--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sex and commerce are fine things, but man…" description: "\"Sex and commerce are fine things, but man cannot live by Viagra and the Dow Jones alone. A life led collecting things and experiences in pursuit of hap..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/rod-dreher-13031_bad-life_sex-and-commerce-are-fine-things-but-man_3149386.jpg" --- # Sex and commerce are fine things, but man cannot live by… ![“Sex and commerce are fine things, but man cannot live by Viagra and the Dow Jones alone. A life led collecting things and experiences in pursuit of happiness is not necessarily a bad life, but it's not a good life either. Too often, the Democrats act like the Party of Lust, and the Republicans the…” quote by Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/rod-dreher-13031_bad-life_sex-and-commerce-are-fine-things-but-man_3149386.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/rod-dreher-13031_bad-life_sex-and-commerce-are-fine-things-but-man_3149386.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/rod-dreher-13031_bad-life_sex-and-commerce-are-fine-things-but-man_3149386.jpg) > “Sex and commerce are fine things, but man cannot live by Viagra and the Dow Jones alone. A life led collecting things and experiences in pursuit of happiness is not necessarily a bad life, but it's not a good life either. Too often, the Democrats act like the Party of Lust, and the Republicans the Party of Greed. Both are deadly sins that eat at the soul.” [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A life focused solely on wealth and pleasure lacks deeper purpose; balance is needed. **In simple terms:** Money and pleasure alone aren't enough. Key Takeaway Seek meaning beyond material gain. Themes values balance spirituality Mood reflective critical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career planning - financial decisions - political engagement - personal fulfillment Key Concepts consumerism political ideology ethical living Questions to Reflect On - What non‑material goals give your life purpose? - How do you avoid reducing politics to sin categories? A Different Perspective Political labels oversimplify complex moral issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Commerce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commerce/) [Deadly sins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deadly-sins/) [Democrat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democrat/) [Democrats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democrats/) [Dow jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dow-jones/) [Fine things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fine-things/) [Good life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-life/) [Greed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/greed/) [Lust](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lust/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Party](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/party/) [Pursuit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursuit/) [Pursuit of happiness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pursuit-of-happiness/) [Republican](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/republican/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) [Sin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sin/) [Soul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soul/) ## Related quotes > [Instead of collecting things and staying in one space, I want to collect experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kesh/instead-of-collecting-things-and-staying-in-one-space-i-want-to/) [Kesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kesh/) > [I always like to shop and for me it was just about seeing things I like and making it part of my wardrobe and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-davis/i-always-like-to-shop-and-for-me-it-was-just-about-seeing-things-i/) [Baron Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-davis/) > [When I get into collecting things, I get a little obsessive. Which is why when I start buying comics, I buy way too many,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cress-williams/when-i-get-into-collecting-things-i-get-a-little-obsessive-which-is/) [Cress Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cress-williams/) > [You spend the first part of your life collecting things ... and the second half getting rid of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/you-spend-the-first-part-of-your-life-collecting-things-and-the/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [There's a lot in my closet. I've been collecting things since I was five. I'm definitely a pack rat. I'm not a hoarder, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-weir/there-s-a-lot-in-my-closet-i-ve-been-collecting-things-since-i-was/) [Johnny Weir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-weir/) > [I like collecting things, much to my wife's annoyance. I keep mementoes because I'm proud of all the things I've done, but also to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-fogle/i-like-collecting-things-much-to-my-wife-s-annoyance-i-keep-mementoes/) [Ben Fogle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-fogle/) > [Everything from a lifetime's worth of collecting things. You know as we go through life, and something stays and ends up on your shelf…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pj-harvey/everything-from-a-lifetime-s-worth-of-collecting-things-you-know-as/) [PJ Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pj-harvey/) > [People assume that happiness stems from collecting things outside of yourself, whereas true happiness stems from removing things from inside of yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/people-assume-that-happiness-stems-from-collecting-things-outside-of/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“I don't live by the fuckin Dow Jones anymore. I live by the Tao, Jones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minister-faust/i-don-t-live-by-the-fuckin-dow-jones-anymore-i-live-by-the-tao-jones/) Minister Faust > [If you look at the average age of a company on the Dow Jones index, it's something like 35 years or younger. In other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-sinek/if-you-look-at-the-average-age-of-a-company-on-the-dow-jones-index-it/) [Simon Sinek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-sinek/) > [One day the price of gold will be higher than the Dow Jones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-faber/one-day-the-price-of-gold-will-be-higher-than-the-dow-jones/) [Marc Faber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-faber/) > [“Chris Krueger, long-time Capitol Hill watcher for Guggenheim Securities, says the people expecting this kind of kumbaya moment are “Pollyannas”. He said: “My reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/chris-krueger-long-time-capitol-hill-watcher-for-guggenheim/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I understand Goldman Sachs businesses. We do lot of business with him, and GE has been - I think it's the longest running stock…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/i-understand-goldman-sachs-businesses-we-do-lot-of-business-with-him/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [“May Your Dow Never Jones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-rasbold/may-your-dow-never-jones/) Eric Rasbold > [I love that I'm able to reference Dow Jones in a song, I think that's funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noah-kahan/i-love-that-i-m-able-to-reference-dow-jones-in-a-song-i-think-that-s/) [Noah Kahan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noah-kahan/) ## More by Rod Dreher > [“To love requires loving others and letting others love you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/to-love-requires-loving-others-and-letting-others-love-you/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [“Art really does instruct us in how to think, feel, and behave. To be an artist is to have great power. To be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/art-really-does-instruct-us-in-how-to-think-feel-and-behave-to-be-an/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [“With