--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This economy is based upon consumption…" description: "\"“This economy is based upon consumption, which ultimately serves, not the ordinary consumers, but a tiny class of excessively wealthy people for whose ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/wendell-berry-236_economics_this-economy-is-based-upon-consumption-w_1111229.jpg" --- # This economy is based upon consumption, which ultimately… ![“This economy is based upon consumption, which ultimately serves, not the ordinary consumers, but a tiny class of excessively wealthy people for whose further enrichment the economy is understood (by them) to exist. For the purpose of their further enrichment, these plutocrats and the great…” quote by Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/wendell-berry-236_economics_this-economy-is-based-upon-consumption-w_1111229.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/wendell-berry-236_economics_this-economy-is-based-upon-consumption-w_1111229.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/wendell-berry-236_economics_this-economy-is-based-upon-consumption-w_1111229.jpg) > ““This economy is based upon consumption, which ultimately serves, not the ordinary consumers, but a tiny class of excessively wealthy people for whose further enrichment the economy is understood (by them) to exist. For the purpose of their further enrichment, these plutocrats and the great corporations that serve them have controlled the economy by the purchase of political power. The purchased governments do not act in the interest of the governed and their country; they act instead as agents for the corporations.”” [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The economy serves a tiny wealthy elite, who control politics to enrich themselves, while ordinary consumers are ignored. **In simple terms:** Economy benefits the rich, not the many. Key Takeaway Challenge systemic inequality. Themes economics politics inequality Mood critical concerned Type political analytical When to use this quote - voting behavior - policy advocacy - consumer awareness Key Concepts wealth concentration corporate power Questions to Reflect On - What reforms could reduce elite influence? - How can citizens reclaim economic agency? A Different Perspective Complex issues of market dynamics also matter. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Based Consumption](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/based-consumption-2960647/) [Consumption Ultimately](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption-ultimately-2960649/) [Controlled Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/controlled-economy-2960646/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Enrichment Plutocrats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enrichment-plutocrats-2960645/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Political power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-power/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Purchased Governments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purchased-governments-2960648/) ## Related quotes > [If you have a rigidly controlled economy, cut off from the rest of the world by infinite protection, nobody has any incentive to increase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manmohan-singh/if-you-have-a-rigidly-controlled-economy-cut-off-from-the-rest-of-the/) [Manmohan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manmohan-singh/) > [A proper community, we should remember also, is a commonwealth: a place, a resource, an economy. It answers the needs, practical as well as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-proper-community-we-should-remember-also-is-a-commonwealth-a-place/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“In a society in which nearly everybody is dominated by somebody else's mind or by a disembodied mind, it becomes increasingly difficult to learn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/in-a-society-in-which-nearly-everybody-is-dominated-by-somebody-else/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The great enemy of freedom is the alignment of political power with wealth. This alignment destroys the commonwealth - that is, the natural wealth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-great-enemy-of-freedom-is-the-alignment-of-political-power-with/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Capitalist exploitation and cartels and monopolies are the enemies of underdeveloped countries. On the other hand a regime which is completely oriented towards the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/capitalist-exploitation-and-cartels-and-monopolies-are-the-enemies-of/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [Liberalism makes this mistake in regard to private property and Marxism makes it in regard to socialized property... The Marxist illusion is partly derived…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reinhold-niebuhr/liberalism-makes-this-mistake-in-regard-to-private-property-and/) [Reinhold Niebuhr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reinhold-niebuhr/) > [Economic freedom is an essential requisite for political freedom. By enabling people to cooperate with one another without coercion or central direction, it reduces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milton-friedman/economic-freedom-is-an-essential-requisite-for-political-freedom-by/) [Milton Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milton-friedman/) > [“What imperialists actually wanted was expansion of political power without the foundation of the body politic. Imperialist expansion had been touched off by a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-arendt/what-imperialists-actually-wanted-was-expansion-of-political-power/) [Hannah Arendt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-arendt/) > [When it came to political power, blacks need not apply. Add to this steaming stew the growing tensions over the Vietnam War and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-mitchell/when-it-came-to-political-power-blacks-need-not-apply-add-to-this/) [Andrea Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-mitchell/) > [Whether