--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our modern lifestyle is not a political…" description: "\"Our modern lifestyle is not a political creation. Before 1700, everybody was poor as hell. Life was short and brutish. It wasn't because we didn't have..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/bill-gates-137_creation_our-modern-lifestyle-is-not-a-political_2318490.jpg" --- # Our modern lifestyle is not a political creation. Before… ![“Our modern lifestyle is not a political creation. Before 1700, everybody was poor as hell. Life was short and brutish. It wasn't because we didn't have good politicians; we had some really good politicians. But then we started inventing - electricity, steam engines, microprocessors, understanding…” quote by Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/bill-gates-137_creation_our-modern-lifestyle-is-not-a-political_2318490.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/bill-gates-137_creation_our-modern-lifestyle-is-not-a-political_2318490.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/589/bill-gates-137_creation_our-modern-lifestyle-is-not-a-political_2318490.jpg) > “Our modern lifestyle is not a political creation. Before 1700, everybody was poor as hell. Life was short and brutish. It wasn't because we didn't have good politicians; we had some really good politicians. But then we started inventing - electricity, steam engines, microprocessors, understanding genetics and medicine and things like that. Yes, stability and education are important - I'm not taking anything away from that - but innovation is the real driver of progress.” [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Innovation, not politics, drives societal progress despite historical hardships. **In simple terms:** Progress comes from new ideas, not just governance. Key Takeaway Prioritize and support innovative endeavors. Themes progress innovation history Mood optimistic analytical Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy making - education reform - business strategy - public discourse Key Concepts technological advancement economic development Questions to Reflect On - How can we ensure innovation benefits all? - What role should politics play in supporting innovation? A Different Perspective Innovation can have unequal benefits. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Creation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) [Electricity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/electricity/) [Genetics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/genetics/) [Good politicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-politicians/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Innovation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/innovation/) [Inventing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inventing/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lifestyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lifestyle/) [Medicine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/medicine/) [Microprocessor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/microprocessor/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Politician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politician/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) [Stability](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stability/) [Steam engines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steam-engines/) [Understanding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/understanding/) ## Related quotes > [The microprocessor is a miracle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-microprocessor-is-a-miracle/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [The vision is really that in the information age the microprocessor-based machine, the PC, along with great software, can become sort of the ultimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-vision-is-really-that-in-the-information-age-the-microprocessor/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [“Wellbeing is all about balance. Unfortunately, the normal modern lifestyle (which actually isn’t normal at all) often pushes us away from what’s healthy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-barbara-apollon/wellbeing-is-all-about-balance-unfortunately-the-normal-modern/) [Susan Barbara Apollon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-barbara-apollon/) > [At first, the modern lifestyle gives creates a disease and then looks for its cure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/at-first-the-modern-lifestyle-gives-creates-a-disease-and-then-looks/) Mak\_786 > [We want to be masters of our own destiny. We need no Gods or Emperors. We do not believe in the existence of any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wei-jingsheng/we-want-to-be-masters-of-our-own-destiny-we-need-no-gods-or-emperors/) [Wei Jingsheng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wei-jingsheng/) > [“key to health and happiness. Living in the twenty-first-century American culture seems to promote an unbalanced life: too much work and not enough play,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-o-keefe/key-to-health-and-happiness-living-in-the-twenty-first-century/) James O'Keefe > [If transportation technology was moving along as fast as microprocessor technology, then the day after tomorrow I would be able to get in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-transportation-technology-was-moving-along-as-fast-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Even before the world had any cognizance of India as an economy, HCL had made a mark with its microprocessor in the '80s. HCL…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shiv-nadar/even-before-the-world-had-any-cognizance-of-india-as-an-economy-hcl/) [Shiv Nadar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shiv-nadar/) > [Every time you turn on your new car, you're turning on 20 microprocessors. Every time you use an ATM, you're using a computer. Every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-mcnealy/every-time-you-turn-on-your-new-car-you-re-turning-on-20/) [Scott McNealy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-mcnealy/) > [Really great blogs do not take the place of great microprocessors. Great blogs do not replace great software. Lots and lots of blogs does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/larry-ellison/really-great-blogs-do-not-take-the-place-of-great-microprocessors/) [Larry Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/larry-ellison/) > [Because I had visited Silicon Valley, I recognized the microprocessor was going to lead the second industrial revolution. We Chinese could not miss that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stan-shih/because-i-had-visited-silicon-valley-i-recognized-the-microprocessor/) [Stan Shih](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stan-shih/) > [I was running an assembly line designed to build memory chips. I saw the microprocessor as a bloody nuisance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-grove/i-was-running-an-assembly-line-designed-to-build-memory-chips-i-saw/) [Andy Grove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-grove/) > [There are a lot of new things going on in the microprocessor world, including increased focus on power and efficiency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-dell/there-are-a-lot-of-new-things-going-on-in-the-microprocessor-world/) [Michael Dell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-dell/) > [You don't have conversations with microprocessors. You tell them what to do, then helplessly watch the disaster when they take you literally!