--- title: "18 Needs Quotes By Cornel West" description: "18 Needs quotes by Cornel West. Plus more from Cornel West and more Needs sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24b/cornel-west-708_democratic_we-need-to-put-strong-democratic-pressur_290580.jpg" --- > [We need to put strong Democratic pressure on President Obama in the name of poor and working people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/we-need-to-put-strong-democratic-pressure-on-president-obama-in-the/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24b/cornel-west-708_democratic_we-need-to-put-strong-democratic-pressur_290580.jpg) > [I am excited to have a black president because white supremacy is real and it needs to be shattered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-am-excited-to-have-a-black-president-because-white-supremacy-is/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f0f/cornel-west-708_black_i-am-excited-to-have-a-black-president-b_1910136.jpg) > [Music is what we need when language fails us, but we cannot remain silent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/music-is-what-we-need-when-language-fails-us-but-we-cannot-remain/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/499/cornel-west-708_failing_music-is-what-we-need-when-language-fail_2952180.jpg) > [When it comes to our precious poor children of all colors, maybe disproportionally in percentage black and white and red, but all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/when-it-comes-to-our-precious-poor-children-of-all-colors-maybe/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5bc/cornel-west-708_black_when-it-comes-to-our-precious-poor-child_2791606.jpg) > [I think hip-hop can be prophetic and progressive, and at the same time, the dominant forms tend to be homophobic, misogynistic and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-think-hip-hop-can-be-prophetic-and-progressive-and-at-the-same-time/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/846/cornel-west-708_dominant_i-think-hip-hop-can-be-prophetic-and-pro_1062170.jpg) > [We're learning lessons from Africa. And the lesson that we need to learn is, how do we straighten our backs up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/we-re-learning-lessons-from-africa-and-the-lesson-that-we-need-to/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/cornel-west-708_democracy_we-re-learning-lessons-from-africa-and-t_3114756.jpg) > [Every president needs to deal with the permanent government of the country, and the permanent government of the country is Wall Street…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/every-president-needs-to-deal-with-the-permanent-government-of-the/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f42/cornel-west-708_corporate_every-president-needs-to-deal-with-the-p_842286.jpg) > [Poor people can be greedy, too. It's just that they don't have any material resources. We need shaping of the souls as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/poor-people-can-be-greedy-too-it-s-just-that-they-don-t-have-any/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/cornel-west-708_greedy_poor-people-can-be-greedy-too-it-s-just_999865.jpg) > [Sometime you just need to be silent, have a drink and crack a smile or somethin', because the human condition, in general,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/sometime-you-just-need-to-be-silent-have-a-drink-and-crack-a-smile-or/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/cornel-west-708_conditions_sometime-you-just-need-to-be-silent-have_876503.jpg) > [I do believe that healing takes place on a number of different levels and that in fact black healing can be deepened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-do-believe-that-healing-takes-place-on-a-number-of-different-levels/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cde/cornel-west-708_believe_i-do-believe-that-healing-takes-place-on_732564.jpg) > [In a time in which Communist regimes have been rightfully discredited and yet alternatives to neoliberal capitalist societies are unwisely dismissed, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/in-a-time-in-which-communist-regimes-have-been-rightfully-discredited/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cd/cornel-west-708_alternatives_in-a-time-in-which-communist-regimes-hav_1110992.jpg) > [I believe that all of us have gangster proclivities and greedy orientations that need accountability. That's why democracies are necessary. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-believe-that-all-of-us-have-gangster-proclivities-and-greedy/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/cornel-west-708_accountability_i-believe-that-all-of-us-have-gangster-p_2415530.jpg) > [The need of black conservatives to gain the respect of their white peers deeply shapes certain elements of their conservatism. In this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain-the-respect-of-their-white/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/cornel-west-708_action_the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain_59562.jpg) > [The country is in deep trouble. We've forgotten that a rich life consists fundamentally of serving others, trying to leave the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-country-is-in-deep-trouble-we-ve-forgotten-that-a-rich-life/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf4/cornel-west-708_country_the-country-is-in-deep-trouble-we-ve-for_2796345.jpg) > [To accept your country without betraying it, you must love it for that which shows what it might become. America -- this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/to-accept-your-country-without-betraying-it-you-must-love-it-for-that/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/cornel-west-708_accepting_to-accept-your-country-without-betraying_2519829.jpg) > [ We don't hear our president \[Barack Obama\] talking about the need for high-quality jobs for everybody, giving it priority, not just giving… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/we-don-t-hear-our-president-barack-obama-talking-about-the-need-for/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/cornel-west-708_barack_we-don-t-hear-our-president-barack-obama_1713007.jpg) > [There are different varieties and forms of capitalism. There are priorities within the capitalist society so that you can have countervailing forces…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-are-different-varieties-and-forms-of-capitalism-there-are/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/cornel-west-708_america_there-are-different-varieties-and-forms_1763861.jpg) > [I think in the end, you know, we're just addicted to oil. We've got to overcome that addiction, and we need some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-think-in-the-end-you-know-we-re-just-addicted-to-oil-we-ve-got-to/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/cornel-west-708_accountability_i-think-in-the-end-you-know-we-re-just-a_1317890.jpg) ## Other authors on Needs ## More by Cornel West > [There has certainly been ugly, right-wing hatred targeting Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-has-certainly-been-ugly-right-wing-hatred-targeting-barack-obama/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I feel as if I have been blessed to undergo a transformation from 'gangster' to 'redeemed sinner with gangster proclivities.