“To one American family out of four, the idea of capitalism as a benign system of comfort, dignity, and personal advance is only a myth, or worse, a bitter mockery.”

— Robert L. Heilbroner, book The Worldly Philosophers

Source: The Worldly Philosophers (1953), Chapter X, The Modern World, p. 281

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Robert L. Heilbroner39

American historian and economist 1919–2005

Karl Shapiro (1913–2000) Poet, essayist

The Poems of a Jew (1958)

“This American system of ours … call it Americanism, call it capitalism, call it what you like, gives to each and every one of us a great opportunity if we only seize it with both hands and make the most of it.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

Interview with Claud Cockburn, as quoted in “Mr. Capone, Philosopher,” Cockburn Sums Up (1981)

“It was only in November, 1933, that Mussolini became convinced that the crisis that had beset capitalism for four years was not a crisis within the system, but a crisis of the system. It was on this occasion that he spoke of ‘the complete organic and totalitarian regulation of production’ a ‘regulated’ and ‘controlled; economy—a ‘burial’ of capitalism.”

A. James Gregor (1929–2019) American political scientist

Source: The Ideology of Fascism: The Rationale of Totalitarianism, (1969), p. 294

“Don't get the idea that I'm one of these goddamn radicals. Don't get the idea that I'm knocking the American system.”

Al Capone (1899–1947) American gangster

As quoted in In Time of Trouble (1956) by Claud Cockburn

“In fact, there’s probably only one thing worse than not being able to understand a person.”

James K. Morrow (1947) (1947-) science fiction author

“What’s that?” asked Nimrod.
“Being able to understand him completely.”
"Bible Stories for Adults, No. 20: The Tower" p. 76 (originally published in Author’s Choice Monthly #8: Swatting at the Cosmos)
Short fiction, Bible Stories for Adults (1996)

“I'm the least-educated person in my immediate family. My two other brothers have multiple advanced degrees, and I only have one. […] Actually, now that I've got a Nobel Prize, I feel equal.”

Steven Chu (1948) American physicist, former United States Secretary of Energy, Nobel laureate

Interview by Spencer Michels, The NewsHour, PBS, 2 May 2007 http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/environment/jan-june07/climatechange_05-02.html

“From the way of Go, the beauty of Japan and the Orient had fled. Everything had become science and regulation. The road to advancement in rank, which controlled the life of a player, had become a meticulous point system. One conducted the battle only to win, and there was no margin for remembering the dignity and the fragrance of Go as an art.”

Yasunari Kawabata book The Master of Go

Source: The Master of Go (1951), Ch. 12, p. 52.

“Because what was the point in crying when there was no one there to comfort you? And what was worse, when you couldn’t even comfort yourself?”

Cassandra Clare book City of Glass

Variant: What was the point in crying when there was no one to comfort you? And what was worse, when you couldn't even comfort yourself?
Source: City of Glass

“Kierkegaard said that the only way we can be released from the enchantment, the siren song of the myths, is to play the music through backwards. To break the spell of the ego I must recover my personal and political history, I must demythologize the private, family, and public myths that have informed me.”

Sam Keen (1931) author, professor, and philosopher

Source: The Passionate Life (1983), p. 140

“I believe every American willing to work hard should be able to find a job that provides dignity, pride and decent pay that can support a family.”

Hillary Clinton (1947) American politician, senator, Secretary of State, First Lady

Presidential campaign (April 12, 2015 – 2016), Speech in Warren, Michigan (August 11, 2016)

“To one American family out of four, the idea of capitalism as a benign system of comfort, dignity, and personal advance is only a myth, or worse, a bitter mockery.”

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Robert L. Heilbroner39

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