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-brin/you-don-t-have-conversations-with-microprocessors-you-tell-them-what/) [David Brin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-brin/) > [I like stuff designed by dead people. The old designers. They always got it right because they didn't have to grow up with computers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maeda/i-like-stuff-designed-by-dead-people-the-old-designers-they-always/) [John Maeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maeda/) ## More by Bill Gates > [If you’re a person struggling to eat and stay healthy you might have heard about Michael Jordan or Muhammad Ali, but you’ll never have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/if-you-re-a-person-struggling-to-eat-and-stay-healthy-you-might-have/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [I really had a lot of dreams when I was a kid, and I think a great deal of that grew out of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/i-really-had-a-lot-of-dreams-when-i-was-a-kid-and-i-think-a-great/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Understanding science and pushing the boundaries of science is what makes me immensely satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/understanding-science-and-pushing-the-boundaries-of-science-is-what/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [We're focused on providing innovations in software, driving the continuous improvement for a much better experience, and there's a lot going on here that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/we-re-focused-on-providing-innovations-in-software-driving-the/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Paper is no longer a big part of my day. I get 90% of my news online, and when I go to a meeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/paper-is-no-longer-a-big-part-of-my-day-i-get-90-of-my-news-online/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Software will get to be somewhat more mature, ah, but it will never be as predictable as most areas of engineering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/software-will-get-to-be-somewhat-more-mature-ah-but-it-will-never-be/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Students deserve great teachers. And teachers deserve the support they need to become great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/students-deserve-great-teachers-and-teachers-deserve-the-support-they/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [The machines need to get faster. They need to get cheaper.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/the-machines-need-to-get-faster-they-need-to-get-cheaper/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Like many others, I have deep misgivings about the state of education in the United States. Too many of our students fail to graduate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/like-many-others-i-have-deep-misgivings-about-the-state-of-education/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Over time, yes, countries will need to look at specific GMO products like they look at drugs today, where they don't approve them all.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/over-time-yes-countries-will-need-to-look-at-specific-gmo-products/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Competition is always a fantastic thing, and the computer industry is intensely competitive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/competition-is-always-a-fantastic-thing-and-the-computer-industry-is/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [I don't think there's anything unique about human intellience. All the nuerons in the brain that make up perceptions and emotions operate in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/i-don-t-think-there-s-anything-unique-about-human-intellience-all-the/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [At every juncture, advanced tools have been the key to a new wave of applications, and each wave of applications has been key to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/at-every-juncture-advanced-tools-have-been-the-key-to-a-new-wave-of/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Software is more important than hardware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/software-is-more-important-than-hardware/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Talking to mothers, always brings it home because they're so anxious to do everything they can for their kids and so tragic for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/talking-to-mothers-always-brings-it-home-because-they-re-so-anxious/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) [Explore all 1,165 Bill Gates quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) ## More Creation quotes > [“am not suggesting that successes in academics, athletics, or vocation somehow stand outside God’s good plan. Learning and play are joys that God himself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-paul-jones/am-not-suggesting-that-successes-in-academics-athletics-or-vocation/) [Timothy Paul Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-paul-jones/) > [The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/the-capacity-to-be-puzzled-is-the-premise-of-all-creation-be-it-in/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [Let me tell you that atheism has never painted a masterpiece. Atheism has never dispelled fear. Atheism has never healed a disease; faith in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hagee/let-me-tell-you-that-atheism-has-never-painted-a-masterpiece-atheism/) [John Hagee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hagee/) > [Perhaps no order of mammals presents us with so extraordinary a series of gradations as this \[step by step, from humans to apes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-huxley/perhaps-no-order-of-mammals-presents-us-with-so-extraordinary-a/) [Thomas Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-huxley/) > [Like many other scientists who hold the Catholic faith, I see the Creator's plan and purpose fulfilled in our universe. I see a planet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-r-miller/like-many-other-scientists-who-hold-the-catholic-faith-i-see-the/) [Kenneth R. Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-r-miller/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [I believe if there is a creator it will basically ask me two questions, how well did you enjoy my creation and what did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-victor-paskavich/i-believe-if-there-is-a-creator-it-will-basically-ask-me-two/) [Stanley Victor Paskavich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-victor-paskavich/) > [With no other choices open to us, we'd turned our gaze seaward. The oceans were our America: they reached farther than any prairie, untamed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carsten-jensen/with-no-other-choices-open-to-us-we-d-turned-our-gaze-seaward-the/) [Carsten Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carsten-jensen/) > [In the quiet moments of your day, what do you think and do? When you are with your Self and no one else, how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/in-the-quiet-moments-of-your-day-what-do-you-think-and-do-when-you/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) > [The creation lives as genesis beneath the visible surface of the work. All intelligent people see this after the fact, but only the creative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-klee/the-creation-lives-as-genesis-beneath-the-visible-surface-of-the-work/) [Paul Klee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-klee/) > [When I was in my teens I had a series of intensely religious experiences. They deepened my sense of God as the creator of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-linzey/when-i-was-in-my-teens-i-had-a-series-of-intensely-religious/) [Andrew Linzey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-linzey/) > [If you are trying to live a life in accordance with the Bible, the concept and call to justice are inescapable. We do justice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/if-you-are-trying-to-live-a-life-in-accordance-with-the-bible-the/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [I think that storytelling and creation are very close to what the center of what magic is about. I think not just for me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/i-think-that-storytelling-and-creation-are-very-close-to-what-the/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [To be part of the creation, I must act humbly. I'll take that over a goddess any day!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-o-hara/to-be-part-of-the-creation-i-must-act-humbly-i-ll-take-that-over-a/) [Maureen O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-o-hara/) > [The country of Iraq is somewhat of an artificial creation going back to colonial days. And so you have the Kurds and then the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-clapper/the-country-of-iraq-is-somewhat-of-an-artificial-creation-going-back/) [James Clapper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-clapper/) [Browse all 5,225 Creation quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creation/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Our modern lifestyle is not a political creation. Before 1700, everybody was poor as hell. Life was short and brutish. It wasn't because we didn't have good politicians; we had some really good politicians. 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