--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Interest is theft, Rent Robbery, and…" description: "\"Interest is theft, Rent Robbery, and Profit Only Another Name for Plunder.\" — Ezra Heywood" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/ezra-heywood-87398_interest_interest-is-theft-rent-robbery-and-profi_2759143.png" --- # Interest is theft, Rent Robbery, and Profit Only Another… ![“Interest is theft, Rent Robbery, and Profit Only Another Name for Plunder.” quote by Ezra Heywood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/ezra-heywood-87398_interest_interest-is-theft-rent-robbery-and-profi_2759143.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/ezra-heywood-87398_interest_interest-is-theft-rent-robbery-and-profi_2759143.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/ezra-heywood-87398_interest_interest-is-theft-rent-robbery-and-profi_2759143.png) > “Interest is theft, Rent Robbery, and Profit Only Another Name for Plunder.” Ezra Heywood ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Describing interest as theft frames profit as exploitation of others' ideas. **In simple terms:** Profit can be exploitative. Key Takeaway Question the ethics of profit. Themes ethics economics exploitation property Mood critical thought‑provoking Type philosophical political When to use this quote - business negotiations - creative collaborations Key Concepts capitalism intellectual property social justice Questions to Reflect On - Is all profit inherently exploitative? - When does interest become fair exchange? A Different Perspective May overlook legitimate value creation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Interest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) [Profit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/profit/) [Robbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/robbery/) [Theft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theft/) ## Related quotes > [It is a policeman’s duty to retrieve stolen property and return it to its owners. But when robbery becomes the purpose of the law,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/it-is-a-policeman-s-duty-to-retrieve-stolen-property-and-return-it-to/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [ It \[the free market\] is an organizational way of doing things, featuring openness, which enables millions of people to cooperate and compete without demanding… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/it-the-free-market-is-an-organizational-way-of-doing-things-featuring/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [If two individuals enter into a contract to commit trespass, theft, robbery or murder upon a third, the contract is unlawful and void, simply…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lysander-spooner/if-two-individuals-enter-into-a-contract-to-commit-trespass-theft/) [Lysander Spooner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lysander-spooner/) > [What do you call it when someone steals someone else's money secretly? Theft. What do you call it when someone takes someone else's money…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/what-do-you-call-it-when-someone-steals-someone-else-s-money-secretly/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“Stolen oranges also have Vitamin C. Likewise, a stolen salmon, too, has omega-3 fatty acids.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/stolen-oranges-also-have-vitamin-c-likewise-a-stolen-salmon-too-has/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“Now because 18 months ago the first dawn, 3 months ago broad daylight but a very few days ago the full sun of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johannes-kepler/now-because-18-months-ago-the-first-dawn-3-months-ago-broad-daylight/) [Johannes Kepler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johannes-kepler/) > [PLUNDER, v. To take the property of another without observing the decent and customary reticences of theft. To wrest the wealth of A from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/plunder-v-to-take-the-property-of-another-without-observing-the/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The lily I condemned for thy hand, And buds of marjoram had stol'n thy hair: The roses fearfully on thorns did stand, One blushing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/the-lily-i-condemned-for-thy-hand-and-buds-of-marjoram-had-stol-n-thy/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Dictators cause the world's worst problems: all the collapsed states, and all the devastated economies. All the vapid cases of corruption, grand theft, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-ayittey/dictators-cause-the-world-s-worst-problems-all-the-collapsed-states/) [George Ayittey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-ayittey/) > [“I do not think that illegal plunder, such as theft or swindling — which the penal code defines, anticipates, and punishes — can be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/i-do-not-think-that-illegal-plunder-such-as-theft-or-swindling-which/) [Frédéric Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [Disfranchisement is the deliberate theft and robbery of the only protection of poor against rich and black against white.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/disfranchisement-is-the-deliberate-theft-and-robbery-of-the-only/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [“When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/when-plunder-becomes-a-way-of-life-for-a-group-of-men-in-a-society/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [This is what it is the business of the artist to do. Art is theft, art is armed robbery, art is not pleasing your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-malcolm/this-is-what-it-is-the-business-of-the-artist-to-do-art-is-theft-art/) [Janet Malcolm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-malcolm/) > [The politician attempts to remedy the evil by increasing the very thing that caused the evil in the first place: legal plunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/the-politician-attempts-to-remedy-the-evil-by-increasing-the-very/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [Africa, being the major target of colonial plunder, therefore becomes a major source of conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-horne/africa-being-the-major-target-of-colonial-plunder-therefore-becomes-a/) [Gerald