--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: This food-and-shelter theory concerning…" description: "\"This food-and-shelter theory concerning man's efforts is without insight. The desire for praise is more imperative than the desire for food and shelter..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/eric-hoffer-343_desire_this-food-and-shelter-theory-concerning_93158.jpg" --- # This food-and-shelter theory concerning man's efforts is… ![“This food-and-shelter theory concerning man's efforts is without insight. The desire for praise is more imperative than the desire for food and shelter” quote by Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/eric-hoffer-343_desire_this-food-and-shelter-theory-concerning_93158.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/eric-hoffer-343_desire_this-food-and-shelter-theory-concerning_93158.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/454/eric-hoffer-343_desire_this-food-and-shelter-theory-concerning_93158.jpg) > “This food-and-shelter theory concerning man's efforts is without insight. The desire for praise is more imperative than the desire for food and shelter” [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human beings prioritize social validation over basic needs, suggesting that the craving for admiration drives behavior more than survival instincts. **In simple terms:** Praise outweighs sustenance Key Takeaway Social esteem drives action Themes validation ego social hierarchy motivation human nature Mood critical reflective Type observation philosophical When to use this quote - social media engagement - career advancement - political campaigning - celebrity culture Key Concepts psychology of status need for recognition Practical Applications - analyzing status‑driven behavior - designing incentive systems Questions to Reflect On - Why do we chase applause more than food? - Can societies thrive without status‑seeking? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Imperatives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperatives/) [Man's Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mans-effort/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Praise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praise/) [Shelter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shelter/) [Wisdom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wisdom/) ## Related quotes > [This food-and-shelter theory concerning man's efforts is without insight. Our most persistent and spectacular efforts are concerned not with the preservation of what we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/this-food-and-shelter-theory-concerning-man-s-efforts-is-without-2/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I shall go further and say that even if an examination of the past could lead to any valid prediction concerning man's future, that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-benda/i-shall-go-further-and-say-that-even-if-an-examination-of-the-past/) [Julien Benda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-benda/) > [“Man is so complicated a machine that it is impossible to get a clear idea of the machine beforehand, and hence impossible to define…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/man-is-so-complicated-a-machine-that-it-is-impossible-to-get-a-clear/) [Julien Offray de La Mettrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julien-offray-de-la-mettrie/) > [“It is amazing from what a mere fraction of a fact concerning him a man will dare judge the whole of another man”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-macdonald/it-is-amazing-from-what-a-mere-fraction-of-a-fact-concerning-him-a/) [George MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-macdonald/) > [Now the basest thought possible concerning man is, that he has no spiritual nature; and the foolishest misunderstanding of him possible is, that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/now-the-basest-thought-possible-concerning-man-is-that-he-has-no/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [I sleep equally well in a soft bed or on the grass beside the road. If I am given food and shelter, fine. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peace-pilgrim/i-sleep-equally-well-in-a-soft-bed-or-on-the-grass-beside-the-road-if/) [Peace Pilgrim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peace-pilgrim/) > [We can no more do without spirituality than we can do without food, shelter, or clothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/we-can-no-more-do-without-spirituality-than-we-can-do-without-food/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [“What is the point in providing food and shelter for an animal that just soils your furniture, makes your home smell bad, and ultimately…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/what-is-the-point-in-providing-food-and-shelter-for-an-animal-that/) [Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/) > [“Food and shelter are very nice, but without stories to hear and tell, we might as well be the walking dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-hager-cohen/food-and-shelter-are-very-nice-but-without-stories-to-hear-and-tell/) [Leah Hager Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-hager-cohen/) > [“I’d figured out that it wasn’t just about food and shelter. Obviously, that was important, but it was the people that I met, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melody-j-bremen/i-d-figured-out-that-it-wasn-t-just-about-food-and-shelter-obviously/) Melody J. Bremen > [The man with the knapsack is never lost. No matter whither he may stray, his food and shelter are right with him, and home…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-kephart/the-man-with-the-knapsack-is-never-lost-no-matter-whither-he-may/) [Horace Kephart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-kephart/) > [“Having learnt from experiment and argument that a stone falls downwards, a man indubitably believes this, and always expects the law he has learnt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/having-learnt-from-experiment-and-argument-that-a-stone-falls/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Nothing constructive and worthy of man's efforts ever has or ever will be achieved except by that which comes from a positive mental attitude,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/nothing-constructive-and-worthy-of-man-s-efforts-ever-has-or-ever/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [A Mans dedication weighs just as much as a Woman's effort...