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Poverty quotes

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“In the long run, a hierarchical society was only possible on a basis of poverty and ignorance.” George Orwell, “1984” - 1949

“No complaint, however, is more common than that of a scarcity of money.” Adam Smith, “The Wealth of Nations” - 1776

“Who, being loved, is poor?” Oscar Wilde, “A Woman of No Importance” - 1893

“Tis hard for an empty bag to stand upright.” Benjamin Franklin, “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin” - 1791

“Every citizen, it is said, must have equality, and therefore in a democracy the poor have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme.” Aristotle, “Politics”

“Better poverty without care, than riches with.” Aesop, “Aesop's Fables”

“If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.” John F. Kennedy, “Inaugural Address” - 20 January 1961

“If you’re in trouble or hurt or need—go to poor people. They’re the only ones that’ll help—the only ones.” John Steinbeck, “The Grapes of Wrath” - 1939

“he who possesseth little is so much the less possessed: blessed be moderate poverty!” Friedrich Nietzsche, “Thus Spoke Zarathustra” - 1891

“Really, if the lower orders don't set us a good example, what on earth is the use of them?” Oscar Wilde, “The Importance of Being Earnest” - 1895

“She bears a duke's revenues on her back, and in her heart she scorns our poverty.” William Shakespeare, “Henry VI, Part 2” - 1594

“The great principle of out-of-door relief is, to give the paupers exactly what they don't want; and then they get tired of coming.” Charles Dickens, “Oliver Twist” - 1838

“A man being sometimes more generous when he has but a little money than when he has plenty, perhaps thro' fear of being thought to have but little.” Benjamin Franklin, “The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin” - 1791

“Wealth, I said, and poverty; the one is the parent of luxury and indolence, and the other of meanness and viciousness, and both of discontent.” Plato, “The Republic”

“The happy and the powerful do not go into exile, and there are no surer guarantees of equality among men than poverty and misfortune.” Alexis de Tocqueville, “Democracy in America” - 1835

“My friends, some years ago, the Federal Government declared war on poverty, and poverty won.” Ronald Reagan, “State of the Union Address” - 25 January 1988

“What a weary time those years were—to have the desire and the need to live but not the ability.” Charles Bukowski, “Ham on Rye” - 1982

“What you must do, with money and the poor, is never let them get too close to one another.” Charles Bukowski, “Ham on Rye” - 1982

“Capitalism – which in its purest form is entrepreneurism even among the poorest of the poor – does work; but those who make money from it should put back into society, not just sit on it as if they are hatching eggs.” Richard Branson, “Losing My Virginity” - 1998

“It is not difficult to be alone if you are poor and a failure. An artist is always alone—if he is an artist. No, what the artist needs is loneliness.” Henry Miller, “Tropic of Cancer” - 1934

“We have grown literally afraid to be poor. We despise any one who elects to be poor in order to simplify and save his inner life. If he does not join the general scramble and pant with the money-making street, we deem him spiritless and lacking...” William James, “The Varieties of Religious Experience” - 1902

“If your everyday life seems poor, don’t blame it; blame yourself; admit to yourself that you are not enough of a poet to call forth its riches; because for the creator there is not poverty and no poor, indifferent place.” Rainer Maria Rilke, “Letters to a Young Poet” - 1929

“Today, however, we have to realize that a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach; it must integrate questions of justice in debates on the environment, so as to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor.” Pope Francis, “Laudato si'” - 24 May 2015

“As long as we look to legislation to cure poverty or to abolish special privilege we are going to see poverty spread and special privilege grow.” Henry Ford, “My Life and Work” - 1922

“One of the reasons inequality gets so deep in this country is that everyone wants to be rich. That’s the American ideal. Poor people don’t like talking about poverty because even though they might live in the projects surrounded by other poor...” Jay-Z, “Decoded” - 2010

“The burden of poverty isn’t just that you don’t always have the things you need, it’s the feeling of being embarrassed every day of your life, and you’d do anything to lift that burden.” Jay-Z, “Decoded” - 2010

“The world is very different now, for man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty and all forms of human life.” John F. Kennedy, “Inaugural Address” - 20 January 1961

“Industry is the ceaseless piracy of the rich against the poor.” Emma Goldman, “Anarchism and Other Essays” - 1910

“There is only one class in the community that thinks more about money than the rich, and that is the poor. The poor can think of nothing else.” Oscar Wilde, “The Soul of Man under Socialism” - 1891

“Do you think, because I am poor, obscure, plain, and little, I am soulless and heartless? You think wrong! —I have as much soul as you,—and full as much heart!” Charlotte Brontë, “Jane Eyre” - 16 October 1847

“The affluence of the rich excites the indignation of the poor, who are often both driven by want, and prompted by envy to invade his possessions.” Adam Smith, “The Wealth of Nations” - 1776

“If he needs a million acres to make him feel rich, seems to me he needs it ’cause he feels awful poor inside hisself, and if he’s poor in hisself, there ain’t no million acres gonna make him feel rich, an’ maybe he’s disappointed that...” John Steinbeck, “The Grapes of Wrath” - 1939

Related topics

money wealth help life contempt freedom power possession love burden youth ignorance care justice virtue desire generosity ambition heart need

Related authors

Oscar Wilde (3)
Adam Smith (2)
Benjamin Franklin (2)
Charles Bukowski (2)
John Steinbeck (2)
Jay-Z (2)
John F. Kennedy (2)
William Shakespeare (1)
Charlotte Brontë (1)
George Orwell (1)
Charles Dickens (1)
Plato (1)
Aristotle (1)
Friedrich Nietzsche (1)
Alexis de Tocqueville (1)
Ronald Reagan (1)
Richard Branson (1)
Henry Miller (1)
William James (1)
Rainer Maria Rilke (1)

Related sources

The Wealth of Nations (2)
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin (2)
Inaugural Address (2)
Ham on Rye (2)
Decoded (2)
The Grapes of Wrath (2)
Henry VI, Part 2 (1)
The Importance of Being Earnest (1)
Jane Eyre (1)
1984 (1)
Oliver Twist (1)
State of the Union Address (1)
The Republic (1)
Politics (1)
Thus Spoke Zarathustra (1)
Democracy in America (1)
Losing My Virginity (1)
Tropic of Cancer (1)
The Varieties of Religious Experience (1)
Letters to a Young Poet (1)