The forgotten man... He works, he votes, generally he prays, but his chief business in life is to pay.
William Graham SumnerRead
If I want to be free from any other man's dictation, I must understand that I can have no other man under my control.
Interpretation
What this quote means
True freedom requires mutual respect and the acknowledgment of autonomy in relationships.
This quote emphasizes the vital concept of autonomy and mutual respect in interpersonal relationships. To be free from domination or control by others, one must also forgo the desire to control or dictate othersβ lives. It speaks to the balance required for genuine freedom where both parties acknowledge each other's independence.
Themes
FreedomAutonomyRelationshipsControlRespect
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a speech about personal freedoms in a political context.
More from William Graham Sumner
All quotes βIt is the tendency of the social burdens to crush out the middle class, and to force society into an organization of only two classes, one at each social extreme.
William Graham SumnerRead
We shall find that every effort to realize equality necessitates a sacrifice of liberty.
William Graham SumnerRead
The Forgotten Man is delving away in patient industry, supporting his family, paying his taxes, casting his vote, supporting the church and the school, reading his newspaper, and cheering for the politician of his admiration, but he is the only one for whom there is no provision in the great scramble and the big divide. Such is the Forgotten Man. He works, he votes, generally he prays β but he always pays β yes, above all, he pays.
William Graham SumnerRead
The men who start out with the notion that the world owes them a living generally find that the world pays its 'debt' in the penitentiary or the poor house.
William Graham SumnerRead
We throw all our attention on the utterly idle question whether A has done as well as B, when the only question is whether A has done as well as he could.
William Graham SumnerRead
Similar quotes
Only our concept of time makes it possible for us to speak of the Day of Judgment by that name in reality it is a summary court in perpetual session.
Franz KafkaRead
God pursues us into whatever dark place we've landed and behind whatever locked door holds us in. He holds our unwashed and dirty hands and models how He wants us to pursue each other And He says to ordinary people like me and you that instead of closing our eyes and bowing our heads, sometimes God wants us to keep our eyes open for people in need, do something about it, and bow our whole lives to Him instead.
Bob GoffRead
If you find yourself loving any pleasure more than your prayers, any book better than the Bible, any house better than the house of the Lord, any table better than the Lord's table, any persons better than Christ, or any indulgence better than the hope of heaven β be alarmed.
Thomas GuthrieRead
Equal means getting the same thing, at the same time and in the same place.
Thurgood MarshallRead
The major threats to our survival no longer stem from nature without but from our own human nature within. It is our carelessness, our hostilities, our selfishness and pride and willful ignorance that endanger the world.
M. Scott PeckRead
The mind has first to be attuned to the Unconscious.
D.T. SuzukiRead