Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Society should prioritize human needs over economic demands, not the other way around.
In plain terms
We should design our economy to serve people, not force people to serve the economy.
What can you take from it?
Prioritize social welfare over economic growth.

Where it applies

  • policy making
  • economic reform
  • social advocacy

Putting it to work

  • draft social-first legislation
  • challenge GDP metrics
  • advocate for community needs

Questions to consider

  • What needs should society prioritize above profit?
  • How do current systems invert this relationship?

Another view

Economic constraints sometimes limit what society can achieve practically.

More from Linda McQuaig

  1. [The] contention that today's rich person is simply the winner of a 'race that is open for anyone to enter' takes no account of inheritance or how we are equip…

    Permalink to quote #17
  2. Thomas Friedman dismissed the protesters in Quebec City as members of the 'Coalition to Keep Poor People Poor.' ...The Coalition to Keep Poor People Poor might…

    Permalink to quote #19
  3. [W]e are assured not just that things will work out over time, but that scarcity is 'vanishing before our eyes.' Why, look - even as we watch - those 2.8 billi…

    Permalink to quote #16

Related quotes

  1. George W. Bush has helped those who have most, hurt those who have least and ignored everyone in between.

    Wesley ClarkWesley Clark quote #13
  2. A healthy environment is essential to a livable Oregon and a strong economy.

    Ted KulongoskiTed Kulongoski quote #1
  3. Above and beyond the question of how to grow the economy there is a legitimate concern about how to grow the quality of our lives.

    Paul WellstonePaul Wellstone quote #2