--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Socialism, which was very up to date a…" description: "\"“Socialism, which was very up to date a hundred years ago, failed to keep up with the new technology. [...] If Marx came back to life today, he would p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/809/yuval-noah-harari-100_marx_socialism-which-was-very-up-to-date-a-hu_2335790.jpg" --- # Socialism, which was very up to date a hundred years ago… ![“Socialism, which was very up to date a hundred years ago, failed to keep up with the new technology. [...] If Marx came back to life today, he would probably urge his few relating disciples to devote less time to reading Das Kapital and more time to studying the Internet and the human genome.” quote by Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/809/yuval-noah-harari-100_marx_socialism-which-was-very-up-to-date-a-hu_2335790.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/809/yuval-noah-harari-100_marx_socialism-which-was-very-up-to-date-a-hu_2335790.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/809/yuval-noah-harari-100_marx_socialism-which-was-very-up-to-date-a-hu_2335790.jpg) > ““Socialism, which was very up to date a hundred years ago, failed to keep up with the new technology. \[...\] If Marx came back to life today, he would probably urge his few relating disciples to devote less time to reading Das Kapital and more time to studying the Internet and the human genome.”” [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Outdated ideologies struggle to adapt to rapid technological change, requiring new focus on digital and biological knowledge. **In simple terms:** Old ideas need updating for modern tech. Key Takeaway Study current tech and biology over classic texts. Themes technology politics progress Mood analytical forward-looking Type political educational When to use this quote - policy making - education reform - business strategy Key Concepts marxism digital revolution genomics Questions to Reflect On - How can we integrate past lessons with new tech? - What modern tools best inform political theory? A Different Perspective Neglecting historical context can oversimplify complex issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [New technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-technology/) [Socialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socialism/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) ## Related quotes > [“If Marx came back to life today, he would probably urge his few remaining disciples to devote less time to reading Das Kapital and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/if-marx-came-back-to-life-today-he-would-probably-urge-his-few/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [Capitalism now seems more likely a swamp, a bog, a quicksand in which humanity is presently flailing about, unable to extricate itself, perhaps doomed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allen-w-wood/capitalism-now-seems-more-likely-a-swamp-a-bog-a-quicksand-in-which/) [Allen W. Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [Real socialism is inside man. It wasn't born with Marx. It was in the communes of Italy in the Middle Ages. You can't say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dario-fo/real-socialism-is-inside-man-it-wasn-t-born-with-marx-it-was-in-the/) [Dario Fo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dario-fo/) > [ I think \[Karl\] Marx, Pope John XXIII or Rosa Luxemburg \[had achieved the mode of existence\].But it would be useless to look at a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/i-think-karl-marx-pope-john-xxiii-or-rosa-luxemburg-had-achieved-the/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [The Bolsheviks started not just on the killing of private property; they were trying to abolish money itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-chubais/the-bolsheviks-started-not-just-on-the-killing-of-private-property/) [Anatoly Chubais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-chubais/) > [It is therefore utterly false to say that Marx revokes the law of value as far as individual commodities are concerned, and maintains it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-hiferding/it-is-therefore-utterly-false-to-say-that-marx-revokes-the-law-of/) [Rudolf Hiferding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-hiferding/) > [We turn to Marx, therefore, not because he is infallible, but because he is inescapable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-heilbroner/we-turn-to-marx-therefore-not-because-he-is-infallible-but-because-he/) [Robert Heilbroner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-heilbroner/) > [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/) > [For Marx, 'pure' economic theory, that is economic theory which abstracts from a specific social structure, is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-mandel/for-marx-pure-economic-theory-that-is-economic-theory-which-abstracts/) [Ernest Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-mandel/) > [Marx did not recognize that our desire to connect with a transcendent power runs even deeper than our drive for economic satisfaction. 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Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [Marxism is like a classical building that followed the Renaissance; beautiful in its way, but incapable of growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-macmillan/marxism-is-like-a-classical-building-that-followed-the-renaissance/) [Harold MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-macmillan/) > [“The writer must earn money in order to be able to live and to write, but he must by no means live and write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goins/the-writer-must-earn-money-in-order-to-be-able-to-live-and-to-write/) [Jeff Goins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goins/) ## More by Yuval Noah Harari > [“For similar reasons, archaic humans did not initiate any revolutions. As far as we can tell, changes in social patterns, the invention of new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/for-similar-reasons-archaic-humans-did-not-initiate-any-revolutions/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Today the main source of wealth is knowledge. And whereas you can conquer oil fields through war, you cannot acquire knowledge that way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/today-the-main-source-of-wealth-is-knowledge-and-whereas-you-can/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“How do you cause people to believe in an imagined order such as Christianity, democracy or capitalism? First, you never admit that the order…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/how-do-you-cause-people-to-believe-in-an-imagined-order-such-as/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [I think the basic thing that happened is we have lost our story. Humans think in stories, and we try to make sense of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/i-think-the-basic-thing-that-happened-is-we-have-lost-our-story/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Whereas chimpanzees spend five hours a day chewing raw food, a single hour suffices for people eating cooked food. 