishra quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/) ## More Enlightenment thinkers quotes > [We who don't want radical Islam to spread must compete with the agents of radical Islam. I want to see what would happen if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayaan-hirsi-ali/we-who-don-t-want-radical-islam-to-spread-must-compete-with-the/) [Ayaan Hirsi Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayaan-hirsi-ali/) > [By any reasonable measure of achievement, the faith of the Enlightenment thinkers in science was justified.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/by-any-reasonable-measure-of-achievement-the-faith-of-the/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [I have chosen to be happy because it is goo for my health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltaire/i-have-chosen-to-be-happy-because-it-is-goo-for-my-health/) [Voltaire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltaire/) > [By any reasonable measure of achievement, the faith of the Enlightenment thinkers in science was justified. Today the greatest divide within humanity is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-o-wilson/by-any-reasonable-measure-of-achievement-the-faith-of-the-2/) [E. O. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-o-wilson/) > [“The European prosperity driven by silver and Atlantic trade was the context of the rationalizing assertions of Enlightenment thinkers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tutino/the-european-prosperity-driven-by-silver-and-atlantic-trade-was-the/) John Tutino > [Clearly, Enlightenment thinkers were seeking a God substitute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pearcey/clearly-enlightenment-thinkers-were-seeking-a-god-substitute/) [Nancy Pearcey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pearcey/) > [The true Enlightenment thinker, the true rationalist, never wants to talk anyone into anything. No, he does not even want to convince; all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-popper/the-true-enlightenment-thinker-the-true-rationalist-never-wants-to/) [Karl Popper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-popper/) > [“David Brooks, “Our Founding Yuppie,” Weekly Standard, Oct. 23, 2000, 31. The word “meritocracy” is an argument-starter, and I have employed it sparingly in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-isaacson/david-brooks-our-founding-yuppie-weekly-standard-oct-23-2000-31-the/) [Walter Isaacson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-isaacson/) > [“God as preached and lived by Jesus, the Enlightenment writers put human non-exclusionary justice ahead of the law. This rational philosophy did not condemn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-schaeffer/god-as-preached-and-lived-by-jesus-the-enlightenment-writers-put/) [Frank Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-schaeffer/) [Browse all 10 Enlightenment thinkers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enlightenment-thinkers/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Over the last two decades, elites in even many formerly socialist countries came to uphold an ideal of cosmopolitan liberalism: the universal commercial society of self-interested rational individuals that was originally advocated in the eighteenth century by such Enlightenment thinkers as Montesquieu, Adam Smith, Voltaire and Kant. 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