--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The portentous development of our present…" description: "\"“The portentous development of our present economic system, leading to a mighty accumulation of social wealth in the hands of privileged minorities and..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/rudolf-rocker-14426_economic-system_the-portentous-development-of-our-presen_2988162.png" --- # The portentous development of our present economic system… ![“The portentous development of our present economic system, leading to a mighty accumulation of social wealth in the hands of privileged minorities and to a continuous impoverishment of the great masses of the people, prepared the way for the present political and social reaction, and befriended it…” quote by Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/rudolf-rocker-14426_economic-system_the-portentous-development-of-our-presen_2988162.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/rudolf-rocker-14426_economic-system_the-portentous-development-of-our-presen_2988162.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc0/rudolf-rocker-14426_economic-system_the-portentous-development-of-our-presen_2988162.png) > ““The portentous development of our present economic system, leading to a mighty accumulation of social wealth in the hands of privileged minorities and to a continuous impoverishment of the great masses of the people, prepared the way for the present political and social reaction, and befriended it in every way. It sacrificed the general interests of human society to the private interests of individuals, and thus systematically undermined the relationship between man and man. People forgot that industry is not an end in itself, but should be only a means to insure to man his material subsistence and to make accessible to him the blessings of a higher intellectual culture. Where industry is everything and man is nothing begins the realm of a ruthless economic despotism whose workings are no less disastrous than those of any political despotism. The two mutually augment one another, and they are fed from the same source.”” [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that when wealth concentrates among a few and industry becomes an end, society loses its humane purpose, leading to economic tyranny that mirrors political oppression. **In simple terms:** Wealth concentration and overvaluing industry destroy human values. Key Takeaway Prioritize human welfare over profit. Themes economic inequality industrialism humanism political reaction social justice Mood critical concerned reflective Type philosophical political social When to use this quote - policy making - labor organizing - education reform - community building Key Concepts anarchism critical theory social economics Questions to Reflect On - How can societies balance industrial growth with human dignity? - What policies prevent wealth from concentrating in a few hands? A Different Perspective Economic focus on profit can still ignore human needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Economic system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-system/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Human society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-society/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) ## Related quotes > [“People forgot that industry is not an end in itself, but should only be a means to ensure to man his material subsistence and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/people-forgot-that-industry-is-not-an-end-in-itself-but-should-only/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [People forgot that industry is not an end in itself, but should be only a means to insure to man his material subsistence and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/people-forgot-that-industry-is-not-an-end-in-itself-but-should-be/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [So long as millions of human beings in every country has to sell their labour-power to a small minority of owners, and to sink…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-rocker/so-long-as-millions-of-human-beings-in-every-country-has-to-sell/) [Rudolf Rocker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-rocker/) > [The market is the creator of social wealth and the wellspring of self-sustaining economic development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-keqiang/the-market-is-the-creator-of-social-wealth-and-the-wellspring-of-self/) [Li Keqiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-keqiang/) > [The increase of social wealth is not accompanied by a diminishing number of capitalist magnates, but by an increasing number of capitalists of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eduard-bernstein/the-increase-of-social-wealth-is-not-accompanied-by-a-diminishing/) Eduard Bernstein > [“To organize society in such a manner that every individual, man or woman, should find, upon entering life, approximately equal means for the development…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bakunin/to-organize-society-in-such-a-manner-that-every-individual-man-or/) [Mikhail Bakunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bakunin/) > [“the organization of labor is only another word for the forms of life of the common people, this means that the development of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-polanyi/the-organization-of-labor-is-only-another-word-for-the-forms-of-life/) [Karl Polanyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-polanyi/) > [Religion and virtue are the only foundations, not of republicanism and of all free government, but of social felicity under all government and in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/religion-and-virtue-are-the-only-foundations-not-of-republicanism-and/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [ Human society is not a machine, and it must not be made such, even in the economic field… Access to employment \[shall not be\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xii/human-society-is-not-a-machine-and-it-must-not-be-made-such-even-in/) [Pope Pius XII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xii/) > [It is always the minorities that hold the key of progess; it is always through those who are unafraid to be different that advance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-b-fosdick/it-is-always-the-minorities-that-hold-the-key-of-progess-it-is-always/) [Raymond B. 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