Ludwig Klages quotes

Ludwig Klages was a German philosopher, psychologist, and theorist known for his work on graphology, the study of handwriting. He was a key figure in the early 20th-century intellectual movement known as Lebensphilosophie, or "life philosophy." Klages also made significant contributions to the fields of metaphysics, ethics, and aesthetics. His ideas on the importance of understanding the unconscious mind and the symbolic meaning of gestures continue to influence psychology and philosophy today. Learn more about Ludwig Klages and his impactful work in this detailed bio.

Make no mistake: 'progress' is the lust for power and nothing besides, and we must unmask its method as a sick, destructive joke. Utilizing such pretexts as 'necessity', 'economic development', and 'culture', the final goal of 'progress' is nothing less than the destruction of life. This destructive urge takes many forms: progress is devastating forests, exterminating animal species, extinguishing native cultures, masking and distorting the pristine landscape with the varnish of industrialism, and debasing the organic life that still survives.

- Ludwig Klages

The United States of America, whose more rapid 'progress' enables us to predict the future on a daily basis, has pulled far ahead of the pack when it comes to standardizing thought, work, entertainment, etc... Thus, the United States in 1917 went to war against Germany in sincere indignation because the newspapers had told them that Prussian 'militarism' was rioting in devilish atrocities as it attempted to conquer the world. Of course, these transparent lies were published in the daily rags because the ruling lords of Mammon knew that American intervention in Europe would fatten their coffers. Thus, whereas the Americans thought that they were fighting for such high-minded slogans as 'liberty' and 'justice', they were actually fighting to stuff the money bags of the big bankers. These 'free citizens' are, in fact, mere marionettes; their freedom is imaginary, and a brief glance at American work-methods and leisure-time entertainments is enough to prove conclusively that l’homme machine is not merely imminent: it is already the American reality.

- Ludwig Klages