a few exceptions, conservative Christian political activists are as ineffective as White Russian exiles, drinking tea from samovars in their Paris drawing rooms,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/with-a-few-exceptions-conservative-christian-political-activists-are/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [“The overweight person diets not to punish him- or herself for being heavy but to become healthier. The athlete works out not because he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/the-overweight-person-diets-not-to-punish-him-or-herself-for-being/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [“A Christian who practices asceticism trains himself to say no to his desires and yes to God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/a-christian-who-practices-asceticism-trains-himself-to-say-no-to-his/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [“For the traditional Christian, establishing internal order is not mere discipline, nor is it simply an act of will. Rather, it is what theologian…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/for-the-traditional-christian-establishing-internal-order-is-not-mere/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [If you believe that man is inherently flawed-what religious people call 'original sin'-it follows that man, if left to his own devices, will tend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/if-you-believe-that-man-is-inherently-flawed-what-religious-people/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [“In his book After Virtue, philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre likened the present cultural moment to the fall of the Roman Empire in the West. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/in-his-book-after-virtue-philosopher-alasdair-macintyre-likened-the/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [“It is not feasible for most of us to abandon the Internet entirely. But at the very least we can impose on ourselves a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/it-is-not-feasible-for-most-of-us-to-abandon-the-internet-entirely/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [“Father Martin said that those who think stability is meant to hold you back, and to stifle personal and spiritual growth, are missing the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/father-martin-said-that-those-who-think-stability-is-meant-to-hold/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [Ideology is a partial truth masquerading as the whole truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/ideology-is-a-partial-truth-masquerading-as-the-whole-truth/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [As it turns out, the ecological catastrophe Kirk feared that would be the consequence of our impiety appears not to be one of radically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/as-it-turns-out-the-ecological-catastrophe-kirk-feared-that-would-be/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [“Here's how to get started with the antipolitical politics of the Benedict Option. Secede culturally from the mainstream. Turn off the television. Put the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/here-s-how-to-get-started-with-the-antipolitical-politics-of-the/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [“Inferno was for learning about the nature of our sins. Purgatorio is for learning how to overcome our tendencies to fall victim to them.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/inferno-was-for-learning-about-the-nature-of-our-sins-purgatorio-is/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) > [I quite often feel that my greatest task as a father is to raise children who love what is good, true, and beautiful, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-dreher/i-quite-often-feel-that-my-greatest-task-as-a-father-is-to-raise/) [Rod Dreher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) [Explore all 52 Rod Dreher quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-dreher/) ## More Bad life quotes > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Take a deep breath. It,s just a bad day not a bad life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/take-a-deep-breath-it-s-just-a-bad-day-not-a-bad-life/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Dr. Armonson stitched up her wrist wounds. Within five minutes of the transfusion he declared her out of danger. Chucking her under the chin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/dr-armonson-stitched-up-her-wrist-wounds-within-five-minutes-of-the/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [Life teaches us that we must take the good with the bad but it's up to yourself on how you handle the good with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gee-linder/life-teaches-us-that-we-must-take-the-good-with-the-bad-but-it-s-up/) [Gee Linder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gee-linder/) > [You can't litter negativity everywhere and then wonder why you've got a trashy life...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-can-t-litter-negativity-everywhere-and-then-wonder-why-you-ve-got/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The worst feeling in the world hands down is hopelessness, although it is not the only bad feeling. Other bad feelings include death of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-frisch/the-worst-feeling-in-the-world-hands-down-is-hopelessness-although-it/) Matt Frisch > [We are not given a good life or a bad life. We are given a life. It's up to us to make it good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-are-not-given-a-good-life-or-a-bad-life-we-are-given-a-life-it-s/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This is not a bad life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/this-is-not-a-bad-life/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [We have too accept the fact if we change for better and leave a bad lifestyle that we was born in or we create…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-have-too-accept-the-fact-if-we-change-for-better-and-leave-a-bad/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We're not going to waste our valuable space or your precious energy by giving equal time to stories of tragedy, failure, and tumult. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-brezsny/we-re-not-going-to-waste-our-valuable-space-or-your-precious-energy/) [Rob Brezsny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-brezsny/) > [If you've lived a bad life, they send you to Hell. But if you've been truly wicked, they give you a tour of Heaven…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spider-robinson/if-you-ve-lived-a-bad-life-they-send-you-to-hell-but-if-you-ve-been/) [Spider Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spider-robinson/) > [I got expelled from my school when I was 12; I was quite bad!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-pattinson/i-got-expelled-from-my-school-when-i-was-12-i-was-quite-bad/) [Robert Pattinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-pattinson/) > [I am, of course, a frustrated rock star - I'd much rather be a rock star than a writer. Or own a record shop.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-rankin/i-am-of-course-a-frustrated-rock-star-i-d-much-rather-be-a-rock-star/) [Ian Rankin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-rankin/) > [Hold On To Old Lies To Justify Them For Having A Bad Life Nobody Can Mess You Up Forever Only You Can Do That](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington/hold-on-to-old-lies-to-justify-them-for-having-a-bad-life-nobody-can/) Washington > [No one really has a bad life. Not even a bad day. Just bad moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-brett/no-one-really-has-a-bad-life-not-even-a-bad-day-just-bad-moments/) [Regina Brett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-brett/) Browse all 169 Bad life quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sex and commerce are fine things, but man cannot live by Viagra and the Dow Jones alone. 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