All idealization makes life poorer. To beautify it is to take away its character of complexity - it is to destroy it. Leave that to the moralists, my boy. History is made by men, but they do not make it in their heads. The ideas that are born in their consciousness play an insignificant part in the march of events. History is dominated and determined by the tool and the production - by the force of economic conditions. Capitalism has made socialism, and the laws made by the capitalist for the protection of property are responsible for anarchism. No one can tell what form the social organisation may take in the future. Then why indulge in prophetic phantasies? At best they can only interpret the mind of the prophet, and can have no objective value. Leave that pastime to the moralists, my boy.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Economic forces shape history more than individual ideas or ideals.
- In plain terms
- Things like capitalism decide history, not what people think.
- What can you take from it?
- Material conditions drive history, not human intentions.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Do ideas change the world?
- Is history purely economic?
Another view
It ignores how ideas can influence economic change.
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