--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The impotence of liberal humanism is a…" description: "\"“The impotence of liberal humanism is a symptom of its essentially contradictory relationship to modern capitalism. For although it forms part of the ‘..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/terry-eagleton-1660_first-place_the-impotence-of-liberal-humanism-is-a-s_2260983.png" --- # The impotence of liberal humanism is a symptom of its… ![“The impotence of liberal humanism is a symptom of its essentially contradictory relationship to modern capitalism. For although it forms part of the ‘official’ ideology of such society, and the ‘humanities’ exist to reproduce it, the social order within which it exists has in one sense very little…” quote by Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/terry-eagleton-1660_first-place_the-impotence-of-liberal-humanism-is-a-s_2260983.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/terry-eagleton-1660_first-place_the-impotence-of-liberal-humanism-is-a-s_2260983.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/terry-eagleton-1660_first-place_the-impotence-of-liberal-humanism-is-a-s_2260983.png) > ““The impotence of liberal humanism is a symptom of its essentially contradictory relationship to modern capitalism. For although it forms part of the ‘official’ ideology of such society, and the ‘humanities’ exist to reproduce it, the social order within which it exists has in one sense very little time for it at all. Who is concerned with the uniqueness of the individual, the imperishable truths of the human condition or the sensuous textures of lived experience in the Foreign Office or the boardroom of Standard Oil? Capitalism’s reverential hat-tipping to the arts is obvious hypocrisy, except when it can hang them on its walls as a sound investment. Yet capitalist states have continued to direct funds into higher education humanities departments, and though such departments are usually the first in line for savage cutting when capitalism enters on one of its periodic crises, it is doubtful that it is only hypocrisy, a fear of appearing in its true philistine colours, which compels this grudging support. The truth is that liberal humanism is at once largely ineffectual, and the best ideology of the ‘human’ that present bourgeois society can muster. The ‘unique individual’ is indeed important when it comes to defending the business entrepreneur’s right to make profit while throwing men and women out of work; the individual must at all costs have the ‘right to choose’, provided this means the right to buy one’s child an expensive private education while other children are deprived of their school meals, rather than the rights of women to decide whether to have children in the first place.”” [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Liberal humanism claims to value individual uniqueness and human experience, yet it is co-opted by capitalism, which supports it only when profitable and suppresses it during crises, revealing a contradictory relationship between ideals and economic power. **In simple terms:** Humanism is praised but undermined by capitalism. Key Takeaway Recognize how economic systems shape cultural values. Themes philosophy politics economics culture education Mood critical skeptical analytical Type critical philosophical political When to use this quote - University curricula design - policy debates on arts funding - corporate social responsibility - public discourse on education inequality Key Concepts Ideology contradiction commodification hegemony Questions to Reflect On - How does profit motive affect support for the arts? - Can true humanism exist within capitalist structures? A Different Perspective Capitalism may sustain humanities for image, not genuine commitment to human values. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capitalism Reverential](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism-reverential-5202209/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Higher Ed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher-ed/) [Higher education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher-education/) [Human condition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-condition/) [Humanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanism/) [Humanism Largely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanism-largely-2526560/) [Ideology Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideology-human-2526561/) [Liberal Humanism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberal-humanism-617975/) [Liberalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberalism/) [Little time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/little-time/) [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) [Social order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-order/) ## Related quotes > [The truth is that liberal humanism is at once largely ineffectual, and the best ideology of the 'human' that present bourgeois society can muster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/the-truth-is-that-liberal-humanism-is-at-once-largely-ineffectual-and/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [I've always maintained that it isn't the form that's going to make the difference. 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Capitalism’s reverential hat-tipping to the arts is obvious hypocrisy, except when it can hang them on its walls as a sound investment. Yet capitalist states have continued to direct funds into higher education humanities departments, and though such departments are usually the first in line for savage cutting when capitalism enters on one of its periodic crises, it is doubtful that it is only hypocrisy, a fear of appearing in its true philistine colours, which compels this grudging support. The truth is that liberal humanism is at once largely ineffectual, and the best ideology of the ‘human’ that present bourgeois society can muster. The ‘unique individual’ is indeed important when it comes to defending the business entrepreneur’s right to make profit while throwing men and women out of work; the individual must at all costs have the ‘right to choose’, provided this means the right to buy one’s child an expensive private education while other children are deprived of their school meals, rather than the rights of women to decide whether to have children in the first place.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terry Eagleton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/the-impotence-of-liberal-humanism-is-a-symptom-of-its-essentially/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "First place" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/the-impotence-of-liberal-humanism-is-a-symptom-of-its-essentially/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/terry-eagleton-1660_first-place_the-impotence-of-liberal-humanism-is-a-s_2260983.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/terry-eagleton-1660_first-place_the-impotence-of-liberal-humanism-is-a-s_2260983.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c62/terry-eagleton-1660_first-place_the-impotence-of-liberal-humanism-is-a-s_2260983.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The impotence of liberal humanism is a symptom of its essentially contradictory relationship to modern…” — Terry Eagleton", "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": "Terry Eagleton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The impotence of liberal humanism is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/the-impotence-of-liberal-humanism-is-a-symptom-of-its-essentially/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/the-impotence-of-liberal-humanism-is-a-symptom-of-its-essentially/#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 } } ] } ```