--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He scolded his listeners for being eager…" description: "\"“He scolded his listeners for being eager to sell off their few productive assets in exchange for articles of prestige. “You say you want a definition ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/taylor-branch-39954_perpetual-motion_he-scolded-his-listeners-for-being-eager_283606.jpg" --- # He scolded his listeners for being eager to sell off their… ![“He scolded his listeners for being eager to sell off their few productive assets in exchange for articles of prestige. “You say you want a definition of perpetual motion?” he asked. “Give the average Negro a Cadillac and tell him to park it on some land he owns.” quote by Taylor Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/taylor-branch-39954_perpetual-motion_he-scolded-his-listeners-for-being-eager_283606.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/taylor-branch-39954_perpetual-motion_he-scolded-his-listeners-for-being-eager_283606.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/taylor-branch-39954_perpetual-motion_he-scolded-his-listeners-for-being-eager_283606.jpg) > ““He scolded his listeners for being eager to sell off their few productive assets in exchange for articles of prestige. “You say you want a definition of perpetual motion?” he asked. “Give the average Negro a Cadillac and tell him to park it on some land he owns.”” [Taylor Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-branch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He criticizes people who trade real productive assets for superficial status symbols, using a stark analogy about giving a car to someone without land to park it. **In simple terms:** Trading real value for empty prestige is foolish. Key Takeaway Value tangible assets over fleeting status. Themes values materialism social critique Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical commentary When to use this quote - financial planning - community development - personal finance - social activism Key Concepts economics symbolism inequality Questions to Reflect On - What assets truly build lasting wealth? - How can we balance ambition with practicality? A Different Perspective The analogy may oversimplify complex socioeconomic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Eager Sell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eager-sell-2744915/) [Negro Cadillac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/negro-cadillac-2744914/) [Perpetual motion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perpetual-motion/) [Scolded](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scolded/) [Scolded Listeners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scolded-listeners-2744913/) ## Related quotes > [Painting' and 'religious experience' are the same thing. It is a question of the perpetual motion of a right idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-nicholson/painting-and-religious-experience-are-the-same-thing-it-is-a-question/) [Ben Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-nicholson/) > [In whatever system where the weight attached to the wheel should be the cause of motion of the wheel, without any doubt the center…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/in-whatever-system-where-the-weight-attached-to-the-wheel-should-be/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [But we have reason to think that the annihilation of work is no less a physical impossibility than its creation, that is, than perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-we-have-reason-to-think-that-the-annihilation-of-work-is-no-less/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The city had seemed like a great place to discover who you are. It just seemed that there was a lot to experience here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sari-botton/the-city-had-seemed-like-a-great-place-to-discover-who-you-are-it/) [Sari Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sari-botton/) > [I liked it. I liked her. And every time I saw her, she seemed more beautiful. She just seemed to glow. I'm not talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendelin-van-draanen/i-liked-it-i-liked-her-and-every-time-i-saw-her-she-seemed-more/) [Wendelin Van Draanen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendelin-van-draanen/) > [“Your love is poetry in perpetual motion capturing my heart with centrifugal force.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-devour/your-love-is-poetry-in-perpetual-motion-capturing-my-heart-with/) [Truth Devour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truth-devour/) > [All things are made of atoms-little particles that move around in perpetual motion, attracting each other when they are a little distance apart, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/all-things-are-made-of-atoms-little-particles-that-move-around-in/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [Marketing's job is never done. It's about perpetual motion. We must continue to innovate every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-comstock/marketing-s-job-is-never-done-it-s-about-perpetual-motion-we-must/) [Beth Comstock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-comstock/) > [“Leo Szilard, in 1929, showed that the very act of acquiring information about a system increases its entropy in proportion to the amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-mahon/leo-szilard-in-1929-showed-that-the-very-act-of-acquiring-information/) [Basil Mahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-mahon/) > [This game wears on you. It tears you down. It's perpetual motion for some people who've achieved a level of independence, like Madonna and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/this-game-wears-on-you-it-tears-you-down-it-s-perpetual-motion-for/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [Does it seem to you impossible to imagine anything more inextricable than the social contract, when you think of the frightful number of relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/does-it-seem-to-you-impossible-to-imagine-anything-more-inextricable/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [“Marketing is a never-ending story. It’s about perpetual motion where innovation plays the lead role.