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.

Summary

This quote reflects on the paradoxes embedded within societal values. The speaker expresses their perplexity over the contradiction between the qualities they admire in people, such as kindness and honesty, which are often associated with failure within their existing system. On the other hand, the traits they despise, like greed and selfishness, are often linked to success. The quote reveals the hypocrisy in society's preference for the results and outcomes achieved through negative qualities rather than the positive virtues individuals possess.

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