---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Australia is a lucky country run by…"
description: "\"Australia is a lucky country run by second-rate people who share its luck.\" — Donald Horne"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/donald-horne-48416_australia_australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-by-seco_2750880.png"
---

#  Australia is a lucky country run by second-rate people who…

![“Australia is a lucky country run by second-rate people who share its luck.” quote by Donald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/donald-horne-48416_australia_australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-by-seco_2750880.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/donald-horne-48416_australia_australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-by-seco_2750880.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4b3/donald-horne-48416_australia_australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-by-seco_2750880.png)

> “Australia is a lucky country run by second-rate people who share its luck.”

[Donald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-horne/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Australia's prosperity attributed to luck and mediocre leadership.

**In simple terms:** Luck and average leaders shape the nation.

Key Takeaway

Recognize systemic factors behind success.

Themes

politics national identity luck

Mood

critical reflective

Type

political social commentary

When to use this quote

- policy analysis
- public discourse
- education reform

Key Concepts

sociology leadership critique

Questions to Reflect On

- What role does culture play in national success?
- How can leadership improve despite perceived luck?

A Different Perspective

Overlooks contributions of individuals and institutions.

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[Australia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/australia/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Lucky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lucky/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Running](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/running/) [Second rate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-rate/)

## Related quotes

> [“Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-horne/australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-mainly-by-second-rate-people-who/)

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> [If Australia is The Lucky Country, the Aborigines must be the unluckiest people in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-hardy/if-australia-is-the-lucky-country-the-aborigines-must-be-the/)

Frank Hardy

> [I feel I'd like to share my luck and my life. Being in love is the best thing in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susannah-york/i-feel-i-d-like-to-share-my-luck-and-my-life-being-in-love-is-the/)

[Susannah York](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susannah-york/)

> [I'm a very lucky guy to play for my country, and I'm very happy and lucky to have this country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/son-heung-min/i-m-a-very-lucky-guy-to-play-for-my-country-and-i-m-very-happy-and/)

[Son Heung-min](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/son-heung-min/)

> [I've been really, lucky and sometimes you think, 'Why? How did this happen to me - what did I do to deserve this?' And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-portman/i-ve-been-really-lucky-and-sometimes-you-think-why-how-did-this/)

[Natalie Portman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-portman/)

> [England is a lucky country for me, and fortune comes only with hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oleksandr-usyk/england-is-a-lucky-country-for-me-and-fortune-comes-only-with-hard/)

[Oleksandr Usyk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oleksandr-usyk/)

> [“Singapore is a happy-go-lucky country where you frequently bump into people you know. I'm lucky to have spent 3 splendid months living it up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-goldin/singapore-is-a-happy-go-lucky-country-where-you-frequently-bump-into/)

[Lisa Goldin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-goldin/)

> [To be successful, you have to be out there, you have to hit the ground running, and if you have a good team around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/to-be-successful-you-have-to-be-out-there-you-have-to-hit-the-ground/)

[Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/)

> [If an enterprise does not aspire to be the best of its kind, it will attract second-rate employees, and it will be soon forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/if-an-enterprise-does-not-aspire-to-be-the-best-of-its-kind-it-will/)

[Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/)

> [Love is like those second-rate hotels where all the luxury is in the lobby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-jean-toulet/love-is-like-those-second-rate-hotels-where-all-the-luxury-is-in-the/)

Paul-Jean Toulet

> [If a company is second rate, the logo will eventually be perceived as second rate. It is foolhardy to believe that a logo will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-rand/if-a-company-is-second-rate-the-logo-will-eventually-be-perceived-as/)

[Paul Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-rand/)

> [It is a melancholy experience for a professional mathematician to find himself writing about mathematics. The function of a mathematician is to do something,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-h-hardy/it-is-a-melancholy-experience-for-a-professional-mathematician-to/)

[G. H. Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-h-hardy/)

> [Why in the hell do journalists insist on coming up with a second rate Freudian evaluation on my lyrics when 90% of the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-cobain/why-in-the-hell-do-journalists-insist-on-coming-up-with-a-second-rate/)

[Kurt Cobain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-cobain/)

> [“Nothing is more painful to me than the disdain with which people treat second-rate authors, as if there were room only for the first-raters.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/nothing-is-more-painful-to-me-than-the-disdain-with-which-people/)

[Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-augustin-sainte-beuve/)

> [Always be a first-rate version of yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/audrey-hepburn/always-be-a-first-rate-version-of-yourself/)

[Audrey Hepburn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/audrey-hepburn/)

## More by Donald Horne

> [With sport went beer drinking and gambling - until recently restricted by the wowsers, but part of that code of mateship of men, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-horne/with-sport-went-beer-drinking-and-gambling-until-recently-restricted/)

[Donald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-horne/)

> [Only in sport? The qualification would seem meaningless to many Australians. What also is there that matters as much as sport? It is only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-horne/only-in-sport-the-qualification-would-seem-meaningless-to-many/)

[Donald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-horne/)

> [A man who went to the 'footie' match on Saturday afternoon and played eighteen holes of golf was really doing his duty by the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-horne/a-man-who-went-to-the-footie-match-on-saturday-afternoon-and-played/)

[Donald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-horne/)

> [“Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-horne/australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-mainly-by-second-rate-people-who/)

[Donald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-horne/)

> [“Life in Australia is more equal and less competitive than in America; but there are dozens of similarities...migrations to a new land, the mystique…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-horne/life-in-australia-is-more-equal-and-less-competitive-than-in-america/)

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> [Fair-goes are not only for oneself, but for underdogs. Even in international sporting matches Australians have been known to switch from their own side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-horne/fair-goes-are-not-only-for-oneself-but-for-underdogs-even-in/)

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> [“Regional interests and loyalties are even stronger among Australians than among Americans - in that in social life they exist almost without challenge. Canberra…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-horne/regional-interests-and-loyalties-are-even-stronger-among-australians/)

[Donald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-horne/)

[Explore all 8 Donald Horne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-horne/)

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> [We don't have any sailors in Australia, we have rowers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-lexcen/we-don-t-have-any-sailors-in-australia-we-have-rowers/)

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> [No matter what day we celebrate Australia Day, let's celebrate it together and give thanks to the original inhabitants of this vast country. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/no-matter-what-day-we-celebrate-australia-day-let-s-celebrate-it/)

[Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/)

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[Jonny Bairstow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonny-bairstow/)

> [I love coming out to Australia, if it weren't so far away I would go all the time. I've worked with a lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erick-morillo/i-love-coming-out-to-australia-if-it-weren-t-so-far-away-i-would-go/)

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> [What I appreciated was the fact that the script delved into how Australians were - and still are - condescended to by the English.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-rush/what-i-appreciated-was-the-fact-that-the-script-delved-into-how/)

[Geoffrey Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-rush/)

> [Okay the names 360, I run around tipsy. My fellas in Australia all sit with me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/360/okay-the-names-360-i-run-around-tipsy-my-fellas-in-australia-all-sit/)

 360

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Marc Morano

> [I want to be part of the team that wins a Test series in England and Australia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautam-gambhir/i-want-to-be-part-of-the-team-that-wins-a-test-series-in-england-and/)

[Gautam Gambhir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautam-gambhir/)

> [I was brought up in a Christian home in Australia with a father who was very bold about his faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-ham/i-was-brought-up-in-a-christian-home-in-australia-with-a-father-who/)

[Ken Ham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-ham/)

[Browse all 1,907 Australia quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/australia/)

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