--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You Europeans know nothing about America…" description: "\"You Europeans know nothing about America. Because we amass large fortunes you think we care for nothing but money. We are nothing for it; the moment we..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90f/w-somerset-maugham-237_america_you-europeans-know-nothing-about-america_1994579.jpg" --- # You Europeans know nothing about America. Because we amass… ![“You Europeans know nothing about America. Because we amass large fortunes you think we care for nothing but money. We are nothing for it; the moment we have it we spend it, sometimes well, sometimes ill, but we spend it. Money is nothing to us; it's merely the symbol of success. We are the…” quote by W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90f/w-somerset-maugham-237_america_you-europeans-know-nothing-about-america_1994579.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90f/w-somerset-maugham-237_america_you-europeans-know-nothing-about-america_1994579.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/90f/w-somerset-maugham-237_america_you-europeans-know-nothing-about-america_1994579.jpg) > “You Europeans know nothing about America. Because we amass large fortunes you think we care for nothing but money. We are nothing for it; the moment we have it we spend it, sometimes well, sometimes ill, but we spend it. Money is nothing to us; it's merely the symbol of success. We are the greatest idealists in the world; I happen to think that we've set our ideal on the wrong objects; I happen to think that the greatest ideal man can set before himself is self-perfection.” [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker critiques European materialism, claiming Americans value ideals over money, yet they misuse wealth, and true greatness lies in self‑perfection. **In simple terms:** Americans value ideals over money, but misuse it; true greatness is self‑perfection. Key Takeaway Focus on personal growth, not wealth. Themes materialism idealism self‑perfection wealth culture Mood critical reflective Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - personal development - financial planning - cultural exchange - ethical leadership Key Concepts philosophy psychology social critique Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance material success with personal ideals? - What defines true self‑perfection? A Different Perspective The claim may oversimplify diverse attitudes toward money and idealism. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/america/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune/) [Ideal man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideal-man/) [Idealist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idealist/) [Ill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ill/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Moments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moments/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Perfection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/perfection/) [Self](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self/) [Symbols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/symbols/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [I happen to think we’ve set our ideal on the wrong objects; I happen to think that the greatest ideal man can set before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-happen-to-think-we-ve-set-our-ideal-on-the-wrong-objects-i-happen/) [W. 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The practice of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-inosanto/the-goal-of-the-martial-arts-is-not-for-the-destruction-of-an/) Dan Inosanto > [During adolescence imagination is boundless. The urge toward self-perfection is at its peak. And with all their self- absorption and personalized dreams of glory,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/during-adolescence-imagination-is-boundless-the-urge-toward-self/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [The egocentric is always frustrated, simply because the condition of self-perfection is self-surrender. There must be a willingness to die to the lower part…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-egocentric-is-always-frustrated-simply-because-the-condition-of/) [Fulton J. 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Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“There is no more merit in having read a thousand books than in having ploughed a thousand fields.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/there-is-no-more-merit-in-having-read-a-thousand-books-than-in-having/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“I wanted to live again and again. I was willing to accept every sort of life, no matter what its pain and sorrow; I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-wanted-to-live-again-and-again-i-was-willing-to-accept-every-sort/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [In Hollywood, the women are all peaches. It makes one long for an apple occasionally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/in-hollywood-the-women-are-all-peaches-it-makes-one-long-for-an-apple/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“His love became a prison from which he longed to escape, but he had not the strength merely to open the door-that was all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/his-love-became-a-prison-from-which-he-longed-to-escape-but-he-had/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [I did not believe him capable of love. That is an emotion in which tenderness is an essential part, but Strickland had no tenderness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/i-did-not-believe-him-capable-of-love-that-is-an-emotion-in-which/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [If only the good were a little less heavy-footed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/if-only-the-good-were-a-little-less-heavy-footed/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [Perfection has one grave defect: it is apt to be dull.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/perfection-has-one-grave-defect-it-is-apt-to-be-dull/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“A God that can be understood is no God. Who can explain the Infinite in words?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/a-god-that-can-be-understood-is-no-god-who-can-explain-the-infinite/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“My dear, you used to be quite a dish; now you're quite a tureen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/my-dear-you-used-to-be-quite-a-dish-now-you-re-quite-a-tureen/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [“When people say they do not care what others thing of them, for the most part they deceive themselves”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/when-people-say-they-do-not-care-what-others-thing-of-them-for-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) [Explore all 840 W. Somerset Maugham quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) ## More America quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... 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