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We invented them to serve us; why do we find ourselves sacrificing our lives in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/corporations-money-and-nations-exist-only-in-our-imagination-we/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Small children in affluent societies often dislike showering, and it takes them years of education and parental discipline to adopt this supposedly attractive custom.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/small-children-in-affluent-societies-often-dislike-showering-and-it/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) > [“Ever more scholars see cultures as a kind of mental infection or parasite, with humans as its unwitting host. 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There is no chance that gravity will cease to function tomorrow, even if people stop believing in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yuval-noah-harari/a-natural-order-is-a-stable-order-there-is-no-chance-that-gravity/) [Yuval Noah Harari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) [Explore all 1,200 Yuval Noah Harari quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yuval-noah-harari/) ## More Marx quotes > [“The writer must earn money in order to be able to live and to write, but he must by no means live and write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goins/the-writer-must-earn-money-in-order-to-be-able-to-live-and-to-write/) [Jeff Goins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goins/) > [Marxism is like a classical building that followed the Renaissance; beautiful in its way, but incapable of growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harold-macmillan/marxism-is-like-a-classical-building-that-followed-the-renaissance/) [Harold MacMillan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harold-macmillan/) > [Marx saw exploitation in terms of the rewards of human labor, but we can see it in terms of all the values of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/marx-saw-exploitation-in-terms-of-the-rewards-of-human-labor-but-we/) [Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/) > [Marx, however imperfectly he worked out the details, set himself the task of discovering the law of motion of capitalism, and if there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marx-however-imperfectly-he-worked-out-the-details-set-himself-the/) [Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/) > [“This is possibly the most revolutionary idea Marx ever had: that the reduction of labour to a minimum could produce a kind of human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mason/this-is-possibly-the-most-revolutionary-idea-marx-ever-had-that-the/) [Paul Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mason/) > [Marx did not recognize that our desire to connect with a transcendent power runs even deeper than our drive for economic satisfaction. Each of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-klein/marx-did-not-recognize-that-our-desire-to-connect-with-a-transcendent/) Jeffrey Klein > [For Marx, 'pure' economic theory, that is economic theory which abstracts from a specific social structure, is impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-mandel/for-marx-pure-economic-theory-that-is-economic-theory-which-abstracts/) [Ernest Mandel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-mandel/) > [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/) > [We turn to Marx, therefore, not because he is infallible, but because he is inescapable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-heilbroner/we-turn-to-marx-therefore-not-because-he-is-infallible-but-because-he/) [Robert Heilbroner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-heilbroner/) > [It is therefore utterly false to say that Marx revokes the law of value as far as individual commodities are concerned, and maintains it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudolf-hiferding/it-is-therefore-utterly-false-to-say-that-marx-revokes-the-law-of/) [Rudolf Hiferding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudolf-hiferding/) > [The Bolsheviks started not just on the killing of private property; they were trying to abolish money itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-chubais/the-bolsheviks-started-not-just-on-the-killing-of-private-property/) [Anatoly Chubais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-chubais/) > [ I think \[Karl\] Marx, Pope John XXIII or Rosa Luxemburg \[had achieved the mode of existence\].But it would be useless to look at a… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/i-think-karl-marx-pope-john-xxiii-or-rosa-luxemburg-had-achieved-the/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“The class struggle had a just motive, and Socialism at the beginning was in the right. What has happened is that instead of pursuing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jos-antonio-rivera/the-class-struggle-had-a-just-motive-and-socialism-at-the-beginning/) José Antonio Rivera > [“From Marx until today, victim groups have played an indispensable role in Leftist success. Without victim groups, the Left cannot succeed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/from-marx-until-today-victim-groups-have-played-an-indispensable-role/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) > [“. . . it is a mistake to think that Marxism is simply a type of interpretation that takes the economic "sequence" as that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fredric-jameson/it-is-a-mistake-to-think-that-marxism-is-simply-a-type-of/) [Fredric Jameson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fredric-jameson/) Browse all 334 Marx quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Socialism, which was very up to date a hundred years ago, failed to keep up with the new technology. 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