--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We might describe our world as having…" description: "\"We might describe our world as having retail sanity, but wholesale madness\" — Peter Thiel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/peter-thiel-1311_madness_we-might-describe-our-world-as-having-re_2413172.png" --- # We might describe our world as having retail sanity, but… ![“We might describe our world as having retail sanity, but wholesale madness” quote by Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/peter-thiel-1311_madness_we-might-describe-our-world-as-having-re_2413172.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/peter-thiel-1311_madness_we-might-describe-our-world-as-having-re_2413172.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/peter-thiel-1311_madness_we-might-describe-our-world-as-having-re_2413172.png) > “We might describe our world as having retail sanity, but wholesale madness” [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Society balances rational order with chaotic excess, highlighting systemic instability. **In simple terms:** World mixes order and chaos. Key Takeaway Recognize and manage underlying chaos. Themes society order chaos stability economics Mood critical analytical Type philosophical cautionary When to use this quote - policy making - financial planning - crisis management Key Concepts systemic risk cognitive bias Questions to Reflect On - What signs of “wholesale madness” do you see? - How can order be maintained? A Different Perspective Chaos can overwhelm rational strategies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Having Retail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/having-retail-2195776/) [Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Our world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/our-world/) [Retail](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retail/) [Retail Sanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/retail-sanity-6082246/) [Sanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanity/) [Sanity Wholesale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sanity-wholesale-6082247/) [Wholesale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wholesale/) [Wholesale Madness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wholesale-madness-6082245/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The freedom I give myself for the business is in deciding to take part in the Paris collections, but also having other retail strategies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rei-kawakubo/the-freedom-i-give-myself-for-the-business-is-in-deciding-to-take/) [Rei Kawakubo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rei-kawakubo/) > [Having some retail experience is key. It really is where the battle is won or lost.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-abboud/having-some-retail-experience-is-key-it-really-is-where-the-battle-is/) [Joseph Abboud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-abboud/) > [By nature, an auction is kind of a wholesale beast anyway. You're buying second hand goods, even with the historical, antique or aesthetic value.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-brown/by-nature-an-auction-is-kind-of-a-wholesale-beast-anyway-you-re/) [Paul Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-brown/) > [An implicit confession is almost as bad as an implicit faith; wicked men commonly confess their sins by wholesale, We are all sinners; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-brooks/an-implicit-confession-is-almost-as-bad-as-an-implicit-faith-wicked/) [Thomas Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-brooks/) > [Crime is only the retail department of what, in wholesale, we call penal law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/crime-is-only-the-retail-department-of-what-in-wholesale-we-call/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Science tells us how to heal and how to kill; it reduces our death rate in retail and then kills us wholesale in war;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-durant/science-tells-us-how-to-heal-and-how-to-kill-it-reduces-our-death/) [Will Durant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-durant/) > [Well, there's no question that the law passed in 1996 was flawed. It deregulated the wholesale market, meaning the price that the utilities had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gray-davis/well-there-s-no-question-that-the-law-passed-in-1996-was-flawed-it/) [Gray Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gray-davis/) > [You can only cure retail but you can prevent wholesale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brock-chisholm/you-can-only-cure-retail-but-you-can-prevent-wholesale/) [Brock Chisholm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brock-chisholm/) > [ Neville \[Chamberlain\] has a retail mind in a wholesale business. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lloyd-george/neville-chamberlain-has-a-retail-mind-in-a-wholesale-business/) [David Lloyd George](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lloyd-george/) > [The god whom science recognizes must be a God of universal laws exclusively, a God who does a wholesale, not a retail business. