--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In a culture that relentlessly promotes…" description: "\"In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life, a person happy doing his own work is usually considered an eccentric, if n..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/bill-watterson-728_avarice_in-a-culture-that-relentlessly-promotes_297623.png" --- # In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess… ![“In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life, a person happy doing his own work is usually considered an eccentric, if not a subversive.” quote by Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/bill-watterson-728_avarice_in-a-culture-that-relentlessly-promotes_297623.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/bill-watterson-728_avarice_in-a-culture-that-relentlessly-promotes_297623.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/bill-watterson-728_avarice_in-a-culture-that-relentlessly-promotes_297623.png) > “In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life, a person happy doing his own work is usually considered an eccentric, if not a subversive.” [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Choosing a simple, self‑directed life is seen as odd in a culture that glorifies wealth and excess, yet it can be a quiet rebellion. **In simple terms:** Simple work can be subversive. Key Takeaway Live authentically, ignore material pressure. Themes simplicity individualism rebellion culture contentment Mood reflective quiet defiant Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - career choice - creative projects - budget living - community service - personal hobbies Key Concepts philosophy social critique minimalism Questions to Reflect On - What does a simple life mean to you? - How can you sustain it socially? A Different Perspective May face social isolation or financial strain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Avarice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avarice/) [Culture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/culture/) [Eccentric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eccentric/) [Excess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/excess/) [Good life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-life/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Subversive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subversive/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [Creating a life that reflects your values and satisfies your soul is a rare achievement. In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/creating-a-life-that-reflects-your-values-and-satisfies-your-soul-is-3/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [Through my youth, there was imposed on us a culture relentlessly English. English books were all you could buy; English television filled our screens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-flanagan/through-my-youth-there-was-imposed-on-us-a-culture-relentlessly/) [Richard Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-flanagan/) > [The surest way of being considered eccentric is just to be yourself. So few of us have the nerve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-benton-cooke/the-surest-way-of-being-considered-eccentric-is-just-to-be-yourself/) [Marjorie Benton Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-benton-cooke/) > [“Japhy was considered an eccentric around the campus, which is the usual thing for campuses and college people to think whenever a real man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/japhy-was-considered-an-eccentric-around-the-campus-which-is-the/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I guess anything in excess is no good for you, even things that are supposed to be healthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/i-guess-anything-in-excess-is-no-good-for-you-even-things-that-are/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > [I don't necessarily believe in moderation, but I do believe in the dangers of excess, and that's with some good things too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-hunt/i-don-t-necessarily-believe-in-moderation-but-i-do-believe-in-the/) [Brendan Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-hunt/) > [Nothing is of its nature evil, and nothing is of its nature good. Evil is only excess, good is simply balance. All things are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-parsons/nothing-is-of-its-nature-evil-and-nothing-is-of-its-nature-good-evil/) John Parsons > [Genius has infused itself into nature. It indicates itself by a small excess of good, a small balance in brute facts always favorable to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/genius-has-infused-itself-into-nature-it-indicates-itself-by-a-small/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [the excess of all good things is mischievous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-m-child/the-excess-of-all-good-things-is-mischievous/) [Lydia M. Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-m-child/) > [In battling evil, excess is good; for he who is moderate in announcing the truth is presenting half-truth. He conceals the other half out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-battling-evil-excess-is-good-for-he-who-is-moderate-in-announcing/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The most subversive people are those who ask questions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jostein-gaarder/the-most-subversive-people-are-those-who-ask-questions/) [Jostein Gaarder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jostein-gaarder/) > [That's the privilege of being a grandparent - they can indulge the children while parents have to be the bad guy. Grandparents can also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-stephens/that-s-the-privilege-of-being-a-grandparent-they-can-indulge-the/) [Toby Stephens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toby-stephens/) > [Our Christian faith is actually very subversive of the conventional notion of success - the notion that what invests a person with worth is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/our-christian-faith-is-actually-very-subversive-of-the-conventional/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“Like symbolism, decadence puts forth the idea that the function of literature is to evoke impressions and 'correspondences', rather than to realistically depict the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asti-hustvedt/like-symbolism-decadence-puts-forth-the-idea-that-the-function-of/) [Asti Hustvedt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asti-hustvedt/) > [“Men circle like bees around honey, buzzing to communicate their sexual despair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carla-h-krueger/men-circle-like-bees-around-honey-buzzing-to-communicate-their-sexual/) [Carla H Krueger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carla-h-krueger/) ## More by Bill Watterson > [Calvin: The more you know, the harder it is to take decisive action. Once you are informed, you start seeing complexities and shades of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/calvin-the-more-you-know-the-harder-it-is-to-take-decisive-action/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [A day can really slip by when you're deliberately avoiding what you're supposed to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/a-day-can-really-slip-by-when-you-re-deliberately-avoiding-what-you/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [For your information, I'm staying like this, and everyone else can just get used to it! If people don't like me the way I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/for-your-information-i-m-staying-like-this-and-everyone-else-can-just/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I think most of us would be horrified to meet ourselves and discover what everyone else already knows about us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-think-most-of-us-would-be-horrified-to-meet-ourselves-and-discover/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [As a kid, I knew I wanted to be either a cartoonist or an astronaut. The latter was never much of a possibility, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/as-a-kid-i-knew-i-wanted-to-be-either-a-cartoonist-or-an-astronaut/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [Miss Wormwood: Calvin, your test was an absolute disgrace! It's obvious you haven't read any of the material. Our first president was not Chef…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/miss-wormwood-calvin-your-test-was-an-absolute-disgrace-it-s-obvious/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [Calvin: Today for show and tell, I've brought a tiny miracle of nature: a single snowflake! I think we might all learn a lesson…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/calvin-today-for-show-and-tell-i-ve-brought-a-tiny-miracle-of-nature/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [United Features had given me a development contract, which meant I was to work exclusively with them and rather than completing everything on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/united-features-had-given-me-a-development-contract-which-meant-i-was/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [What assurance do I have that your parenting isn't screwing me up?