--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Numbers of men are getting richer and…" description: "\"“Numbers of men are getting richer and greater numbers are getting poorer. Alas, both classes have higher expectations these days. In Short, sir, there..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3d/barry-unsworth-13297_bribes_numbers-of-men-are-getting-richer-and-gr_134273.jpg" --- # Numbers of men are getting richer and greater numbers are… ![“Numbers of men are getting richer and greater numbers are getting poorer. Alas, both classes have higher expectations these days. In Short, sir, there has been a leap in bribes.” quote by Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3d/barry-unsworth-13297_bribes_numbers-of-men-are-getting-richer-and-gr_134273.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3d/barry-unsworth-13297_bribes_numbers-of-men-are-getting-richer-and-gr_134273.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3d/barry-unsworth-13297_bribes_numbers-of-men-are-getting-richer-and-gr_134273.jpg) > ““Numbers of men are getting richer and greater numbers are getting poorer. Alas, both classes have higher expectations these days. In Short, sir, there has been a leap in bribes.”” [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Economic disparity grows, raising expectations and increasing corruption. **In simple terms:** Wealth gaps fuel higher expectations and bribery. Key Takeaway Address inequality to curb corruption. Themes economics social justice corruption Mood critical analytical Type philosophical educational When to use this quote - policy - social movements - business ethics Key Concepts Wealth distribution ethics societal change Questions to Reflect On - What policies reduce inequality? - How can expectations be managed? A Different Perspective Complex solutions are needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bribes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bribes/) [Getting Poorer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-poorer-801325/) [Getting Richer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/getting-richer-801328/) [Higher Expectations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/higher-expectations/) [Leap Bribes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leap-bribes-1532865/) [Richer Greater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/richer-greater-1532866/) ## Related quotes > [“The problem is that rich are getting richer by not giving and poor and getting poorer by not receiving.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/the-problem-is-that-rich-are-getting-richer-by-not-giving-and-poor/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [“... when people are getting poorer, and children are growing more hungry and sick all around you, it is simply not enough for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kazuo-ishiguro/when-people-are-getting-poorer-and-children-are-growing-more-hungry/) [Kazuo Ishiguro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kazuo-ishiguro/) > [The problem with beauty is that it's like being born rich and getting poorer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-collins/the-problem-with-beauty-is-that-it-s-like-being-born-rich-and-getting/) [Joan Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-collins/) > [“One of the rules of the sane world… the poor keep getting poorer, and the rich keep getting...richer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cameron-jace/one-of-the-rules-of-the-sane-world-the-poor-keep-getting-poorer-and/) [Cameron Jace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cameron-jace/) > [I'm still a communist in the sense that I don't believe the world will survive with the rich getting richer and the poor getting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/i-m-still-a-communist-in-the-sense-that-i-don-t-believe-the-world/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [The capitalist system is about taking from the Earth and from the other great commodity, labour. What's happening with this system is that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivienne-westwood/the-capitalist-system-is-about-taking-from-the-earth-and-from-the/) [Vivienne Westwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivienne-westwood/) > [There is growing inequality. The families of the all-powerful Ministers are getting richer. The poor and hard-working Belizeans are getting poorer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/said-musa/there-is-growing-inequality-the-families-of-the-all-powerful/) [Said Musa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/said-musa/) > [Poor people of all colors are getting poorer and our communities are getting more toxic. There is a misconception that to grow our economy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/majora-carter/poor-people-of-all-colors-are-getting-poorer-and-our-communities-are/) [Majora Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/majora-carter/) > [Someone will always be getting richer faster than you. This is not a tragedy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-munger/someone-will-always-be-getting-richer-faster-than-you-this-is-not-a/) [Charlie Munger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-munger/) > [While weed sellers keep on getting richer and richer, its smokers sink themselves deeper and deeper into the shit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-paul-malfatti/while-weed-sellers-keep-on-getting-richer-and-richer-its-smokers-sink/) [Jean-Paul Malfatti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-paul-malfatti/) > [The billionaire class fully understands what is at stake. That's why a handful of them are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/the-billionaire-class-fully-understands-what-is-at-stake-that-s-why-a/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [I just don't trust any of it. Every time I read something