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About this quote

What does it mean?
Being poor and free is preferable to being rich and enslaved; the desire for both wealth and freedom can trap people in poverty and servitude.
In plain terms
Freedom without wealth is better than wealth without freedom.
What can you take from it?
Prioritize liberty over material gain.

Where it applies

  • political choices
  • personal priorities

Putting it to work

  • evaluate freedom vs. income
  • avoid compromising liberty

Questions to consider

  • What freedoms are you willing to sacrifice?
  • Do you equate wealth with freedom?

Another view

Sometimes material security can enable greater freedom.

More from Albert Camus

  1. The greatest saving one can make in the order of thought is to accept the unintelligibility of the world -- and to pay attention to man.

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  2. Query: How to contrive not to waste one's time? Answer: By being fully aware of it all the while. Ways in which this can be done: By spending one's days on an …

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  3. There is always a philosophy for lack of courage.

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