The forgotten man... He works, he votes, generally he prays, but his chief business in life is to pay.
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Expecting the world to provide for you can lead to negative consequences.
This quote emphasizes the idea that those who believe they are entitled to a life of ease and support without effort or contribution often end up facing severe repercussions, such as poverty or incarceration. It highlights the importance of personal responsibility and the consequences of entitlement, suggesting that a lack of initiative can lead to unfortunate outcomes.
Themes
ResponsibilityEntitlementConsequenceEffortLife
In practice
Example use cases
In a motivational speech about the importance of hard work and personal responsibility.
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.
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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
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
Civil liberty is the status of the man who is guaranteed by law and civil institutions the exclusive employment of all his own powers for his own welfare.
William Graham SumnerRead
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