about how there's been another ridiculous climb of the Dow Jones, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-c-k/i-just-don-t-trust-any-of-it-every-time-i-read-something-about-how/) [Louis C. K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-c-k/) > [When people are getting richer and richer but they're not actually producing anything, it can't end well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-c-k/when-people-are-getting-richer-and-richer-but-they-re-not-actually/) [Louis C. K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-c-k/) > [She asked what have I learned since getting richer? I learned working with the negatives could make for better pictures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/she-asked-what-have-i-learned-since-getting-richer-i-learned-working/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [When we get more houses than we can live in, more cars than we can ride in, more food than we can eat ourselves,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-algren/when-we-get-more-houses-than-we-can-live-in-more-cars-than-we-can/) [Nelson Algren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-algren/) ## More by Barry Unsworth > [“A little bit of kindness goes a long way with women.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/a-little-bit-of-kindness-goes-a-long-way-with-women/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“Men are moral beings in their untrammelled nature. If constraint and coercion can once be removed they will be happy and if they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/men-are-moral-beings-in-their-untrammelled-nature-if-constraint-and/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“I glimpsed the man's face with the shine of death on it. They laid him down there in the open. They had brought him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/i-glimpsed-the-man-s-face-with-the-shine-of-death-on-it-they-laid-him/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“Grief works its own perversions and betrayals; the shape of what we have lost is as subject to corruption as the mortal body...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/grief-works-its-own-perversions-and-betrayals-the-shape-of-what-we/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“It is everyone's bounden duty to try to get more than they have got already. If you have got two shillin' you try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/it-is-everyone-s-bounden-duty-to-try-to-get-more-than-they-have-got/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“Wickedness is too common in the world for us to think much of why and wherefore. It is more natural to ask about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/wickedness-is-too-common-in-the-world-for-us-to-think-much-of-why-and/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“And this was history now: heroic protest, concerted rebellion, execution of the tyrant, a new social order. It ran like a clear stream--useless to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/and-this-was-history-now-heroic-protest-concerted-rebellion-execution/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [Eudora Welty's 'A Curtain of Green' had an enormous effect on me. But my early attempts to graft stories from the Deep South onto…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/eudora-welty-s-a-curtain-of-green-had-an-enormous-effect-on-me-but-my/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“Those confiding their pain cannot know at the outset how much they will be required to relive it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/those-confiding-their-pain-cannot-know-at-the-outset-how-much-they/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“The successful cannot be unhappy -- it was a contradiction in terms.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/the-successful-cannot-be-unhappy-it-was-a-contradiction-in-terms/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“When you in de right you heart strong you no 'fraid nottin'.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/when-you-in-de-right-you-heart-strong-you-no-fraid-nottin/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [I spent most of the '60s, when I was starting to try to write novels, living and working in Greece and Turkey. These are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/i-spent-most-of-the-60s-when-i-was-starting-to-try-to-write-novels/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“Kneading memory makes the dough of fiction; which we know, sometimes never stops rising.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/kneading-memory-makes-the-dough-of-fiction-which-we-know-sometimes/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“Justice is a mighty fine thing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/justice-is-a-mighty-fine-thing/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) > [“Doubt is the ally of hope, not its enemy, and together they made all the blessing he had.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/doubt-is-the-ally-of-hope-not-its-enemy-and-together-they-made-all/) [Barry Unsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) [Explore all 51 Barry Unsworth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/) ## More Bribes quotes > [I usually accept bribes from both sides so that tainted money can never influence my decision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-bacon/i-usually-accept-bribes-from-both-sides-so-that-tainted-money-can/) [Francis Bacon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-bacon/) > [If people are stealing the resources of this nation, if people are taking bribes - if judges or persons in authority, whether they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yemi-osinbajo/if-people-are-stealing-the-resources-of-this-nation-if-people-are/) [Yemi Osinbajo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yemi-osinbajo/) > [“Where