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-feel-as-if-i-have-been-blessed-to-undergo-a-transformation-from/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“Like King, we need to put on our cemetery clothes and be coffin-ready for the next great democratic battle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/like-king-we-need-to-put-on-our-cemetery-clothes-and-be-coffin-ready/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [ “You can't really move forward until you look back. \[From Remaking America panel discussion at George Washington University\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-t-really-move-forward-until-you-look-back-from-remaking/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [When we think of globalization we are thinking in part of structures and institutions that have been developed over time and that have allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/when-we-think-of-globalization-we-are-thinking-in-part-of-structures/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The challenge artists face today is whether to be an underground, unheard genius, or to dilute their art for the marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-challenge-artists-face-today-is-whether-to-be-an-underground/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The need of black conservatives to gain the respect of their white peers deeply shapes certain elements of their conservatism. In this regard, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain-the-respect-of-their-white/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-describes-himself-as-a-poet-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I don't draw any distinctions between forms of bigotry or forms of ideology that lose sight of the humanity of people. I can't stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-don-t-draw-any-distinctions-between-forms-of-bigotry-or-forms-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Barack Obama has domesticated the left in such a way that we feel as if we have no alternative but him...I refuse to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/barack-obama-has-domesticated-the-left-in-such-a-way-that-we-feel-as/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Larry Summers, I think, he had a long history of arrogance and relative ignorance about poor people's culture and working people's culture and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/larry-summers-i-think-he-had-a-long-history-of-arrogance-and-relative/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-someone-is-the-gift-of-inspiration/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [You can see it in terms of the obsession on Wall Street with not just profits but greed, more profit, more profit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-see-it-in-terms-of-the-obsession-on-wall-street-with-not-just/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Anybody who takes Martin Luther King seriously has got to go beyond the standard understanding of who he was, has to connect those dots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/anybody-who-takes-martin-luther-king-seriously-has-got-to-go-beyond/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/cornel-west/#itemlist", "name": "18 Needs Quotes By Cornel West", 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And the lesson that we need to learn is, how do we straighten our backs up in the face of these oligarchs and plutocrats who are trying to snatch the best of our democracy away?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/we-re-learning-lessons-from-africa-and-the-lesson-that-we-need-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/cornel-west-708_democracy_we-re-learning-lessons-from-africa-and-t_3114756.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/cornel-west-708_democracy_we-re-learning-lessons-from-africa-and-t_3114756.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/49c/cornel-west-708_democracy_we-re-learning-lessons-from-africa-and-t_3114756.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We're learning lessons from Africa. 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It's just that they don't have any material resources. We need shaping of the souls as well as shaping of our institutions.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/poor-people-can-be-greedy-too-it-s-just-that-they-don-t-have-any/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/cornel-west-708_greedy_poor-people-can-be-greedy-too-it-s-just_999865.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/cornel-west-708_greedy_poor-people-can-be-greedy-too-it-s-just_999865.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/799/cornel-west-708_greedy_poor-people-can-be-greedy-too-it-s-just_999865.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Poor people can be greedy, too. It's just that they don't have any material resources. We need shaping of…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometime you just need to be silent, have a drink and crack a smile or somethin', because the human condition, in general, is just overwhelming in so many ways.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/sometime-you-just-need-to-be-silent-have-a-drink-and-crack-a-smile-or/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/cornel-west-708_conditions_sometime-you-just-need-to-be-silent-have_876503.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/cornel-west-708_conditions_sometime-you-just-need-to-be-silent-have_876503.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e1d/cornel-west-708_conditions_sometime-you-just-need-to-be-silent-have_876503.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometime you just need to be silent, have a drink and crack a smile or somethin', because the human…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I do believe that healing takes place on a number of different levels and that in fact black healing can be deepened by trying to heal across as well as within. But it could be that to call for black and Jewish healing without acknowledging the need for intra-black healing puts the cart before the horse.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-do-believe-that-healing-takes-place-on-a-number-of-different-levels/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cde/cornel-west-708_believe_i-do-believe-that-healing-takes-place-on_732564.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cde/cornel-west-708_believe_i-do-believe-that-healing-takes-place-on_732564.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cde/cornel-west-708_believe_i-do-believe-that-healing-takes-place-on_732564.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I do believe that healing takes place on a number of different levels and that in fact black healing can be…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In a time in which Communist regimes have been rightfully discredited and yet alternatives to neoliberal capitalist societies are unwisely dismissed, I defend the fundamental claim of Marxist theory: there must be countervailing forces that defend people's needs against the brutality of profit driven capitalism.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/in-a-time-in-which-communist-regimes-have-been-rightfully-discredited/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cd/cornel-west-708_alternatives_in-a-time-in-which-communist-regimes-hav_1110992.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cd/cornel-west-708_alternatives_in-a-time-in-which-communist-regimes-hav_1110992.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cd/cornel-west-708_alternatives_in-a-time-in-which-communist-regimes-hav_1110992.