Source: Global Shift (2003) (Fourth Edition), Chapter 5, The State, p. 132
“The extreme emphasis upon the accumulation of wealth as a symbol of success in our society militates against the completely effective control of institutionally regulated modes of acquiring a fortune.”
Source: Social structure and anomie (1938), p. 59
Help us to complete the source, original and additional information
Robert K. Merton 11
American sociologist 1910–2003Related quotes

Source: The Other Side Of The Coin (2008), Chapter 9, Square Versus Oblong, p. 275

Source: The Art of Money Getting: Golden Rules for Making Money

Article on Wealth
L'Encyclopédie (1751-1766)

fr. 132
Variant translations:
Blessed is he who has acquired a wealth of divine wisdom, but miserable is he in whom there rests a dim opinion concerning the gods.
tr. Arthur Fairbanks
Purifications
Source: Fairbanks, Arthur. (1898). The First Philosophers of Greece https://archive.org/stream/cu31924029013162. Kegan Paul, Trench, Trübner & Co. Ltd. p. 201.

“He has not acquired a fortune; the fortune has acquired him.”
Bion, 50.
The Lives and Opinions of Eminent Philosophers (c. 200 A.D.), Book 4: The Academy

OSCON 2002
Context: It's insane. It's extreme. It's controlled by political interests. It has no justification in the traditional values that justify legal regulation. And we've done nothing about it. We're bigger than they are. We've got rights on our side. And we've done nothing about it. We let them control this debate. Here's the refrain that leads to this: They win because we've done nothing to stop it.

1900s, First Annual Message to Congress (1901)