--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Great nations are never impoverished by…" description: "\"Great nations are never impoverished by private, though they sometimes are by public prodigality and misconduct.\" — Adam Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/892/adam-smith-1040_great-nations_great-nations-are-never-impoverished-by_2656023.jpg" --- # Great nations are never impoverished by private, though… ![“Great nations are never impoverished by private, though they sometimes are by public prodigality and misconduct.” quote by Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/892/adam-smith-1040_great-nations_great-nations-are-never-impoverished-by_2656023.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/892/adam-smith-1040_great-nations_great-nations-are-never-impoverished-by_2656023.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/892/adam-smith-1040_great-nations_great-nations-are-never-impoverished-by_2656023.jpg) > “Great nations are never impoverished by private, though they sometimes are by public prodigality and misconduct.” [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Private wealth does not impoverish nations, but public waste and misconduct can. **In simple terms:** Public waste harms nations more than private wealth. Key Takeaway Promote responsible public spending. Themes economics public policy wealth misconduct national health Mood analytical critical Type economic political When to use this quote - government budgeting - policy analysis - public debates - education programs Key Concepts Political economy ethics public finance Questions to Reflect On - What examples illustrate public prodigality? - How can citizens hold governments accountable? A Different Perspective May oversimplify causes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Great nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-nations/) [Misconduct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misconduct/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Prodigality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prodigality-1410242/) [Prodigality Misconduct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prodigality-misconduct-2388522/) [Public Prodigality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-prodigality-2388521/) [Sometimes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sometimes/) ## Related quotes > [Capitals are increased by parsimony, and diminished by prodigalityand misconduct. By what a frugal man annually saves he not onlyaffords maintenance to an additional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/capitals-are-increased-by-parsimony-and-diminished-by-prodigalityand/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Prodigality is indeed the vice of a weak nature, as avarice is of a strong one; it comes of a weak craving for those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-taylor/prodigality-is-indeed-the-vice-of-a-weak-nature-as-avarice-is-of-a/) [Henry Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-taylor/) > [Prodigality of Time produces Poverty of Mind as well as of Estate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/prodigality-of-time-produces-poverty-of-mind-as-well-as-of-estate/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Corrupt influence is itself the perennial spring of all prodigality, and of all disorder; it loads us more than millions of debt; takes away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/corrupt-influence-is-itself-the-perennial-spring-of-all-prodigality/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [Passions often produce their contraries: avarice sometimes leads to prodigality, and prodigality to avarice; we are often obstinate through weakness and daring through timidity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/passions-often-produce-their-contraries-avarice-sometimes-leads-to/) [Francois de La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/) > [The passions do very often give birth to others of a nature most contrary to their own. Thus avarice sometimes brings forth prodigality, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-passions-do-very-often-give-birth-to-others-of-a-nature-most/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [there is nothing so easy as to be wise for others; a species of prodigality, by-the-by - for such wisdom is wholly wasted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-elizabeth-landon/there-is-nothing-so-easy-as-to-be-wise-for-others-a-species-of/) [Letitia Elizabeth Landon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-elizabeth-landon/) > [If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be the greatest prodigality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/if-time-be-of-all-things-the-most-precious-wasting-time-must-be-the/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [Gaming is the child of avarice, but the parent of prodigality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-caleb-colton/gaming-is-the-child-of-avarice-but-the-parent-of-prodigality/) [Charles Caleb Colton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-caleb-colton/) > [The injury of prodigality leads to this, that he who will not economize will have to agonize.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-injury-of-prodigality-leads-to-this-that-he-who-will-not/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [I am proud of my country. But we need to unite to make a unified India, free of communalism and casteism. We need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ratan-tata/i-am-proud-of-my-country-but-we-need-to-unite-to-make-a-unified-india/) [Ratan Tata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ratan-tata/) > [It is not what we have that will make us a great nation; it is the way in which we use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/it-is-not-what-we-have-that-will-make-us-a-great-nation-it-is-the-way/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [Compassion is not a dirty word.. it's time we rehabilitated compassion into the national political vocabulary of this great nation of ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudd/compassion-is-not-a-dirty-word-it-s-time-we-rehabilitated-compassion/) [Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudd/) > [We are a great nation, which has lot to offer to the world, but to offer something to the world France has to remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/we-are-a-great-nation-which-has-lot-to-offer-to-the-world-but-to/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) ## More by Adam Smith > [Poor David Hume is dying fast, but with more real cheerfulness and good humor and with more real resignation to the necessary course of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/poor-david-hume-is-dying-fast-but-with-more-real-cheerfulness-and/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [“The effects of the division of labour, in the general business of society, will be more easily understood by considering in