--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I have a weakness for treating people's…" description: "\"I have a weakness for treating people's economic interests as their only interest, ignoring things like belonging and pride and the desire to send a me..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc7/anand-giridharadas-12467_belonging_i-have-a-weakness-for-treating-people-s_599764.jpg" --- # I have a weakness for treating people's economic interests… ![“I have a weakness for treating people's economic interests as their only interest, ignoring things like belonging and pride and the desire to send a message to those who ignore you.” quote by Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc7/anand-giridharadas-12467_belonging_i-have-a-weakness-for-treating-people-s_599764.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc7/anand-giridharadas-12467_belonging_i-have-a-weakness-for-treating-people-s_599764.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc7/anand-giridharadas-12467_belonging_i-have-a-weakness-for-treating-people-s_599764.jpg) > “I have a weakness for treating people's economic interests as their only interest, ignoring things like belonging and pride and the desire to send a message to those who ignore you.” [Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It warns that reducing people to pure economic motives neglects deeper social needs like belonging, pride, and symbolic expression. **In simple terms:** Economic focus ignores belonging and pride. Key Takeaway Consider whole‑person motivations. Themes economics human dignity social identity psychology motivation Mood analytical empathetic Type critical observational When to use this quote - business negotiations - policy design - team management - community building Key Concepts maslow hierarchy social capital symbolic interaction Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance financial incentives with emotional needs? - What symbols matter to your audience? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex motivations into economic terms. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Belonging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belonging/) [Belonging Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belonging-pride-4893201/) [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Economic Interests](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-interests-262315/) [Ignore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignore/) [Ignoring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignoring/) [Ignoring Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignoring-things-702836/) [Interests Ignoring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interests-ignoring-4893200/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pride/) ## Related quotes > [“Going small” is ignoring all the things you could do and doing what you should do”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-one-things/going-small-is-ignoring-all-the-things-you-could-do-and-doing-what/) [the one things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-one-things/) > [Somethings Stress comes from ignoring things that you shouldnt be ignoring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stankyrich/somethings-stress-comes-from-ignoring-things-that-you-shouldnt-be/) [Stankyrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stankyrich/) > [“Ignoring things didn’t make them go away. 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Meredith Walters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-meredith-walters/) > [The secret of contentment lay in ignoring many things completely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-haddon/the-secret-of-contentment-lay-in-ignoring-many-things-completely/) [Mark Haddon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-haddon/) > [“The way I see it, ignoring things is important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-lynn-anderson/the-way-i-see-it-ignoring-things-is-important/) [Jodi Lynn Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-lynn-anderson/) > [Intelligence consists in ignoring things that are irrelevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nassim-nicholas-taleb/intelligence-consists-in-ignoring-things-that-are-irrelevant/) [Nassim Nicholas Taleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nassim-nicholas-taleb/) > [“The secret of contentment, George felt, lay in ignoring many things completely. 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Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allen-w-wood/) > [“Within this stable and secure environment people had the ability and the incentive to pursue their own economic interests.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-a-hudson/within-this-stable-and-secure-environment-people-had-the-ability-and/) [Edward A. Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-a-hudson/) > [Corporate America is not dumb; it's worked hard to sew up both political parties in its nefarious schemes to place their short-term economic interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/corporate-america-is-not-dumb-it-s-worked-hard-to-sew-up-both/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [It is my firm belief that it will be in the interests of the United States, especially our economic interests, to pursue comprehensive immigration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/it-is-my-firm-belief-that-it-will-be-in-the-interests-of-the-united/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The government built the grid to favor one industry over others. But I don't hear any conservatives screaming about that. Folks don't understand that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-jones/the-government-built-the-grid-to-favor-one-industry-over-others-but-i/) [Van Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-jones/) > [What a country calls its vital economic interests are not the things which enable its citizens to live, but the things which enable it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-weil/what-a-country-calls-its-vital-economic-interests-are-not-the-things/) [Simone Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-weil/) ## More by Anand Giridharadas > [In an economy increasingly dominated by network effects, peer-to-peer transactions, self-regulation, and contract labor, the old frameworks are woefully irrelevant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/in-an-economy-increasingly-dominated-by-network-effects-peer-to-peer/) [Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) > [For our family, learning was everything. Homework came first; books, being sacred, were never to be left on the floor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/for-our-family-learning-was-everything-homework-came-first-books/) [Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) > [America has deep, fundamental institutions that take a long time to replicate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/america-has-deep-fundamental-institutions-that-take-a-long-time-to/) [Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) > [More and more, the superrich don't live in one place but many, flitting between multiple homes on different continents, flying to them on private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/more-and-more-the-superrich-don-t-live-in-one-place-but-many-flitting/) [Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) > [IT put India on the map of the world and told Indians that they are somebody in the world. 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In fact, in”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/that-his-tendency-to-hate-could-ultimately-save-his-life-in-fact-in/) [Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) > [In Europe, more than in the United States, worldly people, faced with my Indian skin, reflexively laud my 'ancient,' 'beautiful' origins, which is heartier…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/in-europe-more-than-in-the-united-states-worldly-people-faced-with-my/) [Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) > [Election time is when you start to hear about 'average people,' 'working families,' 'patriotic Americans' and such.