--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If there’s one thing that we capitalists…" description: "\"“If there’s one thing that we capitalists have in common with the communists of old, it’s a pathological obsession with gainful employment. Just as Sov..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f6/rutger-bregman-2463_capitalism_if-there-s-one-thing-that-we-capitalists_2938879.jpg" --- # If there’s one thing that we capitalists have in common… ![“If there’s one thing that we capitalists have in common with the communists of old, it’s a pathological obsession with gainful employment. Just as Soviet-era shops employed “three clerks to sell a piece of meat,” we’ll force benefit claimants to perform pointless tasks, even if it bankrupts us.” quote by Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f6/rutger-bregman-2463_capitalism_if-there-s-one-thing-that-we-capitalists_2938879.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f6/rutger-bregman-2463_capitalism_if-there-s-one-thing-that-we-capitalists_2938879.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f6/rutger-bregman-2463_capitalism_if-there-s-one-thing-that-we-capitalists_2938879.jpg) > ““If there’s one thing that we capitalists have in common with the communists of old, it’s a pathological obsession with gainful employment. Just as Soviet-era shops employed “three clerks to sell a piece of meat,” we’ll force benefit claimants to perform pointless tasks, even if it bankrupts us.”” [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Capitalist and communist systems both create unnecessary work to control employment, often at the expense of efficiency and humanity. **In simple terms:** Both systems force pointless jobs. Key Takeaway Question unnecessary work. Themes economics politics labor efficiency Mood critical analytical Type political social critique When to use this quote - government policy - corporate management - social safety nets - job design Key Concepts bureaucracy social welfare productivity Questions to Reflect On - How can we redesign work to be meaningful? - What policies reduce pointless tasks? A Different Perspective May overlook genuine productivity gains from structured work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Capitalists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalists/) [Capitalists Common](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalists-common-4370429/) [Communists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communists/) [Communists Old](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communists-old-4370430/) [Thing Capitalists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-capitalists-4370428/) ## Related quotes > [Communists are frustrated capitalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/communists-are-frustrated-capitalists/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [We Communists have got to string along with the capitalists for a while. We need their agriculture and their technology. But we are going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonid-brezhnev/we-communists-have-got-to-string-along-with-the-capitalists-for-a/) [Leonid Brezhnev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonid-brezhnev/) > [The race will find that capitalists and communists modify themselves so much during the ages that they end by being indistinguishable as democrats...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-race-will-find-that-capitalists-and-communists-modify-themselves/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We Communists have to string along with the capitalists for a while. We need their agriculture and their technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonid-brezhnev/we-communists-have-to-string-along-with-the-capitalists-for-a-while/) [Leonid Brezhnev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonid-brezhnev/) > [Communists are great capitalists, so there is no threat anymore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/communists-are-great-capitalists-so-there-is-no-threat-anymore/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [We're supposed to live under capitalism, and capitalism is supposed to be competitive so you would expect that capitalists and entrepreneurs would like competition.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-harvey/we-re-supposed-to-live-under-capitalism-and-capitalism-is-supposed-to/) [David Harvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-harvey/) > [The American capitalists are richer and stronger than their counterparts in other lands. They are also younger and more ignorant, and therefore more inclined…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-p-cannon/the-american-capitalists-are-richer-and-stronger-than-their/) [James P. Cannon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-p-cannon/) > [“Private property based on the labour of the small proprietor, free competition, democracy, i.e., all the catchwords with which the capitalists and their press…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-lenin/private-property-based-on-the-labour-of-the-small-proprietor-free/) [Vladimir Lenin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-lenin/) > [The capitalists owned everything in the world, and everyone else was their slave. They owned all the land, all the houses, all the factories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-capitalists-owned-everything-in-the-world-and-everyone-else-was/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Socialists and Progressives confuse compassion and compulsion.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-samaan/socialists-and-progressives-confuse-compassion-and-compulsion/) [A.E. Samaan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-samaan/) > [The mistake the apartheid government made was they gave the black people nothing, so they had nothing to lose. But now a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilbur-smith/the-mistake-the-apartheid-government-made-was-they-gave-the-black/) [Wilbur Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilbur-smith/) > [All capitalists should be like Warren Buffett, and he says he should be taxed more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-asner/all-capitalists-should-be-like-warren-buffett-and-he-says-he-should/) [Ed Asner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-asner/) > [In seventy years, Russia’s Communists had not succeeded in dealing markets such a telling blow as did its deadbeat capitalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-lowenstein/in-seventy-years-russia-s-communists-had-not-succeeded-in-dealing/) [Roger Lowenstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-lowenstein/) > [The more successful capitalists are in cutting their wage costs, the less money workers will have to buy back what those same capitalists produce.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-d-wolff/the-more-successful-capitalists-are-in-cutting-their-wage-costs-the/) [Richard D. Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-d-wolff/) > [Capitalists have done more good for society through their charitable giving, philanthropy and generosity than all their critics combined.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/capitalists-have-done-more-good-for-society-through-their-charitable/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) ## More by Rutger Bregman > [“If all the developed countries would let in just 3% more immigrants, the world’s poor would have $305 billion more to spend, say scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/if-all-the-developed-countries-would-let-in-just-3-more-immigrants/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“When Lehman Brothers collapsed on September 15, 2008, and inaugurated the biggest crisis since the 1930s, there were no real alternatives to hand. