There is hardly anything in the world that some man can't make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this man's lawful prey.

Ruskin wrote this line in the mid-Victorian period amid fierce debate over industrial capitalism, mass production, and the ethics of trade. As an art critic and social thinker, he argued that workmanship, honesty, and the welfare of workers and consumers should matter more than mere cheapness. The remark appears in an essay framed as practical advice to buyers, warning that a market driven solely by lowest price rewards producers who cut quality and evade responsibility. It reflects Ruskin’s broader critique of laissez-faire economics and his insistence that “value” includes durability, integrity of materials, and fair labor—not just the sticker price.

The quote cautions that price-only purchasing creates a predictable moral hazard: someone can always undercut competitors by degrading materials, workmanship, or standards, and then profit from consumers who ignore everything but cost. Ruskin’s phrase “lawful prey” underscores that such consumers invite exploitation within the rules of the market; the seller may be acting legally, yet the transaction is ethically compromised. The deeper claim is that cheapness is often an illusion—costs are displaced into waste, replacement, harm to workers, or diminished beauty and utility. Ruskin urges a more discerning notion of value grounded in quality, honesty, and long-term consequence.

1) “There is scarcely anything in the world that somebody cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper; and the people who consider price only are this man’s lawful prey.”
2) “There is hardly anything in the world that someone can’t make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and those who consider price only are this man’s lawful prey.”