Leo Tolstoy: Money Master of Slavery

Posted by admin on Sunday, November 28, 2010

Leo Tolstoy Money Quote saying those who toil endlessly for cash without personal relationships with the means of earning it, makes us slaves to our desire for more of it. Leo Tolstoy said:
 

 

“Money is a new form of slavery, and distinguishable from the old simply by the fact that it is impersonal – that there is no human relation between master and slave” — Leo Tolstoy

 

 

This quote from Leo Tolstoy suggests that earning and relying on money can impose a kind of indirect or impersonal form of servitude on people. While traditional slavery involved a direct master-slave relationship, modern economic relationships centered around money allow a more hidden form of dominance where people feel compelled to continue working primarily to earn money rather than having full autonomy over how they spend their time.

Tolstoy seems to be arguing that the need to earn money in order to survive within a monetary system can undermine one’s freedom and independence, since most people do not have alternative means to access resources and must dedicate much of their efforts to financially productive activities.

This creates a situation where individuals are indirectly “enslaved” by the need for currency to live and participate in society, even if there is no single human master directly overseeing them. The impersonal and indirect nature of this new form of servitude is what distinguishes it from traditional human bondage.

Birthday: September 9, 1828 – Death: November 20, 1910