---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Marxism is a success because it fuses the…"
description: "\"Marxism is a success because it fuses the two inconsistent strains in Western thought - moral skepticism and moral indignation - and makes them complem..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b3/paul-craig-roberts-3108_attack_marxism-is-a-success-because-it-fuses-th_2286731.png"
---

#  Marxism is a success because it fuses the two inconsistent…

![“Marxism is a success because it fuses the two inconsistent strains in Western thought - moral skepticism and moral indignation - and makes them complements in the attack against existing society.” quote by Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b3/paul-craig-roberts-3108_attack_marxism-is-a-success-because-it-fuses-th_2286731.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b3/paul-craig-roberts-3108_attack_marxism-is-a-success-because-it-fuses-th_2286731.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b3/paul-craig-roberts-3108_attack_marxism-is-a-success-because-it-fuses-th_2286731.png)

> “Marxism is a success because it fuses the two inconsistent strains in Western thought - moral skepticism and moral indignation - and makes them complements in the attack against existing society.”

[Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Marxism succeeds by merging moral skepticism with moral outrage, forming a unified critique of society.

**In simple terms:** Marxism blends doubt and anger against society.

Key Takeaway

Recognize how opposing ideas can unite.

Themes

politics philosophy critique

Mood

analytical critical

Type

philosophical political

When to use this quote

- activism
- academic debate
- policy making

Key Concepts

dialectics social theory

Questions to Reflect On

- How do opposing ideas strengthen a critique?
- Can Marxism address modern issues?

A Different Perspective

Its contradictions may limit practical application.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Marxism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marxism/) [Moral indignation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moral-indignation/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/)

## Related quotes

> [Marxism is like a classical building that followed the Renaissance; beautiful in its way, but incapable of growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-macmillan/marxism-is-like-a-classical-building-that-followed-the-renaissance/)

[Harold MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-macmillan/)

> [Marxism is not scientific: at the best, it has scientific prejudices.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/marxism-is-not-scientific-at-the-best-it-has-scientific-prejudices/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [Marxism is not only the theory of socialism, it is an integral world outlook, a philosophical system, from which Marx’s proletarian socialism logically follows.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/marxism-is-not-only-the-theory-of-socialism-it-is-an-integral-world/)

[Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/)

> [“The contribution Marxism made to the socialism from which it arose was to offer a pseudo-scientific gloss to the ill-defined urges and impulses of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-goldberg/the-contribution-marxism-made-to-the-socialism-from-which-it-arose/)

[Jonah Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-goldberg/)

> [In an ironic sense, Karl Marx was right. We are witnessing today a great revolutionary crisis, a crisis where the demands of the economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/in-an-ironic-sense-karl-marx-was-right-we-are-witnessing-today-a/)

[Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/)

> [Marxism was the social creed and the social cry of those classes who knew by their miseries that the creed of the liberal optimists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/marxism-was-the-social-creed-and-the-social-cry-of-those-classes-who/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [Marxism represents a further vital and creative stage in the maturing of man's universal vision... The nation-state is gradually yielding its sovereignty... More intensive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-brzezinski/marxism-represents-a-further-vital-and-creative-stage-in-the-maturing/)

[Zbigniew Brzezinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-brzezinski/)

> [“Economics is the art of allocating scarce goods among competing demands. The conceit of Marxism was the thought that in Communism, economics would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-bell/economics-is-the-art-of-allocating-scarce-goods-among-competing/)

[Daniel Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-bell/)

> [What guides Marxism, then, is a different model of society, and a different conception of the function of the knowledge that can be produced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-francois-lyotard/what-guides-marxism-then-is-a-different-model-of-society-and-a/)

[Jean-Francois Lyotard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-francois-lyotard/)

> [“The values of commodities are directly as the times of labour employed in their production, and are inversely as the productive powers of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/the-values-of-commodities-are-directly-as-the-times-of-labour/)

[Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/)

> [“Marx wrote about finance and industry all his life but he only knew two people connected with financial and industrial processes. One was his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/marx-wrote-about-finance-and-industry-all-his-life-but-he-only-knew/)

[Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/)

