"The prevalent fear of poverty among the..." - Quote by William James
The prevalent fear of poverty among the educated classes is the worst moral disease from which our civilization suffers.
More by William James
“Philosophy is "an unusually stubborn attempt to think clearly.”
“Our ideas must agree with realities, be such realities concrete or abstract, be they facts or be they principles, under penalty of endless inconsistency and frustration.”
“We must not just patch and tinker with life. We must keep renewing it. Embrace novelty and uniqueness.”
More on Poverty
“Nothing incites to money-crimes like great poverty or great wealth.”
“Let no one go hungry away. If any of the kind of people should be in want of corn, supply their necessities, provided it does not encourage them in idleness.”
“The first theory is that if we make the rich richer, somehow they will let a part of their prosperity trickle down to the rest of us. The second theory was the theory that if we make the average of mankind comfortable and secure, their prosperity will rise upward through the ranks.”
More on Fear
“But, commonly, men are as much afraid of love as of hate.”
“The muttered hint, "Remember, you have a stroke here," freezes my joints like a blast from Siberia.”
“The mind of America is seized by a fatal dry rot - and it's only a question of time before all that the mind controls will run amuck in a frenzy of stupid, impotent fear.”