--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: People on left have to better understand…" description: "\"People on left have to better understand what are the benefits of inequality, and people on right have to understand better what the dangers are... It ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/angus-deaton-5260_american_people-on-left-have-to-better-understand_2219941.jpg" --- # People on left have to better understand what are the… ![“People on left have to better understand what are the benefits of inequality, and people on right have to understand better what the dangers are... It has to become properly hardwired into the American democratic debate in a way that it hasn't really been.” quote by Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/angus-deaton-5260_american_people-on-left-have-to-better-understand_2219941.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/angus-deaton-5260_american_people-on-left-have-to-better-understand_2219941.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/angus-deaton-5260_american_people-on-left-have-to-better-understand_2219941.jpg) > “People on left have to better understand what are the benefits of inequality, and people on right have to understand better what the dangers are... It has to become properly hardwired into the American democratic debate in a way that it hasn't really been.” [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote urges both political sides to recognize and discuss both the advantages and risks of economic inequality within US democratic discourse. **In simple terms:** Both sides must grasp inequality’s pros and cons. Key Takeaway Encourage balanced debate on inequality. Themes politics economics public discourse inequality democracy Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical policy-oriented When to use this quote - policy making - public forums - educational curricula - media analysis Key Concepts social welfare distributional effects policy framing political polarization Questions to Reflect On - How can we foster honest dialogue about inequality? - What benefits might be overlooked? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on one side can polarize and stall solutions. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Debate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/debate/) [Inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality/) ## Related quotes > [You look at that Democratic debate. I had to laugh at what I saw Barack Obama do. I mean, in one week, he went…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/you-look-at-that-democratic-debate-i-had-to-laugh-at-what-i-saw/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [Some people say we have this inequality because some people have been contributing much more to our society, and so it's fair that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stiglitz/some-people-say-we-have-this-inequality-because-some-people-have-been/) [Joseph Stiglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stiglitz/) > [There is no off-roading to solve income inequality for people of color. They must have broadband.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-wiley/there-is-no-off-roading-to-solve-income-inequality-for-people-of/) [Maya Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-wiley/) > [At various periods in American history, people get pretty rambunctious when it comes to our democratic debate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/at-various-periods-in-american-history-people-get-pretty-rambunctious/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Democratic debate must never end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicky-morgan/democratic-debate-must-never-end/) [Nicky Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicky-morgan/) > [No matter how convinced we are that someone is nasty, evil or just plain criminal, if they have not been convicted of any crime…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-baggini/no-matter-how-convinced-we-are-that-someone-is-nasty-evil-or-just/) [Julian Baggini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-baggini/) > [The answer to the problem of inequality is for the people who are fortunate enough to either have been gifted or deserved more to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-peterson/the-answer-to-the-problem-of-inequality-is-for-the-people-who-are/) [Jordan Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-peterson/) > [Forty-two years after Dr. King was murdered, we are still a nation of inequality. People of color, women, gays, lesbians, and others are still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/forty-two-years-after-dr-king-was-murdered-we-are-still-a-nation-of/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [Becoming involved in sports and traveling the world and seeing how people of color were treated around the world, and America being such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carlos/becoming-involved-in-sports-and-traveling-the-world-and-seeing-how/) [John Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carlos/) > [How can one not speak about war, poverty, and inequality when people who suffer from these afflictions don't have a voice to speak?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/how-can-one-not-speak-about-war-poverty-and-inequality-when-people/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [When I find too many puzzles about the way explanations are given about why there is inequality - why people who work the hardest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/when-i-find-too-many-puzzles-about-the-way-explanations-are-given/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [Probably the most extreme form of inequality is between people who are alive and people who are dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/probably-the-most-extreme-form-of-inequality-is-between-people-who/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [America has tolerated inequality because people think they can get ahead. If you have immobility on top of inequality, then people are not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-edsall/america-has-tolerated-inequality-because-people-think-they-can-get/) [Thomas B. Edsall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-edsall/) > [If someone thinks of something, some new innovation that benefits us all, and the market works properly, they get richly rewarded for that, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/if-someone-thinks-of-something-some-new-innovation-that-benefits-us/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) > [Success breeds inequality, and you don't want to choke off success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/success-breeds-inequality-and-you-don-t-want-to-choke-off-success/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) ## More by Angus Deaton > [I don't think income solely determines health. I think lots of other things determine health.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/i-don-t-think-income-solely-determines-health-i-think-lots-of-other/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) > [I, who do not believe in socialized health-care, would advocate a single-payment system... because it will get this monster that we've created out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/i-who-do-not-believe-in-socialized-health-care-would-advocate-a/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) > [Many people have mixed views about unions, but unions used to give people some measure of control at work. They gave them a social…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/many-people-have-mixed-views-about-unions-but-unions-used-to-give/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) > [I've always - and not always happily - considered myself an outsider. Certainly at Fettes. And then the Scots are always outsiders in England.