> [“Marxism was and is a class analysis, pitting economic classes against each other in a zero-sum competition. In that competition, the stronger parties would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-c-hicks/marxism-was-and-is-a-class-analysis-pitting-economic-classes-against/)

[Stephen R.C. Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-c-hicks/)

> [“. . . it is a mistake to think that Marxism is simply a type of interpretation that takes the economic "sequence" as that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredric-jameson/it-is-a-mistake-to-think-that-marxism-is-simply-a-type-of/)

[Fredric Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredric-jameson/)

> [Liberalism makes this mistake in regard to private property and Marxism makes it in regard to socialized property... The Marxist illusion is partly derived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/liberalism-makes-this-mistake-in-regard-to-private-property-and/)

[Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/)

> [Jesus was not a Christian, nor was Marx a Marxist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/jesus-was-not-a-christian-nor-was-marx-a-marxist/)

[Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/)

## More by Paul Craig Roberts

> [The great paradox of the civil rights revolution is that instead of enforcing and expanding equality before the law, the revolution created differential rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-great-paradox-of-the-civil-rights-revolution-is-that-instead-of/)

[Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/)

> [In 21st century America, capitalism has been unfettered from the regulations that democratized it and made it serve society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/in-21st-century-america-capitalism-has-been-unfettered-from-the/)

[Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/)

> [If liberals can seize our guns because they are dangerous, we have no chance of holding on to our cars and our homes. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/if-liberals-can-seize-our-guns-because-they-are-dangerous-we-have-no/)

[Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/)

> [War is the only destination to which Washington can lead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/war-is-the-only-destination-to-which-washington-can-lead/)

[Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/)

> [The only thing that can be expected from the next US president is more war, more murder, and more oppression of the gullible American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-only-thing-that-can-be-expected-from-the-next-us-president-is/)

[Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/)

> [Terrorists can endanger some of us, but the war on terror endangers us all. How much more can the Constitution be diminished before it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/terrorists-can-endanger-some-of-us-but-the-war-on-terror-endangers-us/)

[Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/)

> [When America's Newspaper of Record is nothing but a propaganda ministry, what is America?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/when-america-s-newspaper-of-record-is-nothing-but-a-propaganda/)

[Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/)

> [I have no sympathy for debunking human achievements that, in the end, gave ordinary people liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/i-have-no-sympathy-for-debunking-human-achievements-that-in-the-end/)

[Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/)

> [If all countries are exceptional, the word loses its meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/if-all-countries-are-exceptional-the-word-loses-its-meaning/)

[Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/)

> [There are no free financial markets in America or, for that matter, anywhere in the Western word, and few, if any, free markets of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/there-are-no-free-financial-markets-in-america-or-for-that-matter/)

[Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/)

> [The notion that Americans can be protected from "terror" by giving up the Bill of Rights is absurd. Democrats are complicit in this absurd…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-notion-that-americans-can-be-protected-from-terror-by-giving-up/)

[Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/)

> [Americans have no idea why they have been at war in the Middle East, Asia and Africa for a decade. They don't realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/americans-have-no-idea-why-they-have-been-at-war-in-the-middle-east/)

[Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/)

> [There are enough fools in Washington to destroy the country without any help from Muslim terrorists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/there-are-enough-fools-in-washington-to-destroy-the-country-without/)

[Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/)

> [Every public institution in the United States and most private ones are corrupt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/every-public-institution-in-the-united-states-and-most-private-ones/)

[Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/)

> [The office of U.S. Trade Representative was created in order to permit corporations to write law that serves only their interests.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/the-office-of-u-s-trade-representative-was-created-in-order-to-permit/)

[Paul Craig Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/)

[Explore all 139 Paul Craig Roberts quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/)

## More Attack quotes

> [British Forces should be in a position to give back in a ten fold measure any attack that the Germans may attempt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-banting/british-forces-should-be-in-a-position-to-give-back-in-a-ten-fold/)

[Frederick Banting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-banting/)

> [“THE UNFORGIVEN Tell me if you've ever had to deal with these kinds of people: The kind who take and don't give. The kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzy-kassem/the-unforgiven-tell-me-if-you-ve-ever-had-to-deal-with-these-kinds-of/)