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In a time in which Communist regimes have been rightfully discredited and yet alternatives to neoliberal…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I believe that all of us have gangster proclivities and greedy orientations that need accountability. That's why democracies are necessary. We have to have institutions to try to curtail the use of arbitrary power so that our greedy orientations and gangster-like proclivities don't get out of hand.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-believe-that-all-of-us-have-gangster-proclivities-and-greedy/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/cornel-west-708_accountability_i-believe-that-all-of-us-have-gangster-p_2415530.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/cornel-west-708_accountability_i-believe-that-all-of-us-have-gangster-p_2415530.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/af8/cornel-west-708_accountability_i-believe-that-all-of-us-have-gangster-p_2415530.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I believe that all of us have gangster proclivities and greedy orientations that need accountability. That's…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The need of black conservatives to gain the respect of their white peers deeply shapes certain elements of their conservatism. In this regard, they simply want what most people want, to be judged by the quality of their skills, not by the color of their skin. But the black conservatives overlook the fact that affirmative action policies were political responses to the pervasive refusal of most white Americans to judge black Americans on that basis.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain-the-respect-of-their-white/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/cornel-west-708_action_the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain_59562.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/cornel-west-708_action_the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain_59562.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fff/cornel-west-708_action_the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain_59562.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The need of black conservatives to gain the respect of their white peers deeply shapes certain elements of…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The country is in deep trouble. We've forgotten that a rich life consists fundamentally of serving others, trying to leave the world a little better than you found it. We need the courage to question the powers that be, the courage to be impatient with evil and patient with people, the courage to fight for social justice. In many instances we will be stepping out on nothing, and just hoping to land on something. But that's the struggle. To live is to wrestle with despair, yet never allow despair to have the last word.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-country-is-in-deep-trouble-we-ve-forgotten-that-a-rich-life/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf4/cornel-west-708_country_the-country-is-in-deep-trouble-we-ve-for_2796345.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf4/cornel-west-708_country_the-country-is-in-deep-trouble-we-ve-for_2796345.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf4/cornel-west-708_country_the-country-is-in-deep-trouble-we-ve-for_2796345.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The country is in deep trouble. We've forgotten that a rich life consists fundamentally of serving others…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "To accept your country without betraying it, you must love it for that which shows what it might become. America -- this monument to the genius of ordinary men and women, this place where hope becomes capacity, this long, halting turn of 'no' into the 'yes' -- needs citizens who love it enough to re-imagine and re-make it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/to-accept-your-country-without-betraying-it-you-must-love-it-for-that/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/cornel-west-708_accepting_to-accept-your-country-without-betraying_2519829.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/cornel-west-708_accepting_to-accept-your-country-without-betraying_2519829.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da8/cornel-west-708_accepting_to-accept-your-country-without-betraying_2519829.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“To accept your country without betraying it, you must love it for that which shows what it might become…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 16, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We don't hear our president [Barack Obama] talking about the need for high-quality jobs for everybody, giving it priority, not just giving a speech in Detroit. That's fine, but speaking to Tim Geithner, speaking to Larry Summers. When are you going to make jobs, jobs, jobs a priority rather than Wall Street, Wall Street, Wall Street a priority? That's what I'm concerned about.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/we-don-t-hear-our-president-barack-obama-talking-about-the-need-for/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/cornel-west-708_barack_we-don-t-hear-our-president-barack-obama_1713007.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/cornel-west-708_barack_we-don-t-hear-our-president-barack-obama_1713007.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/215/cornel-west-708_barack_we-don-t-hear-our-president-barack-obama_1713007.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We don't hear our president [Barack Obama] talking about the need for high-quality jobs for everybody…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 17, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are different varieties and forms of capitalism. There are priorities within the capitalist society so that you can have countervailing forces come in and empower your working people and your poor people. There are capitalist societies that do not have poverty. America needs to understand that.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-are-different-varieties-and-forms-of-capitalism-there-are/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/cornel-west-708_america_there-are-different-varieties-and-forms_1763861.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/cornel-west-708_america_there-are-different-varieties-and-forms_1763861.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb0/cornel-west-708_america_there-are-different-varieties-and-forms_1763861.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are different varieties and forms of capitalism. There are priorities within the capitalist society so…” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 18, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I think in the end, you know, we're just addicted to oil. We've got to overcome that addiction, and we need some serious accountability of big oil, because big oil, like so much of big businesses, has just colonized our government, colonized the regulatory agencies so we can't impose any kind of accountability on them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-think-in-the-end-you-know-we-re-just-addicted-to-oil-we-ve-got-to/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/cornel-west-708_accountability_i-think-in-the-end-you-know-we-re-just-a_1317890.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/cornel-west-708_accountability_i-think-in-the-end-you-know-we-re-just-a_1317890.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bcd/cornel-west-708_accountability_i-think-in-the-end-you-know-we-re-just-a_1317890.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I think in the end, you know, we're just addicted to oil. 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