Alain de Botton: Morally Trivial Money Use
on Friday, August 25, 2017Alain de Botton Money Quote saying we can’t decide when to use our funds for truly valuable intentions – so much of it gets wasted on the pointless and damaging creation of wealth. Alain de Botton said:
“A civilisation torn and unable sensibly to adjudicate between the worthwhile ends to which money might be put and the often morally trivial and destructive mechanisms of its generation” — Alain de Botton
Share the Alain de Botton Money quote image above on your site:
Short Link to this Quote:
In this quote, Alain de Botton is criticizing modern society’s inability to properly distinguish between worthwhile versus harmful uses of money and economic activity. By describing civilization as “torn” and unable to reasonably “adjudicate between the worthwhile ends to which money might be put and the often morally trivial and destructive mechanisms of its generation”, Botton suggests that current systems make no clear distinction between constructive versus detrimental means of profiting financially.
He implies that money is often made through activities providing little benefit, and spent in ways not optimally serving human needs and potential. The overall interpretation is that Botton views society as failing to thoughtfully align wealth creation with moral and social priorities, or channel financial flows to their best purposes due to shortsighted prioritization of profits over well-being. His perspective conveys a need for more discerning economic policies and cultural mindsets that optimize monetary impacts for individuals and communities.