Horne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-horne/) ## More by Ezra Heywood > [The free-trade idea, logically applied, will abolish usury; and with usury will disappear the chief bone of contention between labor and capital. But, just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-heywood/the-free-trade-idea-logically-applied-will-abolish-usury-and-with/) Ezra Heywood > [The 'survival of the fittest' is beneficently inevitable; the capitalist is powerless against labor, unless the State . . . steps in, and helps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-heywood/the-survival-of-the-fittest-is-beneficently-inevitable-the-capitalist/) Ezra Heywood Explore all 3 Ezra Heywood quotes ## More Interest quotes > [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Right now we're concerned about budget. Right now we're concerned about the prospect of interest rate rise. We're concerned about government corruption, government handing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amity-shlaes/right-now-we-re-concerned-about-budget-right-now-we-re-concerned/) [Amity Shlaes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amity-shlaes/) > [I became a bit of a teacher's pet, and it became known in the school by both faculty and students that I really excelled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-smith/i-became-a-bit-of-a-teacher-s-pet-and-it-became-known-in-the-school/) [Paul Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-smith/) > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [It is the interest of the commercial world that wealth should be found everywhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/it-is-the-interest-of-the-commercial-world-that-wealth-should-be/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [The minimum that most minimalists want leaves in place just the institutions who protect their interests. That's libertarians for you - anarchists who want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-stanley-robinson/the-minimum-that-most-minimalists-want-leaves-in-place-just-the/) [Kim Stanley Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-stanley-robinson/) > [Susan B. Anthony must be turning in her grave if she knew that millions of women who have the right to vote are not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madeleine-m-kunin/susan-b-anthony-must-be-turning-in-her-grave-if-she-knew-that/) [Madeleine M. Kunin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madeleine-m-kunin/) > [Teachers' unions don't act in the interest of most teachers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sal-khan/teachers-unions-don-t-act-in-the-interest-of-most-teachers/) [Sal Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sal-khan/) > [I really like female singers; I've got zero interest in working with male singers. Any male voice I need to do, I can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/devin-townsend/i-really-like-female-singers-i-ve-got-zero-interest-in-working-with/) [Devin Townsend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/devin-townsend/) > [I could not identify with harming my child or giving up my child. But I could identify with giving up my child if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drea-de-matteo/i-could-not-identify-with-harming-my-child-or-giving-up-my-child-but/) [Drea De Matteo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drea-de-matteo/) > [Human life consists of doing certain things ... to take part in the life of the community; to be able to talk about subjects…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amartya-sen/human-life-consists-of-doing-certain-things-to-take-part-in-the-life/) [Amartya Sen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amartya-sen/) > [I think another thing is that we don't really want exclusivity. We accept that it is in the artist's interest to be on sale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/i-think-another-thing-is-that-we-don-t-really-want-exclusivity-we/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) > [My dream is to play ordinary characters. I have no interest in playing a pretty girl or an NRI girl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sobhita-dhulipala/my-dream-is-to-play-ordinary-characters-i-have-no-interest-in-playing/) [Sobhita Dhulipala](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sobhita-dhulipala/) > [At times of recession, running a budget deficit is highly desirable. Once the economy begins to recover, you have to balance the budget. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/at-times-of-recession-running-a-budget-deficit-is-highly-desirable/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) [Browse all 9,703 Interest quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interest/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Interest is theft, Rent Robbery, and Profit Only Another Name for Plunder.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ezra Heywood" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-heywood/interest-is-theft-rent-robbery-and-profit-only-another-name-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Interest" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-heywood/interest-is-theft-rent-robbery-and-profit-only-another-name-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/ezra-heywood-87398_interest_interest-is-theft-rent-robbery-and-profi_2759143.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/ezra-heywood-87398_interest_interest-is-theft-rent-robbery-and-profi_2759143.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4a9/ezra-heywood-87398_interest_interest-is-theft-rent-robbery-and-profi_2759143.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Interest is theft, Rent Robbery, and Profit Only Another Name for Plunder.” — Ezra Heywood", "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": "Ezra Heywood", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-heywood/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Interest is theft, Rent Robbery, and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-heywood/interest-is-theft-rent-robbery-and-profit-only-another-name-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-heywood/interest-is-theft-rent-robbery-and-profit-only-another-name-for/#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 } } ] } ```