---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Stripped of its academic jargon, the…"
description: "\"Stripped of its academic jargon, the welfare state is nothing more than a mechanism by which governments confiscate the wealth of the productive member..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/alan-greenspan-1834_academic_stripped-of-its-academic-jargon-the-welf_2452797.png"
---

#  Stripped of its academic jargon, the welfare state is…

![“Stripped of its academic jargon, the welfare state is nothing more than a mechanism by which governments confiscate the wealth of the productive members of a society to support a wide variety of welfare schemes.” quote by Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/alan-greenspan-1834_academic_stripped-of-its-academic-jargon-the-welf_2452797.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/alan-greenspan-1834_academic_stripped-of-its-academic-jargon-the-welf_2452797.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/alan-greenspan-1834_academic_stripped-of-its-academic-jargon-the-welf_2452797.png)

> “Stripped of its academic jargon, the welfare state is nothing more than a mechanism by which governments confiscate the wealth of the productive members of a society to support a wide variety of welfare schemes.”

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The welfare state, stripped of jargon, functions as a system where governments take wealth from productive individuals to fund various social programs.

**In simple terms:** Welfare state redistributes wealth to fund social programs.

Key Takeaway

Recognize the trade‑off in welfare policies.

Themes

economics politics social policy

Mood

analytical critical

Type

economic political

When to use this quote

- tax policy
- public services
- social safety nets
- political debate
- economic analysis

Key Concepts

redistributive mechanisms government intervention

Questions to Reflect On

- How does wealth redistribution affect economic productivity?
- What are the moral implications of taxing the productive?

A Different Perspective

May overlook benefits to societal stability and cohesion.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Academic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/) [Deficit spending](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deficit-spending/) [Finance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finance/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Jargon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jargon/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-power/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Resorts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resorts/) [Schemes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/schemes/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) [Taxation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxation/) [Variety](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/variety/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) [Welfare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/welfare/) [Welfare state](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/welfare-state/)

## Related quotes

> [“Lenin is said to have declared that the best way to destroy the Capitalist System was to debauch the currency. By a continuing process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/lenin-is-said-to-have-declared-that-the-best-way-to-destroy-the-2/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [Lenin is said to have declared that the best way to destroy the Capitalist System was to debauch the currency. By a continuing process…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/lenin-is-said-to-have-declared-that-the-best-way-to-destroy-the/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [The best way to destroy the capitalist system is to debauch the currency. By a continuing process of inflation, governments can confiscate, secretly and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/the-best-way-to-destroy-the-capitalist-system-is-to-debauch-the-2/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the 'hidden' confiscation of wealth. Gold stands in the way of this insidious process. It stands as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/deficit-spending-is-simply-a-scheme-for-the-hidden-confiscation-of/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [The abandonment of the gold standard made it possible for the welfare statists to use the banking system as a means to an unlimited…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/the-abandonment-of-the-gold-standard-made-it-possible-for-the-welfare/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [Deficit spending is simply a scheme for the confiscation of wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/deficit-spending-is-simply-a-scheme-for-the-confiscation-of-wealth/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [Government has no wealth, and when a politician promises to give you something for nothing, he must first confiscate that wealth from you --…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/government-has-no-wealth-and-when-a-politician-promises-to-give-you/)

[John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/)

> [“By this means the government may secretly and unobserved, confiscate the wealth of the people, and not one man in a million will detect…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/by-this-means-the-government-may-secretly-and-unobserved-confiscate/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [Modi implemented welfare schemes, and U.P. became its major beneficiary in barely two years.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-adityanath/modi-implemented-welfare-schemes-and-u-p-became-its-major-beneficiary/)

[Yogi Adityanath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-adityanath/)

> [The government should spend money earned through taxes on social welfare schemes, create infrastructure and in other priority areas, whether national security or providing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-thakur/the-government-should-spend-money-earned-through-taxes-on-social/)

[Anurag Thakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-thakur/)

> [The Modi government started several welfare schemes for poor and realised the dream of corruption-free India.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yogi-adityanath/the-modi-government-started-several-welfare-schemes-for-poor-and/)

