James Truslow: Fuel for Progress

Posted by admin on Saturday, December 15, 2012

James Truslow Adams Money Quote saying running the engine of our world requires fuel and money probably best represents that resource until we find a societal motor that runs on ideas. James Truslow Adams said:
 

 

“Capital is to the progress of society what gas is to a car” — James Truslow Adams

 

 

In this quote, James Truslow Adams is drawing a comparison between capital (money available for investment) and gasoline for a car. His point is that just as gasoline provides the necessary fuel and energy for a car to function and enable transportation, capital provides the fuel and energy for broader societal progress and economic development.

Adams suggests that accumulated wealth invested productively into new businesses, technologies, infrastructure and opportunities is what powers advancement and improvement in living standards, similar to how gasoline empowers a car’s engine.

The quote conveys that capital availability is crucial as a type of fuel or lifeblood that allows any society to progress, change, and better the conditions of its citizens over time through new economic activities and growth, just as gasoline is essential to enable a car to operate and fulfill its purpose of transport.