Beth Wilder retweetledi
"It has always seemed strange to me... The things we admire in men, kindness and generosity, openness, honesty, understanding and feeling, are the concomitants of failure in our system. And those traits we detest, sharpness, greed, acquisitiveness, meanness, egotism and self-interest, are the traits of success. And while men admire the quality of the first they love the produce of the second." - John Steinbeck
This quote is taken from John Steinbeck’s Cannery Row (1945). In the novel, Steinbeck examines a core contradiction of modern life: the virtues people publicly celebrate are rarely the ones that lead to success. Kindness, honesty, generosity, and empathy are praised in principle, yet in competitive economic systems they often hinder advancement. In contrast, traits like greed, shrewdness, and self-interest tend to produce material rewards, even while being morally criticized.
Steinbeck isn’t condemning success itself. Rather, he highlights a cultural paradox—society applauds virtue but frequently profits from its opposite. The final line underscores this tension: goodness is admired, yet ambition and self-interest are what generate the wealth and productivity people ultimately enjoy. Maybe that contradiction is simply part of the world we live in.
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