[Yogi Adityanath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yogi-adityanath/)

> [We don't need subsidized corporate welfare schemes that rely on endless bailouts from the taxpayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-poilievre/we-don-t-need-subsidized-corporate-welfare-schemes-that-rely-on/)

[Pierre Poilievre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-poilievre/)

> [It is sad indeed that you have large funds available for wasting on purchase of weapons, but none for spending on public welfare schemes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/it-is-sad-indeed-that-you-have-large-funds-available-for-wasting-on/)

Mak\_786

> [As recognized since ancient times, the coexistence of very rich and very poor leads to two possibilities, neither a happy one. The rich can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/as-recognized-since-ancient-times-the-coexistence-of-very-rich-and/)

[Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/)

> [The vital consideration of incentives is almost systematically overlooked in the proposals of agitators for more and bigger government welfare schemes. We should all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/the-vital-consideration-of-incentives-is-almost-systematically/)

[Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/)

## More by Alan Greenspan

> [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [At the risk of some oversimplification, if the skill composition of our work force meshed fully with the needs of our increasingly complex capital-stock,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/at-the-risk-of-some-oversimplification-if-the-skill-composition-of/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [To succeed, you will soon learn, as I did, the importance of a solid foundation in the basics of education - literacy, both verbal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/to-succeed-you-will-soon-learn-as-i-did-the-importance-of-a-solid/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [I've always argued that this country has benefited immensely from the fact that we draw people from all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/i-ve-always-argued-that-this-country-has-benefited-immensely-from-the/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [I cannot conceive of a politically feasible solution to this problem which will overdo cutting the deficit, where overdoing means harming the economy. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/i-cannot-conceive-of-a-politically-feasible-solution-to-this-problem/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [Before I met Ayn Rand, I was a logical positivist, and accordingly, I didn't believe in absolutes, moral or otherwise. If I couldn't prove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/before-i-met-ayn-rand-i-was-a-logical-positivist-and-accordingly-i/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [ Skilled shortages in America exist because we are shielding our skilled labor force from world competition. \[Visa quotas\] have been substituted for the wage… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/skilled-shortages-in-america-exist-because-we-are-shielding-our/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [A decline in the national housing price level would need to be substantial to trigger a significant rise in foreclosures, because the vast majority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/a-decline-in-the-national-housing-price-level-would-need-to-be/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [Although the outlook is clouded by a number of uncertainties, the central tendencies of the projections .. imply continued good economic performance in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/although-the-outlook-is-clouded-by-a-number-of-uncertainties-the/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [At the outset of the creation of the euro in 1999, it was expected that the southern eurozone economies would behave like those in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/at-the-outset-of-the-creation-of-the-euro-in-1999-it-was-expected/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [We may be in a rapidly evolving international financial system with all the bells and whistles of the so-called new economy. But the old-economy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/we-may-be-in-a-rapidly-evolving-international-financial-system-with/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [The guiding purpose of the government regulator is to prevent rather than to create something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/the-guiding-purpose-of-the-government-regulator-is-to-prevent-rather/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [“government regulation cannot substitute for individual integrity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/government-regulation-cannot-substitute-for-individual-integrity/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [...our market system depends critically on trust-trust in the word of our colleagues and trust in the word of those with whom we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/our-market-system-depends-critically-on-trust-trust-in-the-word-of/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

> [It's hard to overemphasize how important Ford's deregulation was. True, most of the benefits took years to unfold-rail freight rates, for example hardly budged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/it-s-hard-to-overemphasize-how-important-ford-s-deregulation-was-true/)

[Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

[Explore all 204 Alan Greenspan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/)

## More Academic quotes

> [When I went to college, as much as my parents emphasized academic achievement, they emphasized marriage even more. They told me that the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-sandberg/when-i-went-to-college-as-much-as-my-parents-emphasized-academic/)

[Sheryl Sandberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-sandberg/)

> [Instead of explaining the sober facts of mechanics and electricity, I want to say a few words about the debt which we owe to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-bloch/instead-of-explaining-the-sober-facts-of-mechanics-and-electricity-i/)

[Felix Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-bloch/)