the issue was black political power or nuclear power, Scott-Heron didn't mince words. His comeback record, 'I'm New Here,' doesn't mince words either,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hermes/whether-the-issue-was-black-political-power-or-nuclear-power-scott/) [Will Hermes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hermes/) > [“See, because being Cool is obviously the most important thing on earth. It’s more important than getting a job, or having a girlfriend, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ned-vizzini/see-because-being-cool-is-obviously-the-most-important-thing-on-earth/) [Ned Vizzini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ned-vizzini/) > [“He is a free man, not because is in a poition of political power and influence that you will never be able to achieve,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-meekins/he-is-a-free-man-not-because-is-in-a-poition-of-political-power-and/) [Evan Meekins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-meekins/) > [The central base of world political power is right here in America, and it is our corrupt political establishment that is the greatest power…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/the-central-base-of-world-political-power-is-right-here-in-america/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [We will use political power as a tool to improve the lives of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayawati/we-will-use-political-power-as-a-tool-to-improve-the-lives-of-the/) [Mayawati](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayawati/) > [This position is untenable, and there can be no pause in the agitation for full political power and responsibility until these are granted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-kelley/this-position-is-untenable-and-there-can-be-no-pause-in-the-agitation/) [Florence Kelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-kelley/) ## More by Wendell Berry > [During the last 17 years... I have been working at the restoration of a once exhausted hillside. Its scars are now healed over, though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/during-the-last-17-years-i-have-been-working-at-the-restoration-of-a/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Like the water of a deep stream, love is always too much. We did not make it. Though we drink till we burst, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/like-the-water-of-a-deep-stream-love-is-always-too-much-we-did-not/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [To husband is to use with care, to keep, to save, to make last, to conserve. Old usage tells us that there is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/to-husband-is-to-use-with-care-to-keep-to-save-to-make-last-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The two families, sundered in the ruin of a friendship, were united again first in new friendship and then in mariage. My grandfather made…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-two-families-sundered-in-the-ruin-of-a-friendship-were-united/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The living can't quit living because the world has turned terrible and people they love and need are killed. They can't because they don't.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-living-can-t-quit-living-because-the-world-has-turned-terrible/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“I knew a man who, in the age of chain-saws, went right on cutting his wood with a handsaw and an axe. He was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-knew-a-man-who-in-the-age-of-chain-saws-went-right-on-cutting-his/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The concept of country, homeland, dwelling place becomes simplified as "the environment" -- that is, what surrounds us, we have already made a profound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-concept-of-country-homeland-dwelling-place-becomes-simplified-as/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [A community is the mental and spiritual condition of knowing that the place is shared, and that the people who share the place define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/a-community-is-the-mental-and-spiritual-condition-of-knowing-that-the/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“That we can prescribe the terms of our own success, that we can live outside or in ignorance of the Great Economy are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/that-we-can-prescribe-the-terms-of-our-own-success-that-we-can-live/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [“The mind that comes to rest is tended In ways that it cannot intend: Is borne, preserved, and comprehended By what it cannot comprehend.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mind-that-comes-to-rest-is-tended-in-ways-that-it-cannot-intend/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The mercy of the world is time. Time does not stop for love, but it does not stop for death and grief, either.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-mercy-of-the-world-is-time-time-does-not-stop-for-love-but-it/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The soil is the great connector of our lives, the source and destination of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/the-soil-is-the-great-connector-of-our-lives-the-source-and/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [I dislike the thought that some animal has been made miserable to feed me. If I am going to eat meat, I want it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/i-dislike-the-thought-that-some-animal-has-been-made-miserable-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/laughter-is-immeasurable-be-joyful/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [These are people who are capable of devotion, public devotion, to justice. They meant what they said and every day that passes, they mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/these-are-people-who-are-capable-of-devotion-public-devotion-to/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) [Explore all 847 Wendell Berry quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) ## More Economics 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/) > [Our biggest challenge is to eliminate the popular perception that economists don't have anything useful to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-zandi/our-biggest-challenge-is-to-eliminate-the-popular-perception-that/) [Mark Zandi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-zandi/) > [Advances in technology will continue to reach far into every sector of our economy. Future job and economic growth in industry, defense, transportation, agriculture,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-bond/advances-in-technology-will-continue-to-reach-far-into-every-sector/) [Christopher Bond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-bond/) > [Our engagement through international economics, trade, these trade agreements, is vital and is linked to our national security. This is a lesson we learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-boustany/our-engagement-through-international-economics-trade-these-trade/) [Charles Boustany](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-boustany/) > [“The free-market economy and globalisation process have brought about, in the late twentieth and early twenty-first century, a sharp and sudden rise in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yaakov-malkin/the-free-market-economy-and-globalisation-process-have-brought-about/) [Yaakov Malkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yaakov-malkin/) > [“Everything economic science posits as given, that is, the range of dispositions of the economic agent which ground the illusion of the ahistorical universality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-bourdieu/everything-economic-science-posits-as-given-that-is-the-range-of/) [Pierre Bourdieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-bourdieu/) > [Politics is about power. It is about the power of the state. It is about the power of the state as applied to individuals,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudd/politics-is-about-power-it-is-about-the-power-of-the-state-it-is/) [Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudd/) > [Having an economy that works for the 99% is achievable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winnie-byanyima/having-an-economy-that-works-for-the-99-is-achievable/) [Winnie Byanyima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winnie-byanyima/) > [“a select group of high-performing companies have managed to close the strategy-to-performance gap through better planning and execution. These companies—Barclays, Cisco Systems, Dow Chemical,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-mankins/a-select-group-of-high-performing-companies-have-managed-to-close-the/) [Michael C. Mankins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-mankins/) > [The system of private property is the most important guaranty of freedom, not only for those who own property, but scarcely less for those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-august-von-hayek/the-system-of-private-property-is-the-most-important-guaranty-of/) [Friedrich August von Hayek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-august-von-hayek/) > [Economists think about what people ought to do. Psychologists watch what they actually do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/economists-think-about-what-people-ought-to-do-psychologists-watch/) [Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/) > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [“Economists have a singular method of procedure. There are only two kinds of institutions for them, artificial and natural. The institutions of feudalism are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/economists-have-a-singular-method-of-procedure-there-are-only-two/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) > [As the variable capital always stays in the hands of the capitalist in some form or other, it cannot be claimed in any way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-marx/as-the-variable-capital-always-stays-in-the-hands-of-the-capitalist/) [Karl Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-marx/) [Browse all 7,788 Economics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“This economy is based upon consumption, which ultimately serves, not the ordinary consumers, but a tiny class of excessively wealthy people for whose further enrichment the economy is understood (by them) to exist. For the purpose of their further enrichment, these plutocrats and the great corporations that serve them have controlled the economy by the purchase of political power. The purchased governments do not act in the interest of the governed and their country; they act instead as agents for the corporations.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Wendell Berry" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/this-economy-is-based-upon-consumption-which-ultimately-serves-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Economics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/this-economy-is-based-upon-consumption-which-ultimately-serves-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/wendell-berry-236_economics_this-economy-is-based-upon-consumption-w_1111229.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/wendell-berry-236_economics_this-economy-is-based-upon-consumption-w_1111229.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e4/wendell-berry-236_economics_this-economy-is-based-upon-consumption-w_1111229.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“This economy is based upon consumption, which ultimately serves, not the ordinary consumers, but a tiny…” — Wendell Berry", "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": "Wendell Berry", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“This economy is based upon consumption,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/this-economy-is-based-upon-consumption-which-ultimately-serves-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/this-economy-is-based-upon-consumption-which-ultimately-serves-not/#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 } } ] } ```