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/election-time-is-when-you-start-to-hear-about-average-people-working/) [Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) > [I worry when each of us is seduced by visions of the future that have no place for the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/i-worry-when-each-of-us-is-seduced-by-visions-of-the-future-that-have/) [Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) > [Right after college, after growing up in the United States, I moved to India, broadly telling the story of how an old and stagnant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/right-after-college-after-growing-up-in-the-united-states-i-moved-to/) [Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) > [Taking offense is, in fact, one of the few things that brings us together.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/taking-offense-is-in-fact-one-of-the-few-things-that-brings-us/) [Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) > [To spend time in Silicon Valley in a year of political upheaval is, on one level, soothing. It is pleasant to hear talk of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/to-spend-time-in-silicon-valley-in-a-year-of-political-upheaval-is-on/) [Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) > [When it comes to granting unconditional birthright citizenship, the United States and Canada are alone in the industrialized world: North American exceptionalism, you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/when-it-comes-to-granting-unconditional-birthright-citizenship-the/) [Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) > [Most of us are too enmeshed in communities to live our ideals. Outsiders have less to lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/most-of-us-are-too-enmeshed-in-communities-to-live-our-ideals/) [Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) > [In my reporting, I've found that real change escapes many change-makers because powerful illusions guide their projects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/in-my-reporting-i-ve-found-that-real-change-escapes-many-change/) [Anand Giridharadas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) [Explore all 54 Anand Giridharadas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/) ## More Belonging quotes > [She might be without country, without nation, but inside her there was still a being that could exist and be free, that could simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-maas/she-might-be-without-country-without-nation-but-inside-her-there-was/) [Sharon Maas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-maas/) > [I always think the best way of motivating yourself is to put yourself in a situation where you feel like you're belonging to something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-jackson/i-always-think-the-best-way-of-motivating-yourself-is-to-put-yourself/) [Colin Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-jackson/) > [It is a well-settled principle of the international code that where one nation owes another a liquidated debt which it refuses or neglects to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/it-is-a-well-settled-principle-of-the-international-code-that-where/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) > [The region belonging to the pure intellect is straitened: the imagination labours to extend its territories, to give it room. She sweeps across the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/the-region-belonging-to-the-pure-intellect-is-straitened-the/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [I am convinced that human nature is basically affectionate and good. If our behavior follows our kind and loving nature, immense benefits will result,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-am-convinced-that-human-nature-is-basically-affectionate-and-good/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“The reason “belonging” was so potent, so attractive, so much a part of the human yearning, was that it also meant safety, and loyalty.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-penny/the-reason-belonging-was-so-potent-so-attractive-so-much-a-part-of/) [Louise Penny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-penny/) > [If some student belonging to weaker section of society suffers distress, humanity says it must be addressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arun-jaitley/if-some-student-belonging-to-weaker-section-of-society-suffers/) [Arun Jaitley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arun-jaitley/) > [Connection gives purpose and meaning to our lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/connection-gives-purpose-and-meaning-to-our-lives/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [My father was a man of great charity towards the poor, and compassion for the sick, and also for servants; so much so, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-father-was-a-man-of-great-charity-towards-the-poor-and-compassion/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Maybe the problem with the world is, that people are too quick to judge. And out of desperation, the loneliness creeps in like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/maybe-the-problem-with-the-world-is-that-people-are-too-quick-to/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) > [“It turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it's the bravest and most sacred place you'll stand.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/it-turns-out-to-be-the-place-of-true-belonging-and-it-s-the-bravest/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) > [The hardest thing about being at Sony was not the travel; it was being divorced from the public and private life I had in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-stringer/the-hardest-thing-about-being-at-sony-was-not-the-travel-it-was-being/) [Howard Stringer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-stringer/) > [Whenever you are examining someone else's belongings, you are bound to learn many interesting things about the person of which you were not previously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/whenever-you-are-examining-someone-else-s-belongings-you-are-bound-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She isn't anybody's,' Rook said darkly. 'Son. she's not yours, either," Sarah Fleet said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaida-jones/she-isn-t-anybody-s-rook-said-darkly-son-she-s-not-yours-either-sarah/) [Jaida Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaida-jones/) > [We have become this very fear-based culture, especially post-9/11. Fear is the opposite of love, in my opinion. I think there would be more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bren-brown/we-have-become-this-very-fear-based-culture-especially-post-9-11-fear/) [Brené Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bren-brown/) [Browse all 876 Belonging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/belonging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I have a weakness for treating people's economic interests as their only interest, ignoring things like belonging and pride and the desire to send a message to those who ignore you.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anand Giridharadas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/i-have-a-weakness-for-treating-people-s-economic-interests-as-their/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Belonging" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/i-have-a-weakness-for-treating-people-s-economic-interests-as-their/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc7/anand-giridharadas-12467_belonging_i-have-a-weakness-for-treating-people-s_599764.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc7/anand-giridharadas-12467_belonging_i-have-a-weakness-for-treating-people-s_599764.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dc7/anand-giridharadas-12467_belonging_i-have-a-weakness-for-treating-people-s_599764.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I have a weakness for treating people's economic interests as their only interest, ignoring things like…” — Anand Giridharadas", "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": "Anand Giridharadas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anand-giridharadas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I have a weakness for treating...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/i-have-a-weakness-for-treating-people-s-economic-interests-as-their/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anand-giridharadas/i-have-a-weakness-for-treating-people-s-economic-interests-as-their/#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 } } ] } ```