--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People know that pain is part of our…" description: "\"People know that pain is part of our nature, that it cannot be avoided and that it should not be avoided. But capitalism in this country is focused on ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c36/rick-moody-8542_beautiful_people-know-that-pain-is-part-of-our-nat_3153797.jpg" --- # People know that pain is part of our nature, that it… ![“People know that pain is part of our nature, that it cannot be avoided and that it should not be avoided. But capitalism in this country is focused on the idea 1) that life can and should be absolutely beautiful; 2) that beauty can be defined according to an ironclad objective standard; 3) that…” quote by Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c36/rick-moody-8542_beautiful_people-know-that-pain-is-part-of-our-nat_3153797.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c36/rick-moody-8542_beautiful_people-know-that-pain-is-part-of-our-nat_3153797.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c36/rick-moody-8542_beautiful_people-know-that-pain-is-part-of-our-nat_3153797.jpg) > “People know that pain is part of our nature, that it cannot be avoided and that it should not be avoided. But capitalism in this country is focused on the idea 1) that life can and should be absolutely beautiful; 2) that beauty can be defined according to an ironclad objective standard; 3) that beauty can be held onto forever if only you do the right things perfectly enough; and 4) that it can be purchased.” [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He critiques capitalism’s pursuit of perfect, purchasable beauty, ignoring inevitable pain. **In simple terms:** Capitalism tries to sell flawless beauty, denying pain. Key Takeaway Recognize that true beauty includes imperfection. Themes capitalism beauty pain societal values Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - advertising - art criticism - personal self‑care - marketing strategy Key Concepts consumer culture philosophical critique Questions to Reflect On - How does society define beauty? - Can embracing pain enhance authenticity? A Different Perspective The ideal of perfect beauty is unattainable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beautiful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beautiful/) [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Focused](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/focused/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Pain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pain/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Right thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-thing/) ## Related quotes > [“George Bernard Shaw once said: “Capitalism has destroyed our belief in any effective power but that of self interest backed by force.” When liberals…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-k-abdelnour/george-bernard-shaw-once-said-capitalism-has-destroyed-our-belief-in/) [Ziad K. Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-k-abdelnour/) > [On my visits to America, I discovered that the old Marxist dictum, "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-houphouet-boigny/on-my-visits-to-america-i-discovered-that-the-old-marxist-dictum-from/) Felix Houphouet-Boigny > [“Commerce is considered by classical economists to be a positive-sum game. The act of selling and buying always benefits both the seller and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-k-abdelnour/commerce-is-considered-by-classical-economists-to-be-a-positive-sum/) [Ziad K. Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-k-abdelnour/) > [I believe pain is nature's way of saying, 'You're still alive, and life sucks.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-engvall/i-believe-pain-is-nature-s-way-of-saying-you-re-still-alive-and-life/) [Bill Engvall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-engvall/) > [“The only way to fully rid yourself of the pain is to go against nature and embrace it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-van-dyken/the-only-way-to-fully-rid-yourself-of-the-pain-is-to-go-against/) [Rachel Van Dyken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-van-dyken/) > [Pain is nature's way of saying Don't do that. . . . Painkillers are mankind's way of saying Screw it ... go ahead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/green-monk/pain-is-nature-s-way-of-saying-don-t-do-that-painkillers-are-mankind/) [Green Monk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/green-monk/) > [“The touching of nature is, to me, more than a satisfying of my curiosity. It is the source of my wonder. Any one species…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernd-heinrich/the-touching-of-nature-is-to-me-more-than-a-satisfying-of-my/) [Bernd Heinrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernd-heinrich/) > [“I saw pain as nature’s reminder that there is something important for me to learn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-dalio/i-saw-pain-as-nature-s-reminder-that-there-is-something-important-for/) [Ray Dalio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-dalio/) > [..various people had long had the feeling that gain through pain was nature's way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-wright/various-people-had-long-had-the-feeling-that-gain-through-pain-was/) [Robert Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-wright/) > [Pain is nature's way of telling you to slow down. Death is nature's way of telling you to stop.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-fixx/pain-is-nature-s-way-of-telling-you-to-slow-down-death-is-nature-s/) [Jim Fixx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-fixx/) > [“If beauty is truth, and truth is beauty, they are defined by each other, so how do we know the meaning of either?