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-kehoe/marketing-is-a-never-ending-story-it-s-about-perpetual-motion-where/) [Stacey Kehoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-kehoe/) > [“You drive, walk, eat, look at television, read, and all the while, beyond you and the cozy circle created by your lady around herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-dowell/you-drive-walk-eat-look-at-television-read-and-all-the-while-beyond/) [Coleman Dowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-dowell/) > [“Maybe it came from whacking at two-by-fours and dreaming about perpetual motion. I don't know. All I know is that compared to her, Shelly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendelin-van-draanen/maybe-it-came-from-whacking-at-two-by-fours-and-dreaming-about/) [Wendelin Van Draanen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendelin-van-draanen/) > [Neither love nor fire can subsist without perpetual motion; both cease to live so soon as they cease to hope, or to fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/neither-love-nor-fire-can-subsist-without-perpetual-motion-both-cease/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) ## More by Taylor Branch > [And to me, that's why the civil rights era is about the future, not about the past, because it's great lessons of how citizens…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-branch/and-to-me-that-s-why-the-civil-rights-era-is-about-the-future-not/) [Taylor Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-branch/) > [I think the colleges should be free to give athletes less than a full scholarship, no scholarship and more than a scholarship. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-branch/i-think-the-colleges-should-be-free-to-give-athletes-less-than-a-full/) [Taylor Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-branch/) > [History is the key to citizenship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-branch/history-is-the-key-to-citizenship/) [Taylor Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-branch/) > [There's a natural tendency to sanitize and polish any historical icon whether it be George Washington chopping down the cherry tree or Martin Luther…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-branch/there-s-a-natural-tendency-to-sanitize-and-polish-any-historical-icon/) [Taylor Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-branch/) > [Martin Luther King was never an up close and personal figure in the United States.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-branch/martin-luther-king-was-never-an-up-close-and-personal-figure-in-the/) [Taylor Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-branch/) > [Martin Luther King was a leader for all Americans on our own professed values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-branch/martin-luther-king-was-a-leader-for-all-americans-on-our-own/) [Taylor Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-branch/) > [Truth requires a maximum effort to see through the eyes of strangers, foreigners, and enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-branch/truth-requires-a-maximum-effort-to-see-through-the-eyes-of-strangers/) [Taylor Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-branch/) > [There are an awful lot of people who despise government precisely because it opened the door for common citizenship for people of all races…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-branch/there-are-an-awful-lot-of-people-who-despise-government-precisely/) [Taylor Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-branch/) > [Where race is involved, there is a pronounced and proven tendency in the United States for the majority culture to willfully misremember the history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-branch/where-race-is-involved-there-is-a-pronounced-and-proven-tendency-in/) [Taylor Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-branch/) > [The history of American patriotism is figuring out ways that we can work together to move forward and knit together the common government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-branch/the-history-of-american-patriotism-is-figuring-out-ways-that-we-can/) [Taylor Branch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-branch/) [Explore all 11 Taylor Branch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-branch/) ## More Perpetual motion quotes > [Painting' and 'religious experience' are the same thing. It is a question of the perpetual motion of a right idea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-nicholson/painting-and-religious-experience-are-the-same-thing-it-is-a-question/) [Ben Nicholson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-nicholson/) > [“Maybe it came from whacking at two-by-fours and dreaming about perpetual motion. I don't know. All I know is that compared to her, Shelly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendelin-van-draanen/maybe-it-came-from-whacking-at-two-by-fours-and-dreaming-about/) [Wendelin Van Draanen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendelin-van-draanen/) > [“You drive, walk, eat, look at television, read, and all the while, beyond you and the cozy circle created by your lady around herself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/coleman-dowell/you-drive-walk-eat-look-at-television-read-and-all-the-while-beyond/) [Coleman Dowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/coleman-dowell/) > [“Marketing is a never-ending story. It’s about perpetual motion where innovation plays the lead role.