Class Quote by Charles R. Morris
“merica was middle-class for the very start - the people who came first were hyper-strivers from England. There were no vested interests, no ranks, no classes, it was very lightly populated, there were unlimited natural resources - for free essentially - if you failed, you could always start over.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The New Capitalist Manifesto by Charles R. Morris, 1995
Early America offered abundant resources and low social barriers, allowing newcomers to start anew after failure.
In simple terms: America once had open opportunities for newcomers.
Key Takeaway
Leverage abundant resources and low barriers to restart after setbacks.
Themes
opportunity
social mobility
resource abundance
risk tolerance
entrepreneurship
Mood
reflective
optimistic
Type
historical
analytical
When to use this quote
- immigration
- startup ventures
- personal reinvention
- economic policy
Key Concepts
frontier economics
social stratification
American myth
Questions to Reflect On
- How would you create a modern “reset” opportunity?
- What policies can preserve resource accessibility?
A Different Perspective
Modern societies have more rigid structures and limited resources, reducing the ease of starting over.
![“By 18th century standards, they [Great Britain] were the freest, most dynamic, most willing to challenge tradition and authority. They had the highest wages and highest living standard, and probably the most engagement between the populace and the government of any country. Then the United States…” quote by Charles R. Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ca2/charles-r-morris-19787_18th-century_by-18th-century-standards-they-great-bri_49883.jpg)
![“I find her [Frances Trollope] simply delightful, even in her prejudices and cantankerousness. It is a gift to an author to find a funny, wry, perceptive contemporary observer to whom the subject matter seems almost as different and alien, and requiring as much struggling to understand, as it did…” quote by Charles R. Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/54e/charles-r-morris-19787_aliens_i-find-her-frances-trollope-simply-delig_283728.jpg)
