--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Australia is a lucky country run mainly…" description: "\"“Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck.”\" — Donald Horne" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/donald-horne-48416_australia_australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-mainly_2799869.png" --- # Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate… ![“Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck.” quote by Donald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/donald-horne-48416_australia_australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-mainly_2799869.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/donald-horne-48416_australia_australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-mainly_2799869.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/donald-horne-48416_australia_australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-mainly_2799869.png) > ““Australia is a lucky country run mainly 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 success stems from luck and mediocre leadership, not merit. **In simple terms:** Luck, not talent, drives Australia. Key Takeaway Recognize systemic advantages. Themes politics society luck Mood skeptical ironic Type political social When to use this quote - policy making - career planning - public discourse Key Concepts Australian history leadership economics Questions to Reflect On - How does luck affect personal responsibility? - Can merit be cultivated? A Different Perspective Leaders can still be effective. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Australia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/australia/) [Bureaucracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bureaucracy/) [Incompetence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/incompetence/) [Luck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/luck/) [Politicians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politicians/) [Second rate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/second-rate/) ## Related quotes > [Australia is a lucky country run by second-rate people who share its luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-horne/australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-by-second-rate-people-who-share-its/) [Donald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-horne/) > [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/) > [I see no magic in tax dollars which are sent to Washington and then returned. I abhor the waste and incompetence of large-scale federal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/i-see-no-magic-in-tax-dollars-which-are-sent-to-washington-and-then/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [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/) > [In Formula One, the car can make a difference in a way that a driver cannot. Whereas Michael Schumacher and Ayrton Senna spent their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-jacques/in-formula-one-the-car-can-make-a-difference-in-a-way-that-a-driver/) [Martin Jacques](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-jacques/) > [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/) > [You can compromise on anything else in your life but love. It's the one time where under no circumstances should you let yourself have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-sykes/you-can-compromise-on-anything-else-in-your-life-but-love-it-s-the/) [Oliver Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-sykes/) ## 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 by second-rate people who share its luck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-horne/australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-by-second-rate-people-who-share-its/) [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/) [Donald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-horne/) > [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/) [Donald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-horne/) > [“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/) ## More Australia quotes > [I've always been of the idea that is doesn't really matter where you are geographically - with 'Lonerism,' we made half the album in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-parker/i-ve-always-been-of-the-idea-that-is-doesn-t-really-matter-where-you/) [Kevin Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-parker/) > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [I wanted to have a peaceful married life with my wife, so we both moved to Sydney in Australia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rahul-roy/i-wanted-to-have-a-peaceful-married-life-with-my-wife-so-we-both/) [Rahul Roy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rahul-roy/) > [It will be nice to play against Australia. It's a great country, and football is getting bigger and bigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-mata/it-will-be-nice-to-play-against-australia-it-s-a-great-country-and/) [Juan Mata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-mata/) > [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/) Ben Lexcen > [I think that prosecuting some college kid because she shared a file is a lot like sending somebody to Australia 200 years ago for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/i-think-that-prosecuting-some-college-kid-because-she-shared-a-file/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [Sydney CBD is the eastern city, Parramatta is the central city and Badgerys will be the third city in greater Sydney.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gladys-berejiklian/sydney-cbd-is-the-eastern-city-parramatta-is-the-central-city-and/) [Gladys Berejiklian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gladys-berejiklian/) > [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/) > [As a young kid you stay up late to watch the Ashes, getting told off for not being in bed, and dream of making…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonny-bairstow/as-a-young-kid-you-stay-up-late-to-watch-the-ashes-getting-told-off/) [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/) [Erick Morillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erick-morillo/) > [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 > [Coal is the moral choice, particularly for the developing world... The model for the world right now should be Australia. Australia gets it. Scientifically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-morano/coal-is-the-moral-choice-particularly-for-the-developing-world-the/) 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/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Donald Horne" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-horne/australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-mainly-by-second-rate-people-who/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Australia" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-horne/australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-mainly-by-second-rate-people-who/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/donald-horne-48416_australia_australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-mainly_2799869.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/donald-horne-48416_australia_australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-mainly_2799869.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0b9/donald-horne-48416_australia_australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-mainly_2799869.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Australia is a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck.” — Donald Horne", "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": "Donald Horne", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-horne/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Australia is a lucky country run...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-horne/australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-mainly-by-second-rate-people-who/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-horne/australia-is-a-lucky-country-run-mainly-by-second-rate-people-who/#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 } } ] } ```