--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There can be no peace as long as there is…" description: "\"There can be no peace as long as there is grinding poverty, social injustice, inequality, oppression, environmental degradation, and as long as the wea..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/dalai-lama-89_degradation_there-can-be-no-peace-as-long-as-there-i_547642.jpg" --- # There can be no peace as long as there is grinding… ![“There can be no peace as long as there is grinding poverty, social injustice, inequality, oppression, environmental degradation, and as long as the weak and small continue to be trodden by the mighty and powerful.” quote by Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/dalai-lama-89_degradation_there-can-be-no-peace-as-long-as-there-i_547642.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/dalai-lama-89_degradation_there-can-be-no-peace-as-long-as-there-i_547642.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35d/dalai-lama-89_degradation_there-can-be-no-peace-as-long-as-there-i_547642.jpg) > “There can be no peace as long as there is grinding poverty, social injustice, inequality, oppression, environmental degradation, and as long as the weak and small continue to be trodden by the mighty and powerful.” [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Peace is impossible while poverty, injustice, inequality, oppression, and environmental harm persist. **In simple terms:** Peace needs justice and a healthy planet. Key Takeaway Address systemic inequities now. Themes peace justice environment social equity Mood concerned determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy reform - community activism - education programs Key Concepts human rights sustainability economic disparity Questions to Reflect On - What actions can individuals take to reduce inequality? - How can we balance economic growth with environmental stewardship? A Different Perspective Changing deep structures is politically complex and slow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Degradation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/degradation/) [Environmental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental/) [Environmental degradation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental-degradation/) [Grinding Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grinding-poverty-2174424/) [Inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality/) [Inequality Oppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality-oppression-4565572/) [Injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice/) [Injustice Inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/injustice-inequality-1752146/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Oppression](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression/) [Oppression Environmental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oppression-environmental-4565571/) [Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/peace/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social injustice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-injustice/) [Weak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weak/) ## Related quotes > [Few if any political philosophers have had the courage of tackling the Cold War. 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Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/) > [The mind of the thinker and the student is driven to admit, though it be awe-struck by apparent injustice, that this inequality is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-trollope/the-mind-of-the-thinker-and-the-student-is-driven-to-admit-though-it/) [Anthony Trollope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-trollope/) > [For me, being leftist means fighting against injustice and inequality but, most of all, we want to live well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evo-morales/for-me-being-leftist-means-fighting-against-injustice-and-inequality/) [Evo Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evo-morales/) > [We need to truly understand what economic injustice and inequality looks like for hard-working Canadians grappling with it every day on the ground, at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jagmeet-singh/we-need-to-truly-understand-what-economic-injustice-and-inequality/) [Jagmeet Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jagmeet-singh/) > [If you're just the person with power, exercising that power fearfully and angrily, you're going to be an operative of injustice and inequality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-stevenson/if-you-re-just-the-person-with-power-exercising-that-power-fearfully/) [Bryan Stevenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-stevenson/) > [Environmental degradation, overpopulation, refugees, narcotics, terrorism, world crime movements, and organized crime are worldwide problems that don't stop at a nation's borders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-christopher/environmental-degradation-overpopulation-refugees-narcotics-terrorism/) [Warren Christopher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-christopher/) > [In an age of interdependence, global citizenship - based on trust and sense of shared responsibility - is a crucial pillar of progress. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/in-an-age-of-interdependence-global-citizenship-based-on-trust-and/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [The global industrial economy is the engine for massive environmental degradation and massive human (and nonhuman) impoverishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derrick-jensen/the-global-industrial-economy-is-the-engine-for-massive-environmental/) [Derrick Jensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derrick-jensen/) > [All our efforts to defeat poverty and pursue sustainable development will be in vain if environmental degradation and natural resource depletion continue unabated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/all-our-efforts-to-defeat-poverty-and-pursue-sustainable-development/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) ## More by Dalai Lama > [Although under particular circumstances, the violence method - any method - can be justified, nevertheless once you commit violence, then counterviolence will be returned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/although-under-particular-circumstances-the-violence-method-any/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [There are a number of qualities which are important for mental peace, but from the little experience I have, I believe that one of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/there-are-a-number-of-qualities-which-are-important-for-mental-peace/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [In the interests of everyone the artist had a responsibility to use his medium well. 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So through that way, more concern of well being of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/we-live-within-the-environment-so-that-directly-relates-with-our/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [My belief is that the various religious traditions have great potential to increase compassion, the sense of caring for one another, and the spirit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/my-belief-is-that-the-various-religious-traditions-have-great/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [When we think carefully, we see that the brief elation we experience when appeasing sensual impulses may not be very different from what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/when-we-think-carefully-we-see-that-the-brief-elation-we-experience/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [“So let us reflect on what is truly of value in life, what gives meaning to our lives, and set our priorities on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/so-let-us-reflect-on-what-is-truly-of-value-in-life-what-gives/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [I am the source of my own suffering, because of the habits of my mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/i-am-the-source-of-my-own-suffering-because-of-the-habits-of-my-mind/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) [Explore all 1,406 Dalai Lama quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) ## More Degradation quotes > [All our efforts to defeat poverty and pursue sustainable development will be in vain if environmental degradation and natural resource depletion continue unabated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/all-our-efforts-to-defeat-poverty-and-pursue-sustainable-development/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Life appears to me too short to be spent in nursing animosity, or registering wrongs. 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On the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-r-ambedkar/we-must-begin-by-acknowledging-that-there-is-a-complete-absence-of/) [B. R. Ambedkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-r-ambedkar/) > [In an age of interdependence, global citizenship - based on trust and sense of shared responsibility - is a crucial pillar of progress. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/in-an-age-of-interdependence-global-citizenship-based-on-trust-and/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [If all boys could be made to know that with every breath of cigarette smoke they inhale imbecility and exhale manhood ... and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hudson-maxim/if-all-boys-could-be-made-to-know-that-with-every-breath-of-cigarette/) [Hudson Maxim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hudson-maxim/) > [If the world suffers from mental deterioration or from moral degradation, then something goes wrong at the very root of civilization or culture. 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