Quotessence
Home / Authors / Philip Slater
Philip Slater

Philip Slater Quotes

Writer

Filter quotes by topic

AllNeedsPeopleIfsFantasyFeelingsImpulseIndividualInventionMillionsPersons

Famous Philip Slater Quotes

“It is a mistake - as so many over-centralized socialist societies have discovered - to try to eliminate money as an incentive. Money is one incentive among many, and has its place. But to put no limits on the impulse to accumulate money obsessively is as destructive as to place no limits on the impulse to commit violence. A viable democratic society needs a ceiling and a floor with regard to the distribution of wealth and assets.”

NeedsTryingWealthMistakeViolenceLimitsRegardDemocraticCommitImpulseDestructiveAssetsSocialistDistributionIncentivesCeilingsDemocratic SocietyDistribution Of Wealth
Author:Philip Slater
Create image

“The rule in our society is that while those who kill once make wretched a single person are severely punished, those (heads of state, inventors, manufacturers) who are responsible for the death, mutilation or general wretchedness of thousands or millions are rewarded with fame, riches and prizes... If you are going to rob, rob big; if you're going to kill, kill big.”

IfsPersonsStatesBigsPoliticsMillionsFameResponsibleRichesOur SocietyPrizeWretchedInventorSingle PersonWretchednessHead Of StateMutilation
Book:The Pursuit of Loneliness: America's Discontent and the Search for a New Democratic Ideal
Create image

“Our economy is based on spending billions to persuade people that happiness is buying things, and then insisting that the only way to have a viable economy is to make things for people to buy so they’ll have jobs and get enough money to buy things.”

PeopleWayEnoughJobsEconomySpendingBillionsBuyingInsistingBuying Things
Book:The Pursuit of Loneliness: America's Discontent and the Search for a New Democratic Ideal
Create image

“Motors make noise and that tells you about the feelings and attitudes that went into it. Something was more important than sensory pleasure - nobody would invent a chair or dish that smelled bad or that made horrible noises - why were motors invented noisy? How could they possibly be considered complete or successful inventions with this glaring defect? Unless, of course, the aggressive, hostile, assaultive sound actually served to express some impulse of the owner.”

MadeImportantFeelingsCoursesSoundPleasureAttitudeSuccessfulInventionHorribleNoiseImpulseProgrammingChairsOwnersAggressiveDishesDefectsHostileMotorNoisySensory
Author:Philip Slater
Create image