--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Unlike water, which prefers to lie flat…" description: "\"“Unlike water, which prefers to lie flat as it accumulates, material wealth in complex societies likes to pile itself up into huge pyramids.”\" — David ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/david-christian-7861_material-wealth_unlike-water-which-prefers-to-lie-flat-a_1223589.jpg" --- # Unlike water, which prefers to lie flat as it accumulates… ![“Unlike water, which prefers to lie flat as it accumulates, material wealth in complex societies likes to pile itself up into huge pyramids.” quote by David Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/david-christian-7861_material-wealth_unlike-water-which-prefers-to-lie-flat-a_1223589.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/david-christian-7861_material-wealth_unlike-water-which-prefers-to-lie-flat-a_1223589.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/david-christian-7861_material-wealth_unlike-water-which-prefers-to-lie-flat-a_1223589.jpg) > ““Unlike water, which prefers to lie flat as it accumulates, material wealth in complex societies likes to pile itself up into huge pyramids.”” [David Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-christian/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. In complex societies, wealth accumulates in towering structures, unlike water that spreads flat. **In simple terms:** Wealth builds pyramids, not flat layers. Key Takeaway Be mindful of wealth concentration. Themes economics society wealth Mood analytical concerned Type explanatory critical When to use this quote - urban planning - policy making - social justice Key Concepts inequality resource distribution Questions to Reflect On - How does wealth concentration affect social mobility? - What alternatives to pyramidal wealth exist? A Different Perspective Pyramids can also support stability if managed well. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Complex Societies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/complex-societies-1610903/) [Huge Pyramids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/huge-pyramids-3756474/) [Material wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/material-wealth/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) [Wealth Complex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth-complex-3756473/) ## Related quotes > [Since our complex societies are highly susceptible to interferences and accidents, they certainly offer ideal opportunities for a prompt disruption of normal activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/since-our-complex-societies-are-highly-susceptible-to-interferences/) [Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/) > [Technically speaking, since our complex societies are highly susceptible to interferences and accidents,they certainly offer ideal opportunities for a prompt disruption of normal activities.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jurgen-habermas/technically-speaking-since-our-complex-societies-are-highly/) [Jurgen Habermas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jurgen-habermas/) > [“The earliest evidence that has been found of complex societies comes from Mesopotamia – modern-day Iraq and Syria – in around 3500 BC.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lascelles/the-earliest-evidence-that-has-been-found-of-complex-societies-comes/) [Christopher Lascelles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lascelles/) > [“Highly organized complex societies are delicate machines. 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Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-e-simon/) > [Those who have not found their true wealth, which is the radiant joy of Being and the deep, unshakable peace that comes with it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/those-who-have-not-found-their-true-wealth-which-is-the-radiant-joy/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) > [If we love (the poor) people, we want to identify with them and share with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-vanier/if-we-love-the-poor-people-we-want-to-identify-with-them-and-share/) [Jean Vanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-vanier/) > [“We have created a manic world nauseous with the pursuit of material wealth. 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This, we will see, is the characteristic pattern of all such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-christian/contain-into-new-durable-configurations-which-can-handle-huge-energy/) [David Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-christian/) > [We, as extremely complex creatures, desperately need to know this story of how the universe creates complexity and why complexity means vulnerability and fragility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-christian/we-as-extremely-complex-creatures-desperately-need-to-know-this-story/) [David Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-christian/) > [If, in schools, we keep teaching that history is divided into American history and Chinese history and Russian history and Australian history, we're teaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-christian/if-in-schools-we-keep-teaching-that-history-is-divided-into-american/) [David Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-christian/) > [An egg is a beautiful, sophisticated thing that can create even more sophisticated things, such as chickens. And we know in our heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-christian/an-egg-is-a-beautiful-sophisticated-thing-that-can-create-even-more/) [David Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-christian/) > [“Earth, for example, is made up of oxygen (almost 50 percent) and smaller amounts of iron (19 percent), silicon (14 percent), magnesium (12.5 percent),”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-christian/earth-for-example-is-made-up-of-oxygen-almost-50-percent-and-smaller/) [David Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-christian/) > [“most of human history (chronologically speaking) has taken place in communities quite innocent of state power.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-christian/most-of-human-history-chronologically-speaking-has-taken-place-in/) [David Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-christian/) > [“what we can see may constitute no more than 10 percent, and perhaps as little as 1 percent, of the matter in the universe.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-christian/what-we-can-see-may-constitute-no-more-than-10-percent-and-perhaps-as/) [David Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-christian/) [Explore all 86 David Christian quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-christian/) ## More Material wealth quotes > [“We have created a manic world nauseous with the pursuit of material wealth. 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I live in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/there-are-several-ways-to-mess-up-your-life-by-fighting-to-make-your/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) [Browse all 119 Material wealth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/material-wealth/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Unlike water, which prefers to lie flat as it accumulates, material wealth in complex societies likes to pile itself up into huge pyramids.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Christian" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-christian/unlike-water-which-prefers-to-lie-flat-as-it-accumulates-material/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Material wealth" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-christian/unlike-water-which-prefers-to-lie-flat-as-it-accumulates-material/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/david-christian-7861_material-wealth_unlike-water-which-prefers-to-lie-flat-a_1223589.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/david-christian-7861_material-wealth_unlike-water-which-prefers-to-lie-flat-a_1223589.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/794/david-christian-7861_material-wealth_unlike-water-which-prefers-to-lie-flat-a_1223589.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Unlike water, which prefers to lie flat as it accumulates, material wealth in complex societies likes to…” — David Christian", "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": "David Christian", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-christian/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Unlike water, which prefers to lie...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-christian/unlike-water-which-prefers-to-lie-flat-as-it-accumulates-material/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-christian/unlike-water-which-prefers-to-lie-flat-as-it-accumulates-material/#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 } } ] } ```