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-james/the-god-whom-science-recognizes-must-be-a-god-of-universal-laws/) [William James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-james/) > [The #1 guideline to success is you must be in business for yourself. When you work for someone else, you sell your time at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-paul-getty/the-1-guideline-to-success-is-you-must-be-in-business-for-yourself/) [J. Paul Getty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-paul-getty/) > [I mean, our primary businesses in wholesale pipelines, utilities, retail, were all doing extremely well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-lay/i-mean-our-primary-businesses-in-wholesale-pipelines-utilities-retail/) [Kenneth Lay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-lay/) > [No throne exists that has a right to exist, and no symbol of it, flying from any flagstaff, is righteously entitled to wear any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/no-throne-exists-that-has-a-right-to-exist-and-no-symbol-of-it-flying/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [The farmer is the only man in our economy who buys everything at retail, sells everything at wholesale, and pays the freight both ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/the-farmer-is-the-only-man-in-our-economy-who-buys-everything-at/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [There is nothing more appalling than the wholesale way in which unthinking people plead to the Almighty the richest and most spiritual of His…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-drummond/there-is-nothing-more-appalling-than-the-wholesale-way-in-which/) [William Henry Drummond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-henry-drummond/) ## More by Peter Thiel > [People don't want to believe that technology is broken. Pharmaceuticals, robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology - all these areas where the progress has been a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/people-don-t-want-to-believe-that-technology-is-broken/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [If you think about basic science or coming up with new theories of mathematics, these are not the kinds of things which are necessarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/if-you-think-about-basic-science-or-coming-up-with-new-theories-of/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [I think we have a bubble in the US in government bonds, because of the quantitative easing and the negative real interest rates, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/i-think-we-have-a-bubble-in-the-us-in-government-bonds-because-of-the/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“Time and decision-making themselves follow a power law, and some moments matter far more than others”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/time-and-decision-making-themselves-follow-a-power-law-and-some/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“Today, we exaggerate the differences between left-liberal egalitarianism and libertarian individualism because almost everyone shares their common indefinite attitude. In philosophy, politics, and business,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/today-we-exaggerate-the-differences-between-left-liberal/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [When you already have $150 billion a year in revenues from the iPhone, it's very hard to come up with any new vertical that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/when-you-already-have-150-billion-a-year-in-revenues-from-the-iphone/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“CREATIVE MONOPOLY means new products that benefit everybody and sustainable profits for the creator. Competition means no profits for anybody, no meaningful differentiation, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/creative-monopoly-means-new-products-that-benefit-everybody-and/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“we have given up our sense of wonder at secrets left to be discovered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/we-have-given-up-our-sense-of-wonder-at-secrets-left-to-be-discovered/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“Today our society is permeated by the twin ideas that death is both inevitable and random.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/today-our-society-is-permeated-by-the-twin-ideas-that-death-is-both/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“if your company can be summed up by its opposition to already existing firms, it can’t be completely new and it’s probably not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/if-your-company-can-be-summed-up-by-its-opposition-to-already/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“Is a lukewarm attitude to one’s work a sign of mental health? Is a merely professional attitude the only sane approach?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/is-a-lukewarm-attitude-to-one-s-work-a-sign-of-mental-health-is-a/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“If you’ve invented something new but you haven’t invented an effective way to sell it, you have a bad business—no matter how good the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/if-you-ve-invented-something-new-but-you-haven-t-invented-an/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [The business model piece is we're always talking about competing more effectively. If you're starting a company or career you don't want to compete.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/the-business-model-piece-is-we-re-always-talking-about-competing-more/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [If you invest in Microsoft or Oracle, or a number of other companies for that matter, you're fundamentally making a bet that there's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/if-you-invest-in-microsoft-or-oracle-or-a-number-of-other-companies/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [Our economy is broken. I'm not a politician, but neither is Donald Trump. He is a builder, and it's time to rebuild America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/our-economy-is-broken-i-m-not-a-politician-but-neither-is-donald/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) [Explore all 257 Peter Thiel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) ## More Madness quotes > [We instantly believe everything we think. Isn't that insane? It's good for us to explore the depravity of our minds, so we know we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krishna-das/we-instantly-believe-everything-we-think-isn-t-that-insane-it-s-good/) [Krishna Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krishna-das/) > [“Madness,” he exclaimed to himself, in astonishment, faltering. “Madness! What do they want? Once again, once again!” War once again, war that had so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-zweig/madness-he-exclaimed-to-himself-in-astonishment-faltering-madness/) [Stefan Zweig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-zweig/) > [“the characteristics the modern mind prides itself on are precisely those of madness.