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/i-ve-always-and-not-always-happily-considered-myself-an-outsider/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) > [People who have children, by and large, want children. People who don't want children are people who, by and large, don't want to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/people-who-have-children-by-and-large-want-children-people-who-don-t/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) > [The first thing we need to understand when we think about globalization is that it has benefited an enormous number of people who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/the-first-thing-we-need-to-understand-when-we-think-about/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) > [High quality, open, transparent, and uncensored data are needed to support democracy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/high-quality-open-transparent-and-uncensored-data-are-needed-to/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) > [Success breeds inequality, and you don't want to choke off success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/success-breeds-inequality-and-you-don-t-want-to-choke-off-success/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) > [“It can be bad if the winners try to stop others from following them, pulling up the ladders behind them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/it-can-be-bad-if-the-winners-try-to-stop-others-from-following-them/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) > [A good theoretical account must explain all of the evidence that we see. If it doesn't work everywhere, we have no idea what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/a-good-theoretical-account-must-explain-all-of-the-evidence-that-we/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) > [Growth does not bring any 'automatic' improvement in the health component of wellbeing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/growth-does-not-bring-any-automatic-improvement-in-the-health/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) > [In Scotland, I was brought up to think of policemen as allies and to ask one for help when I needed it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/in-scotland-i-was-brought-up-to-think-of-policemen-as-allies-and-to/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) > [It's hard to know what's going to be replaced by technology tomorrow. It feels like we're all at risk. I feel only safe as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/it-s-hard-to-know-what-s-going-to-be-replaced-by-technology-tomorrow/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) > [The history of Montana has been of the government giving land grants to people that could not possibly turn it into decent farms. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/the-history-of-montana-has-been-of-the-government-giving-land-grants/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) > [I have the great good fortune that one of my collaborators in work, Anne Case, is also my collaborator in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/i-have-the-great-good-fortune-that-one-of-my-collaborators-in-work/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) [Explore all 102 Angus Deaton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) ## More American quotes > [I wasn't attracted to American cinema, but I fell in love with Los Angeles the minute I arrived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-varda/i-wasn-t-attracted-to-american-cinema-but-i-fell-in-love-with-los/) [Agnes Varda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-varda/) > [William Maxwell's my favorite North American writer, I think. And an Irish writer who used to write for 'The New Yorker' called Maeve Brennan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-munro/william-maxwell-s-my-favorite-north-american-writer-i-think-and-an/) [Alice Munro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-munro/) > [I have fallen in love with American names, the sharp names that never get fat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-vincent-benet/i-have-fallen-in-love-with-american-names-the-sharp-names-that-never/) [Stephen Vincent Benet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-vincent-benet/) > [I really like a lot of American country stuff, so my music has that influence, but I don't like to be set within a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade-bird/i-really-like-a-lot-of-american-country-stuff-so-my-music-has-that/) [Jade Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade-bird/) > [I certainly don't think that the heirs of the American Revolution were a particularly noble class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-w-brands/i-certainly-don-t-think-that-the-heirs-of-the-american-revolution/) [H. W. Brands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-w-brands/) > [Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act in a tremendous investment to support millions of workers without a paycheck and behind on bills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-auchincloss/congress-passed-the-american-rescue-plan-act-in-a-tremendous/) [Jake Auchincloss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-auchincloss/) > [Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy and employ almost half of the working population. Yet because of their size, they rarely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-lipinski/small-businesses-are-the-backbone-of-the-american-economy-and-employ/) [Dan Lipinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-lipinski/) > [Although I write in English, and despite the fact that I'm from America, I consider myself an Armenian writer. The words I use are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-saroyan/although-i-write-in-english-and-despite-the-fact-that-i-m-from/) [William Saroyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-saroyan/) > [When we first sold the Wallace and Gromit shorts to America, people suggested we get rid of the strange British accents and put clear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/when-we-first-sold-the-wallace-and-gromit-shorts-to-america-people/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Firefighters and rescue workers are American superheroes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-kennedy/firefighters-and-rescue-workers-are-american-superheroes/) [Kerry Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-kennedy/) > [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/) [Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/) > [New York and San Francisco are distinctly different. San Francisco is driving the American media, not New York. You have young, microwaved millionaires and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-whitlock/new-york-and-san-francisco-are-distinctly-different-san-francisco-is/) [Jason Whitlock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-whitlock/) > [Well look, CIA is an agency that has to collect intelligence, do operations. We have to take risks and it's important that we take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-panetta/well-look-cia-is-an-agency-that-has-to-collect-intelligence-do/) [Leon Panetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-panetta/) > [Food as a hobby used to be an elite pastime, and it has become something that is totally ordinary for people of every background.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dana-goodyear/food-as-a-hobby-used-to-be-an-elite-pastime-and-it-has-become/) [Dana Goodyear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dana-goodyear/) > [It's important for American soldiers to be culturally sensitive when deployed in foreign countries. But it's just as important for the U.S. never to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-bauer/it-s-important-for-american-soldiers-to-be-culturally-sensitive-when/) [Gary Bauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-bauer/) Browse all 7,717 American quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People on left have to better understand what are the benefits of inequality, and people on right have to understand better what the dangers are... It has to become properly hardwired into the American democratic debate in a way that it hasn't really been.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Angus Deaton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/people-on-left-have-to-better-understand-what-are-the-benefits-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "American" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/people-on-left-have-to-better-understand-what-are-the-benefits-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/angus-deaton-5260_american_people-on-left-have-to-better-understand_2219941.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/angus-deaton-5260_american_people-on-left-have-to-better-understand_2219941.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34a/angus-deaton-5260_american_people-on-left-have-to-better-understand_2219941.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“People on left have to better understand what are the benefits of inequality, and people on right have to…” — Angus Deaton", "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": "Angus Deaton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "People on left have to better...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/people-on-left-have-to-better-understand-what-are-the-benefits-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/people-on-left-have-to-better-understand-what-are-the-benefits-of/#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 } } ] } ```