A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right (Unfinished) Quotes

Context

This line comes from the introduction to A Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right, which was written by Karl Marx in 1843.

Before he died, Karl Marx knocked out most of the things on his to-do list. Still, he never did finish his Contribution to the Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right, though he did publish the intro. And in this intro, he makes no bones about the fact that most people of the world spend their lives getting bossed around by a small group of rich managers who own most of the world's stuff. So now we have to ask: why do the people put up with this situation?

For Marx, religion is one of the first answers. In his mind, religion gets everyone to accept their crummy lives by promising them a better life after they die—as long as they're all nice and obedient in the meantime. That's why he thinks that religion is a lot like opium, a narcotic drug that makes you sleepy and throws you into a happy dream world.

Where you've heard it

One of the most famous uses of this quote is probably by the band Tool, who used it as inspiration for their song "Opiate" back in 1991. Since then, this quote has become a favorite for atheists who need a quick way of reminding religious folks how into atheism they are. You might also come across some pretty clever memes that replace "religion" in this quote with other stuff that's starting to take over people's lives.

Pretentious Factor

If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.

The language ain't all that fancy compared to most philosophy quotes, but you're still bound to alienate some people if you throw this line around enough times. And even the people who agree with you will roll their eyes if they hear you use this quote more than once.