what manner it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/the-effects-of-the-division-of-labour-in-the-general-business-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Defense is superior to opulence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/defense-is-superior-to-opulence/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [“There is a great deal of ruin in a nation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/there-is-a-great-deal-of-ruin-in-a-nation/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [“The profligacy of a man of fashion is looked upon with much less contempt and aversion, than that of a man of meaner condition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/the-profligacy-of-a-man-of-fashion-is-looked-upon-with-much-less/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Great ambition, the desire of real superiority, of leading and directing, seems to be altogether peculiar to man, and speech is the great instrument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/great-ambition-the-desire-of-real-superiority-of-leading-and/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/people-of-the-same-trade-seldom-meet-together-even-for-merriment-and/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Nobody but a beggar chooses to depend chiefly upon the benevolence of his fellow-citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/nobody-but-a-beggar-chooses-to-depend-chiefly-upon-the-benevolence-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/how-selfish-soever-man-may-be-supposed-there-are-evidently-some/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [The liberal reward of labour, therefore, as it is the affect of increasing wealth, so it is the cause of increasing population. To complain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/the-liberal-reward-of-labour-therefore-as-it-is-the-affect-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [A sketch of a man facing to the right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/a-sketch-of-a-man-facing-to-the-right/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/what-can-be-added-to-the-happiness-of-a-man-who-is-in-health-out-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/it-is-not-from-the-benevolence-of-the-butcher-the-brewer-or-the-baker/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [When we have read a book or poem so often that we can no longer find any amusement in reading it by ourselves, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/when-we-have-read-a-book-or-poem-so-often-that-we-can-no-longer-find/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [We are but one of the multitude, in no respect better than any other in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/we-are-but-one-of-the-multitude-in-no-respect-better-than-any-other/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) [Explore all 267 Adam Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) ## More Great nations quotes > [If we gave up our freedom as the price of security, we would no longer be the great nation that we are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-bader-ginsburg/if-we-gave-up-our-freedom-as-the-price-of-security-we-would-no-longer/) [Ruth Bader Ginsburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-bader-ginsburg/) > [We are a great nation, which has lot to offer to the world, but to offer something to the world France has to remain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/we-are-a-great-nation-which-has-lot-to-offer-to-the-world-but-to/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) > [Compassion is not a dirty word.. it's time we rehabilitated compassion into the national political vocabulary of this great nation of ours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-rudd/compassion-is-not-a-dirty-word-it-s-time-we-rehabilitated-compassion/) [Kevin Rudd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-rudd/) > [It is not what we have that will make us a great nation; it is the way in which we use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-roosevelt/it-is-not-what-we-have-that-will-make-us-a-great-nation-it-is-the-way/) [Theodore Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-roosevelt/) > [I am proud of my country. But we need to unite to make a unified India, free of communalism and casteism. We need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ratan-tata/i-am-proud-of-my-country-but-we-need-to-unite-to-make-a-unified-india/) [Ratan Tata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ratan-tata/) > [Now more than ever the people are responsible for the character of their Congress. If that body be ignorant, reckless, and corrupt, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-garfield/now-more-than-ever-the-people-are-responsible-for-the-character-of/) [James A. Garfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-garfield/) > [It is fitting for a great nation to yield.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laozi/it-is-fitting-for-a-great-nation-to-yield/) [Laozi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laozi/) > [The superior person tries to promote music as a means to the perfection of human culture. When such music prevails, and people's minds are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/confucius/the-superior-person-tries-to-promote-music-as-a-means-to-the/) [Confucius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/confucius/) > [We should not allow the fundamentalists and the bigots to take over and speak for the great faiths any more than we should let…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/we-should-not-allow-the-fundamentalists-and-the-bigots-to-take-over/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [We will export death and violence to the four corners of the earth in defense of our great nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/we-will-export-death-and-violence-to-the-four-corners-of-the-earth-in/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [The Founding Fathers believed that faith in God was the key to our being a good people and America's becoming a great nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-founding-fathers-believed-that-faith-in-god-was-the-key-to-our/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Small business in America is what fuels the American economy. We need more small business to assist us in creating a great nation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbi-fields/small-business-in-america-is-what-fuels-the-american-economy-we-need/) [Debbi Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbi-fields/) > [Great nations don't have to remind others of their greatness. They merely have to be great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-parker/great-nations-don-t-have-to-remind-others-of-their-greatness-they/) [Kathleen Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-parker/) > [Gentlemen, if we don't cut spending we will be bankrupt. 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