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/what-assurance-do-i-have-that-your-parenting-isn-t-screwing-me-up/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [In the right hands, a comic strip attains a beauty and elegance that, really, I would put against any other art.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/in-the-right-hands-a-comic-strip-attains-a-beauty-and-elegance-that/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [If you give a little credit to the concept of the artist, I think you ought to indulge excesses a bit, because that reflects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/if-you-give-a-little-credit-to-the-concept-of-the-artist-i-think-you/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I tell you all this because it's worth recognizing that there is no such thing as an overnight success. You will do well to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-tell-you-all-this-because-it-s-worth-recognizing-that-there-is-no/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [The secret to enjoying your job is to have a hobby that's even worse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/the-secret-to-enjoying-your-job-is-to-have-a-hobby-that-s-even-worse/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [By golly, life's too darn short to waste time trying to please every meddlesome moron who's got an idea how I ought to be!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/by-golly-life-s-too-darn-short-to-waste-time-trying-to-please-every/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) > [I'm yet another resource-consuming kid in an overpopulated planet, raised to an alarming extent by Hollywood and Madison Avenue, poised with my cynical and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/i-m-yet-another-resource-consuming-kid-in-an-overpopulated-planet/) [Bill Watterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) [Explore all 389 Bill Watterson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/) ## More Avarice quotes > [In our own time the whole of Greece has been subject to a low birth rate and a general decrease of the population, owing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/polybius/in-our-own-time-the-whole-of-greece-has-been-subject-to-a-low-birth/) [Polybius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/polybius/) > [avarice breeds envy, a worm that is always gnawing, letting the avaricious enjoy neither their own nor anyone else's good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-catherine-of-siena/avarice-breeds-envy-a-worm-that-is-always-gnawing-letting-the/) [St. Catherine of Siena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-catherine-of-siena/) > [The man who worships mere wealth is a snob.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/the-man-who-worships-mere-wealth-is-a-snob/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [Where today are the Pequot? Where are the Narragansett, the Mohican, the Pcanet, and other powerful tribes of our people? They have vanished before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tecumseh/where-today-are-the-pequot-where-are-the-narragansett-the-mohican-the/) [Tecumseh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tecumseh/) > [The corruption of the age is made up by the particular contribution of every individual man; some contribute treachery, others injustice, atheism, tyranny, avarice,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/the-corruption-of-the-age-is-made-up-by-the-particular-contribution/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [Where poverty ceases, avarice begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/where-poverty-ceases-avarice-begins/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [Five enemies of peace inhabit with us - avarice, ambition, envy, anger, and pride; if these were to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/petrarch/five-enemies-of-peace-inhabit-with-us-avarice-ambition-envy-anger-and/) [Petrarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/petrarch/) > ['Maneater' is about N.Y.C. in the '80s. It's about greed, avarice, and spoiled riches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-oates/maneater-is-about-n-y-c-in-the-80s-it-s-about-greed-avarice-and/) [John Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-oates/) > [A woman's whole life is a history of the affections. The heart is her world: it is there her ambition strives for empire; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-woman-s-whole-life-is-a-history-of-the-affections-the-heart-is-her/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Gluttony should be destroyed by self-control; unchastity by desire for God and longing for the blessings held in store; avarice by compassion for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-of-damascus/gluttony-should-be-destroyed-by-self-control-unchastity-by-desire-for/) [John of Damascus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-of-damascus/) > [Riches with their wicked inducements increase; nevertheless, avarice is never satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/riches-with-their-wicked-inducements-increase-nevertheless-avarice-is/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Poverty wants much; but avarice, everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/publilius-syrus/poverty-wants-much-but-avarice-everything/) [Publilius Syrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/publilius-syrus/) > [When virtue is banished, ambition invades the minds of those who are disposed to receive it and avarice possesses the whole community.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/when-virtue-is-banished-ambition-invades-the-minds-of-those-who-are/) [Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/) > [He who is always in a hurry to be wealthy and immersed in the study of augmenting his fortune has lost the arms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/he-who-is-always-in-a-hurry-to-be-wealthy-and-immersed-in-the-study/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Goodness is weakness, pleasantness is poisonous, serenity is mediocrity and kindness is for losers. The best reason for committing loathsome and detestable acts –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/goodness-is-weakness-pleasantness-is-poisonous-serenity-is-mediocrity/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) [Browse all 318 Avarice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/avarice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life, a person happy doing his own work is usually considered an eccentric, if not a subversive.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bill Watterson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/in-a-culture-that-relentlessly-promotes-avarice-and-excess-as-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Avarice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/in-a-culture-that-relentlessly-promotes-avarice-and-excess-as-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/bill-watterson-728_avarice_in-a-culture-that-relentlessly-promotes_297623.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/bill-watterson-728_avarice_in-a-culture-that-relentlessly-promotes_297623.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/210/bill-watterson-728_avarice_in-a-culture-that-relentlessly-promotes_297623.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life, a person happy doing his own…” — Bill Watterson", "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": "Bill Watterson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-watterson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "In a culture that relentlessly promotes...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/in-a-culture-that-relentlessly-promotes-avarice-and-excess-as-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-watterson/in-a-culture-that-relentlessly-promotes-avarice-and-excess-as-the/#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 } } ] } ```