[Suzy Kassem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzy-kassem/)

> [When I hit bottom, I can attack the problem and get to where I want to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-rodman/when-i-hit-bottom-i-can-attack-the-problem-and-get-to-where-i-want-to/)

[Dennis Rodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-rodman/)

> [It was both necessary and desirable for us to be so strong at sea that no Sea Power could attack us without risk, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernhard-von-bulow/it-was-both-necessary-and-desirable-for-us-to-be-so-strong-at-sea/)

[Bernhard von Bulow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernhard-von-bulow/)

> [The best way to counter-attack a hater is to make it blatantly obvious that their attack has had no impact on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ferriss/the-best-way-to-counter-attack-a-hater-is-to-make-it-blatantly/)

[Tim Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ferriss/)

> [President Obama has never summarized the Obama Doctrine with such clarity, but here is what it would look like: 'I will undertake any military…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-abrams/president-obama-has-never-summarized-the-obama-doctrine-with-such/)

[Elliott Abrams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-abrams/)

> [Everything has got a place in my house. If something is moved I get a panic attack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rylan-clark-neal/everything-has-got-a-place-in-my-house-if-something-is-moved-i-get-a/)

[Rylan Clark-Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rylan-clark-neal/)

> [I mean, it's not just the rappers, you know what i'm saying? People want to attack anybody that's a large figure, you know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-notorious-b-i-g/i-mean-it-s-not-just-the-rappers-you-know-what-i-m-saying-people-want/)

[The Notorious B.I.G](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-notorious-b-i-g/)

> [Sometimes when you take a tough action against one side in the conflict, they see you as part of the conflict and they attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/sometimes-when-you-take-a-tough-action-against-one-side-in-the/)

[Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/)

> [“Hence, when able to attack, we must seem unable; when using our forces, we must seem inactive; when we are near, we must make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sun-tzu/hence-when-able-to-attack-we-must-seem-unable-when-using-our-forces/)

[Sun Tzu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sun-tzu/)

> [Free speech has a very small constituency on the modern campus, particularly if the speaker under attack is conservative.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-leo/free-speech-has-a-very-small-constituency-on-the-modern-campus/)

[John Leo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-leo/)

> [Daniil is a player who will not give you many chances to attack. If I have enough power and choose the right moment, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrey-rublev/daniil-is-a-player-who-will-not-give-you-many-chances-to-attack-if-i/)

[Andrey Rublev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrey-rublev/)

> [Distributed ledgers are inherently harder to attack because instead of a single database, there are multiple shared copies of the same database, so a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-walport/distributed-ledgers-are-inherently-harder-to-attack-because-instead/)

[Mark Walport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-walport/)

> [Attack life. It's going to kill you anyways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/attack-life-it-s-going-to-kill-you-anyways/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [For those of us in the political business, generally, it's been pretty much an unwritten but understood rule that family and children are out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-nutter/for-those-of-us-in-the-political-business-generally-it-s-been-pretty/)

[Michael Nutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-nutter/)

Browse all 1,074 Attack quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Marxism is a success because it fuses the two inconsistent strains in Western thought - moral skepticism and moral indignation - and makes them complements in the attack against existing society.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Paul Craig Roberts"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/marxism-is-a-success-because-it-fuses-the-two-inconsistent-strains-in/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Attack"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/marxism-is-a-success-because-it-fuses-the-two-inconsistent-strains-in/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b3/paul-craig-roberts-3108_attack_marxism-is-a-success-because-it-fuses-th_2286731.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b3/paul-craig-roberts-3108_attack_marxism-is-a-success-because-it-fuses-th_2286731.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b3/paul-craig-roberts-3108_attack_marxism-is-a-success-because-it-fuses-th_2286731.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Marxism is a success because it fuses the two inconsistent strains in Western thought - moral skepticism and…” — Paul Craig Roberts",
                "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": "Paul Craig Roberts",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-craig-roberts/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Marxism is a success because it...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/marxism-is-a-success-because-it-fuses-the-two-inconsistent-strains-in/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-craig-roberts/marxism-is-a-success-because-it-fuses-the-two-inconsistent-strains-in/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```