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-samuel/a-mans-dedication-weighs-just-as-much-as-a-woman-s-effort/) [Robert Samuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-samuel/) > [“If you've a notion of what man's heart is, wouldn't you say that maybe the whole effort of man on earth to build a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wright/if-you-ve-a-notion-of-what-man-s-heart-is-wouldn-t-you-say-that-maybe/) [Richard Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wright/) ## More by Eric Hoffer > [The truth seems to be that propaganda on its own cannot force its way into unwilling minds; neither can it inculcate something wholly new;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-truth-seems-to-be-that-propaganda-on-its-own-cannot-force-its-way/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [When grubbing for necessities man is still an animal. He becomes uniquely human when he reaches out for the superfluous and extravagant.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/when-grubbing-for-necessities-man-is-still-an-animal-he-becomes/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [“We lie the loudest when we lie to ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/we-lie-the-loudest-when-we-lie-to-ourselves/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Our originality shows itself most strikingly not in what we wholly originate but in what we do with that which we borrow from others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/our-originality-shows-itself-most-strikingly-not-in-what-we-wholly/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The creative mind is the playful mind. 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Compassion alone stands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/in-the-alchemy-of-man-s-soul-almost-all-noble-attributes-courage/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [The act of self-denial seems to confer on us the right to be harsh and merciless toward others. The impression somehow prevails that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-act-of-self-denial-seems-to-confer-on-us-the-right-to-be-harsh/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [A nation without dregs and malcontents, is orderly, decent, peaceful and pleasant, but perhaps without the seed of things to come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-nation-without-dregs-and-malcontents-is-orderly-decent-peaceful-and/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Compassion alone stands apart from the continuous traffic between good and evil proceeding within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/compassion-alone-stands-apart-from-the-continuous-traffic-between/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [There are many who find a good alibi far more attractive than an achievement. For an achievement does not settle anything permanently. We still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/there-are-many-who-find-a-good-alibi-far-more-attractive-than-an/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [A war is not won if the defeated enemy has not been turned into a friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/a-war-is-not-won-if-the-defeated-enemy-has-not-been-turned-into-a/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [Man is the only creature that strives to surpass himself, and yearns for the impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/man-is-the-only-creature-that-strives-to-surpass-himself-and-yearns/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [It is our talents rusting unused within us that secrete the poison of self-doubt into our bloodstream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-our-talents-rusting-unused-within-us-that-secrete-the-poison-of/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) [Explore all 658 Eric Hoffer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) ## More Desire quotes > [I put myself in the student's place and remember the frustrations, doubts, determination, and desires I felt when I was going through the initial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-martinez/i-put-myself-in-the-student-s-place-and-remember-the-frustrations/) Ted Martinez > [Passion is what you need to be good, an unforgiving passion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-easton/passion-is-what-you-need-to-be-good-an-unforgiving-passion/) [David Easton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-easton/) > [I want the municipality to be a helping hand to the man with a desire of sympathy, to help the fallen when it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-burns/i-want-the-municipality-to-be-a-helping-hand-to-the-man-with-a-desire/) [John Burns](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-burns/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [“THE ESSENCE OF YOUR DESIRE IS A FEELING”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danielle-laporte/the-essence-of-your-desire-is-a-feeling/) [Danielle LaPorte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danielle-laporte/) > [On the brink of being satiated, desire still appears infinite.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rostand/on-the-brink-of-being-satiated-desire-still-appears-infinite/) [Jean Rostand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rostand/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [He caught her, she fell, he caught her in his arms, he held her tightly unconscious of what he was doing. He held her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-hugo/he-caught-her-she-fell-he-caught-her-in-his-arms-he-held-her-tightly/) [Victor Hugo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-hugo/) > [ Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit. My three \[great teachers\] did not… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/teaching-might-even-be-the-greatest-of-the-arts-since-the-medium-is/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [“The deepest urge in human nature is the desire to be important.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dewey/the-deepest-urge-in-human-nature-is-the-desire-to-be-important/) [John Dewey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dewey/) > [In discovering books, you became free to explore the full range of human motives, desires, secrets, and lies. 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He could smell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emery-lee/from-the-devil-you-know-she-wanted-him-too-he-could-see-it-in-the/) [Emery Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emery-lee/) [Browse all 15,155 Desire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "This food-and-shelter theory concerning man's efforts is without insight. 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