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-becker/the-characteristics-the-modern-mind-prides-itself-on-are-precisely/) [Ernest Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-becker/) > [“Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs; Being purg'd, a fire sparkling in lovers' eyes; Being vex'd, a sea nourish'd with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/love-is-a-smoke-made-with-the-fume-of-sighs-being-purg-d-a-fire/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Not everyone is capable of madness; and of those lucky enough to be capable, not many have the courage for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/august-strindberg/not-everyone-is-capable-of-madness-and-of-those-lucky-enough-to-be/) [August Strindberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/august-strindberg/) > [Impulse arrested spills over, and the flood is feeling, the flood is passion, the flood is even madness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/impulse-arrested-spills-over-and-the-flood-is-feeling-the-flood-is/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“No man is normal without a tinge of madness in him! Madness in a person is a sign of intelligence, whoever they are. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fahad-basheer/no-man-is-normal-without-a-tinge-of-madness-in-him-madness-in-a/) [Fahad Basheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fahad-basheer/) > [“I swam across the torrent of my madness, and pulled myself upon the shore of a new and better sanity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-hardinge/i-swam-across-the-torrent-of-my-madness-and-pulled-myself-upon-the/) [Frances Hardinge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-hardinge/) > [“One person's strange is another person's normal.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dani-harper/one-person-s-strange-is-another-person-s-normal/) [Dani Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dani-harper/) > [Why is it, my shadow-striding friend, that we don't fear dreams? We lose consciousness, lose control, things happen with no apparent logic and abiding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brent-weeks/why-is-it-my-shadow-striding-friend-that-we-don-t-fear-dreams-we-lose/) [Brent Weeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brent-weeks/) > [Let your love drive you mad, mad about life, mad about the smell of Jasmine. Mad about the painting that reminds you of one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-minagar/let-your-love-drive-you-mad-mad-about-life-mad-about-the-smell-of/) [Melody Minagar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melody-minagar/) > [I wish you a wrestling match with your Creative Muse that will last a lifetime. ... I wish craziness and foolishness and madness upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/i-wish-you-a-wrestling-match-with-your-creative-muse-that-will-last-a/) [Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/) > [“Passion often makes a madman of the cleverest man, and renders the greatest fools clever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/passion-often-makes-a-madman-of-the-cleverest-man-and-renders-the/) [François de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [But what struck me was the book-madness of the place--books lay scattered across the unmade bed and the top of a battered-looking desk, books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-millhauser/but-what-struck-me-was-the-book-madness-of-the-place-books-lay/) [Steven Millhauser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-millhauser/) > [Ruin, eldest daughter of Zeus, she blinds us all, that fatal madness—she with those delicate feet of hers, never touching the earth, gliding over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/homer/ruin-eldest-daughter-of-zeus-she-blinds-us-all-that-fatal-madness-she/) [Homer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/homer/) [Browse all 3,501 Madness quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/madness/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We might describe our world as having retail sanity, but wholesale madness", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Thiel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/we-might-describe-our-world-as-having-retail-sanity-but-wholesale/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Madness" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/we-might-describe-our-world-as-having-retail-sanity-but-wholesale/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/peter-thiel-1311_madness_we-might-describe-our-world-as-having-re_2413172.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/peter-thiel-1311_madness_we-might-describe-our-world-as-having-re_2413172.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a83/peter-thiel-1311_madness_we-might-describe-our-world-as-having-re_2413172.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We might describe our world as having retail sanity, but wholesale madness” — Peter Thiel", "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": "Peter Thiel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We might describe our world as...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/we-might-describe-our-world-as-having-retail-sanity-but-wholesale/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/we-might-describe-our-world-as-having-retail-sanity-but-wholesale/#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 } } ] } ```