do you think the money went?” he repeated. “Guns?” asked Jesper. “Ships?” queried Inej. “Bombs?” suggested Wylan. “Political bribes?” offered Nina. They all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leigh-bardugo/where-do-you-think-the-money-went-he-repeated-guns-asked-jesper-ships/) [Leigh Bardugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leigh-bardugo/) > [For any politician who didn't enter office a wealthy man, nothing says 'I take bribes' like a Rolex watch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-noah/for-any-politician-who-didn-t-enter-office-a-wealthy-man-nothing-says/) [Timothy Noah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-noah/) > [American Hustle shows the FBI making real-life bribes to Washington politicians. I know, because as your U.S. senator, I turned them down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-pressler/american-hustle-shows-the-fbi-making-real-life-bribes-to-washington/) [Larry Pressler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-pressler/) > [“By reason of gifts and bribes the offices be given to rich men, which should rather have been executed by wise men.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/by-reason-of-gifts-and-bribes-the-offices-be-given-to-rich-men-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Japan has a low crime rate, unless you count the fact that approximately every fifteen minutes the entire Cabinet gets indicted for taking bribes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-barry/japan-has-a-low-crime-rate-unless-you-count-the-fact-that/) [Dave Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-barry/) > [I and others on FIFA executive committee agreed to accept bribes in conjunction with selection of South Africa as host nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-swanson/i-and-others-on-fifa-executive-committee-agreed-to-accept-bribes-in/) [Bryan Swanson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-swanson/) > [“There are only two kinds of Indians: those who take bribes and those who give them.’ Actually, there are a third and a fourth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-are-only-two-kinds-of-indians-those-who-take-bribes-and-those/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ “Outsiders became keen to join an organization \[European Community\] that offered attractive bribes to the poor. Greece did so in 1981 and Spain and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-morris-roberts/outsiders-became-keen-to-join-an-organization-european-community-that/) [John Morris Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-morris-roberts/) > [There are two parties involved in every corrupt transaction, typically a government official and a business person. Yet those who pay bribes are often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynda-chalker-baroness-chalker-of-wallasey/there-are-two-parties-involved-in-every-corrupt-transaction-typically/) [Lynda Chalker, Baroness Chalker of Wallasey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynda-chalker-baroness-chalker-of-wallasey/) > [Death takes no bribes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/death-takes-no-bribes/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is an open secret that customs officers pay millions in bribes to secure the lucrative posting in the airport, cargo terminals or ports.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sucheta-dalal/it-is-an-open-secret-that-customs-officers-pay-millions-in-bribes-to/) [Sucheta Dalal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sucheta-dalal/) > [How do you whip up resentment against absentee landlords and pocketers of bribes when the highest ambition of the people is either to become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/how-do-you-whip-up-resentment-against-absentee-landlords-and/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [“Bricks could be used to build stronger relationships. But so could bribes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/bricks-could-be-used-to-build-stronger-relationships-but-so-could/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) [Browse all 44 Bribes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bribes/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Numbers of men are getting richer and greater numbers are getting poorer. Alas, both classes have higher expectations these days. In Short, sir, there has been a leap in bribes.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Barry Unsworth" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/numbers-of-men-are-getting-richer-and-greater-numbers-are-getting/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bribes" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/numbers-of-men-are-getting-richer-and-greater-numbers-are-getting/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3d/barry-unsworth-13297_bribes_numbers-of-men-are-getting-richer-and-gr_134273.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3d/barry-unsworth-13297_bribes_numbers-of-men-are-getting-richer-and-gr_134273.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e3d/barry-unsworth-13297_bribes_numbers-of-men-are-getting-richer-and-gr_134273.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Numbers of men are getting richer and greater numbers are getting poorer. Alas, both classes have higher…” — Barry Unsworth", "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": "Barry Unsworth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-unsworth/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Numbers of men are getting richer...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/numbers-of-men-are-getting-richer-and-greater-numbers-are-getting/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-unsworth/numbers-of-men-are-getting-richer-and-greater-numbers-are-getting/#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 } } ] } ```