> [The Carnegie Foundation is well aware of the fact that their reports frequently find their way to dusty archives in academic institutions, but occasionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-everett-koop/the-carnegie-foundation-is-well-aware-of-the-fact-that-their-reports/)

[C. Everett Koop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-everett-koop/)

> [Marx, however imperfectly he worked out the details, set himself the task of discovering the law of motion of capitalism, and if there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/marx-however-imperfectly-he-worked-out-the-details-set-himself-the/)

[Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/)

> [Now know I well what people sought formerly above all else when they sought Teachers of virtue. Good sleep they sought for themselves, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/now-know-i-well-what-people-sought-formerly-above-all-else-when-they/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Because my graduate academic training at law school was not one that included most of the intellectual traditions I find useful for understanding the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-spade/because-my-graduate-academic-training-at-law-school-was-not-one-that/)

[Dean Spade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-spade/)

> [An academic discipline, or any other semiotic domain, for that matter, is not primarily content, in the sense of facts and principles. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-paul-gee/an-academic-discipline-or-any-other-semiotic-domain-for-that-matter/)

[James Paul Gee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-paul-gee/)

> [“In the end, ethical interpretation of the Bible means to think critically about how our practices of textual engagement might help us to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/in-the-end-ethical-interpretation-of-the-bible-means-to-think/)

[Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/)

> [Perhaps art criticism cannot be reformed in a logical sense because it was never well-formed in the first place. Art criticism has long been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-elkins/perhaps-art-criticism-cannot-be-reformed-in-a-logical-sense-because/)

[James Elkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-elkins/)

> [And I'm the first one to tell people to break the rules. But you can only break the rules once you know what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/and-i-m-the-first-one-to-tell-people-to-break-the-rules-but-you-can/)

[Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/)

> [Nietzsche's ideas and plans: for example, the idea of giving up the whole wretched academic world to form a secular monastic community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-jaspers/nietzsche-s-ideas-and-plans-for-example-the-idea-of-giving-up-the/)

[Karl Jaspers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-jaspers/)

> [Quality afterschool programs provide safe, engaging and fun learning experiences to help children and youth develop their social, emotional, physical, cultural and academic skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-stabenow/quality-afterschool-programs-provide-safe-engaging-and-fun-learning/)

[Debbie Stabenow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-stabenow/)

> [The unary Photograph has every reason to be banal, 'unity' of composition being the first rule of vulgar (and notably, of academic) rhetoric: 'The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/the-unary-photograph-has-every-reason-to-be-banal-unity-of/)

[Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/)

> [Doctoral training is devoted almost entirely to learning to do research, even though most Ph.Ds who enter academic life spend far more time teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-bok/doctoral-training-is-devoted-almost-entirely-to-learning-to-do/)

[Derek Bok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-bok/)

> [I am not an academic who happens to have written a novel. I am a novelist who happens to be quite good academically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-s-byatt-2/i-am-not-an-academic-who-happens-to-have-written-a-novel-i-am-a/)

[A. S. Byatt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-s-byatt-2/)

[Browse all 958 Academic quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/academic/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Stripped of its academic jargon, the welfare state is nothing more than a mechanism by which governments confiscate the wealth of the productive members of a society to support a wide variety of welfare schemes.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Alan Greenspan"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/stripped-of-its-academic-jargon-the-welfare-state-is-nothing-more/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Academic"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/stripped-of-its-academic-jargon-the-welfare-state-is-nothing-more/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/alan-greenspan-1834_academic_stripped-of-its-academic-jargon-the-welf_2452797.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/alan-greenspan-1834_academic_stripped-of-its-academic-jargon-the-welf_2452797.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/208/alan-greenspan-1834_academic_stripped-of-its-academic-jargon-the-welf_2452797.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Stripped of its academic jargon, the welfare state is nothing more than a mechanism by which governments…” — Alan Greenspan",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Alan Greenspan",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Stripped of its academic jargon, the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/stripped-of-its-academic-jargon-the-welfare-state-is-nothing-more/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/stripped-of-its-academic-jargon-the-welfare-state-is-nothing-more/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