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ava-dellaira/if-beauty-is-truth-and-truth-is-beauty-they-are-defined-by-each-other/) [Ava Dellaira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ava-dellaira/) > [It can be a work by Mondrian, a piece of music by Schönberg or Mozart, a painting by Leonardo, Barnett Newman or also Jackson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerhard-richter/it-can-be-a-work-by-mondrian-a-piece-of-music-by-sch-nberg-or-mozart/) [Gerhard Richter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerhard-richter/) > [“A society where feminine beauty is defined not by the human self on genuine intellectual and sentimental grounds, but by a computer software on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abhijit-naskar/a-society-where-feminine-beauty-is-defined-not-by-the-human-self-on/) [Abhijit Naskar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abhijit-naskar/) > [“to see beauty is to learn the private language of meaning which is another's life - to recognize and relish what is. beauty must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-davis/to-see-beauty-is-to-learn-the-private-language-of-meaning-which-is/) [Nigel Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-davis/) > [Beauty is not defined by the clothes you wear or the makeup on your face BUT by the way you carry your struggles with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-jauregui/beauty-is-not-defined-by-the-clothes-you-wear-or-the-makeup-on-your/) [Lauren Jauregui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-jauregui/) ## More by Rick Moody > [I believe that God locates himself at the spot where you recognize your own fallibility…And the paradox of it all has been that whenever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-believe-that-god-locates-himself-at-the-spot-where-you-recognize/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [The Ice Storm, because of the movie, has had, or is to have, a vigorous life in other cultures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/the-ice-storm-because-of-the-movie-has-had-or-is-to-have-a-vigorous/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Capitalism, in the realm of sexuality, I figure, thinks that we behave in specific ways, like a breast is always going to produce a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/capitalism-in-the-realm-of-sexuality-i-figure-thinks-that-we-behave/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Literature precedes genre.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/literature-precedes-genre/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [I'm not the guy to ask about the most up to date stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-m-not-the-guy-to-ask-about-the-most-up-to-date-stuff/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [“Words are the oldest information storage and retrieval system ever devised. Words are probably older than the cave paintings in France, words have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/words-are-the-oldest-information-storage-and-retrieval-system-ever/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Writing the book was itself a process of concealing and revealing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/writing-the-book-was-itself-a-process-of-concealing-and-revealing/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Tangled in one another's arms and nine times out of ten the things you think about a person make it impossible to touch them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/tangled-in-one-another-s-arms-and-nine-times-out-of-ten-the-things/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [The Great Recession is not imaginary, and the effects loom large. There was an article in the NYT about the galloping death rate among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/the-great-recession-is-not-imaginary-and-the-effects-loom-large-there/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [I have worked really hard to defy categorization, to break down a taxonomy whenever it comes my way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-have-worked-really-hard-to-defy-categorization-to-break-down-a/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [I am excited by... the new novel by Samantha Hunt. She's a writer I really admire a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-am-excited-by-the-new-novel-by-samantha-hunt-she-s-a-writer-i/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [All the stuff that I used to treat with contempt - you know, I'm an artist, man, I don't do that family stuff -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/all-the-stuff-that-i-used-to-treat-with-contempt-you-know-i-m-an/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [Updike worked this way, and I just kinda borrowed it from him. So the memoir will be relief from novel writing for a moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/updike-worked-this-way-and-i-just-kinda-borrowed-it-from-him-so-the/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [ “\[I\]t is things that make us happy when conversation begins to reveal itself as a paltry substitute.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/i-t-is-things-that-make-us-happy-when-conversation-begins-to-reveal/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) > [When prose gets too stylized and out of control - and Stein is sometimes a good example - when you don't know what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-moody/when-prose-gets-too-stylized-and-out-of-control-and-stein-is/) [Rick Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) [Explore all 80 Rick Moody quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-moody/) ## More Beautiful quotes > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. 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The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) Tumblr > [You will never know just how beautiful you are to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-will-never-know-just-how-beautiful-you-are-to-me/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. 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