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/when-lehman-brothers-collapsed-on-september-15-2008-and-inaugurated/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [I think one of the most important facts of basic income would be that it's not only a redistribution of income, but also of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/i-think-one-of-the-most-important-facts-of-basic-income-would-be-that/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [The great thing about money is that people can use it to buy things they need instead of things self-appointed experts think they need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/the-great-thing-about-money-is-that-people-can-use-it-to-buy-things/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“The idea that the GDP still serves as an accurate gauge of social welfare is one of the most widespread myths of our times.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/the-idea-that-the-gdp-still-serves-as-an-accurate-gauge-of-social/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [Most of Mark Zuckerberg's income is just rent collected off the millions of picture and video posts that we give away daily for free.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/most-of-mark-zuckerberg-s-income-is-just-rent-collected-off-the/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“To calculate the GDP, numerous data points have to be linked together and hundreds of wholly subjective choices made regarding what to count and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/to-calculate-the-gdp-numerous-data-points-have-to-be-linked-together/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“Countless studies have shown that people who work less are more satisfied with their lives.37 In a recent poll conducted among working women, German…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/countless-studies-have-shown-that-people-who-work-less-are-more/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“Precisely when we should be shouldering the historic task of investing this rich, safe, and healthy existence with meaning, we’ve buried utopia instead. There’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/precisely-when-we-should-be-shouldering-the-historic-task-of/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [Believing in the good of humanity is a revolutionary act - it means that we don't need all those managers and CEO's, kings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/believing-in-the-good-of-humanity-is-a-revolutionary-act-it-means/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [Poor people aren't making dumb decisions because they are dumb, but because they're living in a context in which anyone would make dumb decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/poor-people-aren-t-making-dumb-decisions-because-they-are-dumb-but/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“The bottom line is that wealth can be concentrated somewhere, but that doesn’t also mean that’s where it’s being created. This is just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/the-bottom-line-is-that-wealth-can-be-concentrated-somewhere-but-that/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“Recently, the International Monetary Fund published a report which revealed that too much inequality even inhibits economic growth.22 Perhaps the most fascinating finding, however,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/recently-the-international-monetary-fund-published-a-report-which/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“Not coincidentally, the countries with the shortest workweeks also have the largest number of volunteers and the most social capital.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/not-coincidentally-the-countries-with-the-shortest-workweeks-also/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [It matters so much that from a very early age we encounter different kinds of different people, because that's what real life should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/it-matters-so-much-that-from-a-very-early-age-we-encounter-different/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) [Explore all 164 Rutger Bregman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) ## More Capitalism quotes > [Don't let's lose sight of what creates wealth. It is open markets, it is capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/don-t-let-s-lose-sight-of-what-creates-wealth-it-is-open-markets-it/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [Corporations have nothing to do with values, and they know it, and sometimes say it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kierans/corporations-have-nothing-to-do-with-values-and-they-know-it-and/) [Eric Kierans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kierans/) > [Both fact and logic seem to me to support the view that savings invested in privately owned economic tools of production amount to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-a-harper/both-fact-and-logic-seem-to-me-to-support-the-view-that-savings/) [F. 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Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-a-harper/) > [The free market is ugly and stupid, like going to the mall; the unfree market is just as ugly and just as stupid, except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-free-market-is-ugly-and-stupid-like-going-to-the-mall-the-unfree/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Capitalism, communism ... it's all garbage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mstislav-rostropovich/capitalism-communism-it-s-all-garbage/) [Mstislav Rostropovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mstislav-rostropovich/) > [There are no two countries with the same style of economic mechanism, with the same capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-chubais/there-are-no-two-countries-with-the-same-style-of-economic-mechanism/) [Anatoly Chubais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-chubais/) > [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/) [Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/) > [Historically, usury was defined as any interest whatever on an unproductive loan.Our whole banking system I have ever abhorred, I continue to abhor, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/historically-usury-was-defined-as-any-interest-whatever-on-an/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [Socialism is humanity's second nature. All politicians do is turn human vice into votes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/socialism-is-humanity-s-second-nature-all-politicians-do-is-turn/) [Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/) > [“Scholars have long debated whether capital markets lead to appropriate levels of saving and investment for future generations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-weimer/scholars-have-long-debated-whether-capital-markets-lead-to/) [David L. Weimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-l-weimer/) > [“A car is one of the most interesting inventions, but driving is one of the most boring activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-car-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-inventions-but-driving-is-one-of/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) [Browse all 3,832 Capitalism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If there’s one thing that we capitalists have in common with the communists of old, it’s a pathological obsession with gainful employment. 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