Poverty Quotes

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  Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.

  Nelson Mandela

  Men, Justice, Overcoming

  Nelson Mandela (2012). “Notes to the Future: Words of Wisdom”, p.141, Simon and Schuster

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• Technology transforms people's lives. From mitigating poverty to simplifying processes, ending corruption to providing better services, Technology is omnipresent. It has become the single-most important instrument of human progress.

  Narendra Modi

  Technology, People, Progress

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  Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life . . .

  Nelson Mandela

  Justice, Overcoming, Fundamentals

  Nelson Mandela (2012). “Notes to the Future: Words of Wisdom”, p.141, Simon and Schuster

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  The measure of a society is found in how they treat their weakest and most helpless citizens.

  Jimmy Carter

  Citizens, Treats, Found

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• The inevitable consequence of poverty is dependence.

  Samuel Johnson

  Wisdom, Politics, Economy

  Samuel Johnson, Roger H. Lonsdale (2006). “Samuel Johnson's Lives of the Poets”, p.117, Oxford University Press

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• In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.

  Confucius

  Country, Countries Of The World, Government

  49 Copy quote

• Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.

  James A. Baldwin

  Inspirational, Black, Wealth

  Nobody Knows My Name (1961) "Fifth Avenue, Uptown: a letter from Harlem"

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• Poverty is less a matter of income than of prospects. While the incomes of the poor have steadily risen through Great Society largesse, their prospects have plummeted as families have broken into dependent fragments.

  George Gilder

  Broken, Income, Matter

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• You, who are ashamed of your poverty, and blush for your calling, are a snob; as are you who boast of your wealth.

  William Makepeace Thackeray

  Calling, Wealth, Ashamed

  William Makepeace Thackeray (1869). “Miscellanies: The book of snobs. Sketches and travels in London. Denis Duval”, p.101

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• Poverty is often concealed in splendor, and often in extravagance. It is the task of many people to conceal their neediness from others. Consequently they support themselves by temporary means, and everyday is lost in contriving for tomorrow.

  Samuel Johnson

  Mean, People, Support

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• Affluence creates poverty.

  Marshall McLuhan

  Affluence, Poor

  Marshall McLuhan (2010). “The Medium and the Light: Reflections on Religion and Media”, p.93, Wipf and Stock Publishers

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• As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will be simpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not be poverty, nor weakness weakness.

  Henry David Thoreau

  Life, Peace, Simple

  Henry David Thoreau (2013). “Quotable Thoreau: An A to Z Glossary of Inspiring Quotations from Henry David Thoreau”, p.88, BookBaby

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• Come away; poverty's catching.

  Aphra Behn

  Catching

  1678 The Rover, pt.2, act1.

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• Poverty is the step-mother of genius.

  Josh Billings

  Mother, Genius, Steps

  Josh Billings (1874). “Everybody's Friend, Or Josh Billing's Encyclopedia and Proverbial Philosophy of Wit and Humor”, p.236

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• Whether our task is fighting poverty, stemming the spread of disease or saving innocent lives from mass murder, we have seen that we cannot succeed without the leadership of the strong and the engagement of all.

  Kofi Annan

  Success, Strong, Fighting

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• Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.

  Aristotle

  Inspiration, Parent, Politics

  Aristotle, Stephen Everson (1996). “Aristotle: The Politics and the Constitution of Athens”, p.41, Cambridge University Press

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• Whatever may be said in praise of poverty, the fact remains that it is not possible to live a really complete or successful life unless one is rich.

  Wallace D. Wattles

  Successful, May, Facts

  Wallace D. Wattles (2015). “The Science of Wallace D. Wattles: The Science of Being Well, The Science of Getting Rich & The Science of Being Great – Complete Trilogy: From one of the New Thought pioneers, author of How to Promote Yourself, New Science of Living and Healing, Hellfire Harrison, A New Christ, How to Get What You Want and Jesus The Man and His Work”, p.7, e-artnow

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• A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats its weakest members.

  Mahatma Gandhi

  Greatness, Treats, Members

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• Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice.

  Nelson Mandela

  Hunger And Poverty, Hunger Poverty, Justice

  Twitter post from Jan 21, 2016

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• Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings. Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice... Sometimes it falls upon a generation to be great. You can be that great generation. Let your greatness blossom.

  Nelson Mandela

  Inspiring, Fall, Greatness

  Nelson Mandela's speech in London's Trafalgar Square for the campaign to end poverty in the developing world, news.bbc.co.uk. February 3, 2005.

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• Morality and religion are but words to him who fishes in gutters for the means of sustaining life, and crouches behind barrels in the street for shelter from the cutting blasts of a winter night.

  Horace Greeley

  Mean, Cutting, Winter

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  If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich.

  John F. Kennedy

  Inspirational, Success, Helping Others

  Inaugural Address, 20 Jan. 1961

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• He is not poor who has the use of necessary things.
  [Lat., Pauper enim non est cui rerum suppetet usus.]

  Horace

  Use, Poor, Necessary Things

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• Poverty, when it is voluntary, is never despicable, but takes an heroical aspect.

  William Hazlitt

  Aspect, Despicable

  William Hazlitt, Edward Bulwer Lytton Baron Lytton, Sir Thomas Noon Talfourd, Charles Lamb (1836). “Literary Remains of the Late William Hazlitt: With Notice of His Life”, p.242

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• As society advances the standard of poverty rises.

  Theodore Parker

  Society, Poor, Standards

  Theodore Parker (1864). “Critical Writings”, p.136

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