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacey-kehoe/marketing-is-a-never-ending-story-it-s-about-perpetual-motion-where/) [Stacey Kehoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacey-kehoe/) > [Does it seem to you impossible to imagine anything more inextricable than the social contract, when you think of the frightful number of relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-joseph-proudhon/does-it-seem-to-you-impossible-to-imagine-anything-more-inextricable/) [Pierre-Joseph Proudhon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-joseph-proudhon/) > [This game wears on you. It tears you down. It's perpetual motion for some people who've achieved a level of independence, like Madonna and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/this-game-wears-on-you-it-tears-you-down-it-s-perpetual-motion-for/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [“Leo Szilard, in 1929, showed that the very act of acquiring information about a system increases its entropy in proportion to the amount of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/basil-mahon/leo-szilard-in-1929-showed-that-the-very-act-of-acquiring-information/) [Basil Mahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/basil-mahon/) > [Marketing's job is never done. It's about perpetual motion. We must continue to innovate every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-comstock/marketing-s-job-is-never-done-it-s-about-perpetual-motion-we-must/) [Beth Comstock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-comstock/) > [All things are made of atoms-little particles that move around in perpetual motion, attracting each other when they are a little distance apart, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-p-feynman/all-things-are-made-of-atoms-little-particles-that-move-around-in/) [Richard P. Feynman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-p-feynman/) > [“Your love is poetry in perpetual motion capturing my heart with centrifugal force.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truth-devour/your-love-is-poetry-in-perpetual-motion-capturing-my-heart-with/) [Truth Devour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truth-devour/) > [I liked it. I liked her. And every time I saw her, she seemed more beautiful. She just seemed to glow. I'm not talking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendelin-van-draanen/i-liked-it-i-liked-her-and-every-time-i-saw-her-she-seemed-more/) [Wendelin Van Draanen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendelin-van-draanen/) > [“The city had seemed like a great place to discover who you are. It just seemed that there was a lot to experience here,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sari-botton/the-city-had-seemed-like-a-great-place-to-discover-who-you-are-it/) [Sari Botton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sari-botton/) > [But we have reason to think that the annihilation of work is no less a physical impossibility than its creation, that is, than perpetual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-we-have-reason-to-think-that-the-annihilation-of-work-is-no-less/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [In whatever system where the weight attached to the wheel should be the cause of motion of the wheel, without any doubt the center…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-da-vinci/in-whatever-system-where-the-weight-attached-to-the-wheel-should-be/) [Leonardo da Vinci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-da-vinci/) > [Neither love nor fire can subsist without perpetual motion; both cease to live so soon as they cease to hope, or to fear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/neither-love-nor-fire-can-subsist-without-perpetual-motion-both-cease/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) [Browse all 60 Perpetual motion quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perpetual-motion/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He scolded his listeners for being eager to sell off their few productive assets in exchange for articles of prestige. “You say you want a definition of perpetual motion?” he asked. “Give the average Negro a Cadillac and tell him to park it on some land he owns.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Taylor Branch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-branch/he-scolded-his-listeners-for-being-eager-to-sell-off-their-few/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Perpetual motion" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-branch/he-scolded-his-listeners-for-being-eager-to-sell-off-their-few/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/taylor-branch-39954_perpetual-motion_he-scolded-his-listeners-for-being-eager_283606.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/taylor-branch-39954_perpetual-motion_he-scolded-his-listeners-for-being-eager_283606.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/868/taylor-branch-39954_perpetual-motion_he-scolded-his-listeners-for-being-eager_283606.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He scolded his listeners for being eager to sell off their few productive assets in exchange for articles of…” — Taylor Branch", "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": "Taylor Branch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-branch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He scolded his listeners for being...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-branch/he-scolded-his-listeners-for-being-eager-to-sell-off-their-few/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-branch/he-scolded-his-listeners-for-being-eager-to-sell-off-their-few/#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 } } ] } ```