Posts Tagged ‘alain de botton’
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
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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.
Alain de Botton: Inordinately Rich & Small
on Thursday, August 24, 2017Alain de Botton Money Quote saying we prefer to create vast wealth for those who provide mostly meaningless piffle to occupy us. Alain de Botton said:
“What a peculiar civilisation this was: inordinately rich, yet inclined to accrue its wealth through the sale of some astonishingly small and only distantly meaningful things” — Alain de Botton
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In this quote, Alain de Botton is critiquing modern consumerism and how wealth is often accumulated. By describing civilization as “inordinately rich” yet generating wealth through “astonishingly small and only distantly meaningful things”, Botton suggests that outsized profits are regularly made from trivial products providing little genuine value or fulfillment.
He implies current economic systems prioritize profits over well-being by allowing vast fortunes to be amassed from nonessential goods and services that provide limited lasting benefit.
The overall interpretation is that Botton views society as overly focused on monetary accumulation through proliferation and marketing of disposable, superficial offerings that do little to nourish people’s deeper needs and potential. His perspective conveys a need for rebalancing economic priorities to better align wealth creation with serving communities and cultivating what truly enriches individuals and society.