Command Quote by Zygmunt Bauman
“Ideally, nothing should be embraced by a consumer firmly, nothing should command a commitment till death do us part, no needs should be seen as fully satisfied, no desires considered ultimate. There ought to be a proviso 'until further notice' attached to any oath of loyalty and any commitment. It is but the volatility, the in-built temporality of all engagements that truly counts; it counts more than the commitment itself, which is anyway not allowed to outlast the time necessary for consuming the object of desire (or, rather, the time sufficient for the desirability of that object to wane).”
About This Quote
Source Book: Liquid Modernity, Zygmunt Bauman, 2000
Human relationships are inherently temporary; loyalty should be provisional, not absolute.
In simple terms: Commitments are fleeting, not permanent.
Key Takeaway
Accept impermanence in bonds.
Themes
temporality
commitment
liquidity
consumerism
Mood
reflective
analytical
Type
philosophical
critical
When to use this quote
- personal relationships
- consumer contracts
- career decisions
- political alliances
Key Concepts
social theory
philosophy
psychology
Questions to Reflect On
- How do you balance trust with impermanence?
- What commitments can you make more flexible?
A Different Perspective
Assuming all ties are permanent can cause disappointment.
![“Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine is too complicated for all the elements to be able to enter into the analytical comparison we wish to make, we separate the more inconvenient [elements], we…” quote by Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/0d9/jean-le-rond-d-alembert-26487_able_geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics_6945.jpg)
