“Capital as such is not evil; it is its wrong use that is evil. Capital in some form or other will always be needed.”
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Probable attribution
This saying is widely associated with Mahatma Gandhi, but the attribution is not supported by a reliable primary source.
Likely origin: Harijan (28 July 1940), p. 219 (batch's '1949' is a citation typo; Gandhi died January 1948)
About this quote
A resource is neither good nor bad on its own; what matters is the hand that directs it and the end it serves. Wealth builds workshops or wrecks lives depending on use, so the moral question shifts from having it to what you actually do with it.
When to use it
- A bakery owner who plows profit back into fair wages instead of a flashier storefront.
- A family that treats savings as a tool for schooling rather than status purchases.
- A microloan that funds a repair workshop instead of trapping the borrower in fees.