--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The income distribution system…" description: "\"The income distribution system constructed in the 20th century has broken down, and it will not come back.\" — Guy Standing" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a12/guy-standing-4017_20th-century_the-income-distribution-system-construct_2605976.jpg" --- # The income distribution system constructed in the 20th… ![“The income distribution system constructed in the 20th century has broken down, and it will not come back.” quote by Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a12/guy-standing-4017_20th-century_the-income-distribution-system-construct_2605976.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a12/guy-standing-4017_20th-century_the-income-distribution-system-construct_2605976.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a12/guy-standing-4017_20th-century_the-income-distribution-system-construct_2605976.jpg) > “The income distribution system constructed in the 20th century has broken down, and it will not come back.” [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The 20th‑century income distribution system has collapsed and will not recover. **In simple terms:** Old income system is broken, won't return. Key Takeaway Advocate for new economic structures. Themes economics inequality social policy Mood concerned urgent Type political economic When to use this quote - policy reform - labor movements Key Concepts precariat wealth distribution systemic change Questions to Reflect On - What alternatives can replace the old system? - How can societies ensure fairness during transition? A Different Perspective Transition may be painful and uncertain. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [20th century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/20th-century/) [Back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/back/) [Broken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/broken/) [Century Broken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century-broken-1985813/) [Come](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/come/) [Constructed 20Th](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constructed-20th-1985814/) [Distribution Constructed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distribution-constructed-1985815/) [Income distribution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/income-distribution/) [System](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/system/) [Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/will/) ## Related quotes > [I don't see basic income as a panacea, but we must have a new income distribution system. The old one has broken down irretrievably.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/i-don-t-see-basic-income-as-a-panacea-but-we-must-have-a-new-income/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [We are in an era of chronic insecurity and growing inequalities. In that context, we need to have new mechanisms for income distribution which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/we-are-in-an-era-of-chronic-insecurity-and-growing-inequalities-in/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [In the old 20th-century income distribution system, the shares of income going to capital, mainly in profits, and labor, in wages and non-wage benefits,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/in-the-old-20th-century-income-distribution-system-the-shares-of/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [Cities that tend of have better schools for middle-income families, they tend to have much better prospects for kids moving up in the income…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-chetty/cities-that-tend-of-have-better-schools-for-middle-income-families/) [Raj Chetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-chetty/) > [A premise of the new city is that we want a society to be as egalitarian as possible. For this purpose, quality-of-life distribution is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrique-penalosa/a-premise-of-the-new-city-is-that-we-want-a-society-to-be-as/) [Enrique Penalosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrique-penalosa/) > [Despite a voluminous and often fervent literature on "income distribution," the cold fact is that most income is not distributed: It is earned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/despite-a-voluminous-and-often-fervent-literature-on-income/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [My research in this period centered around growth, technical change, and income distribution, both how growth affected the distribution of income and how the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-research-in-this-period-centered-around-growth-technical-change/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Income tax in particular in the United States is concentrated on the top half of the income distribution, and very heavily skewed towards the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-woodruff/income-tax-in-particular-in-the-united-states-is-concentrated-on-the/) [Judy Woodruff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-woodruff/) > [“Chief among these headwinds is the rise of inequality that since 1970 has steadily directed an ever larger share of the fruits of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-gordon/chief-among-these-headwinds-is-the-rise-of-inequality-that-since-1970/) [Robert J. Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-gordon/) > [In the United States today we have the most unequal wealth and income distribution of any major country on earth - worse than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/in-the-united-states-today-we-have-the-most-unequal-wealth-and-income/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [The Supreme Court consistently favors organized money and the political privileges of the corporate class. We have a Senate that is more responsive to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-moyers/the-supreme-court-consistently-favors-organized-money-and-the/) [Bill Moyers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-moyers/) > [Increasing inequality in income distribution in this country has broader policy implications, and there is also the growing problem of perverse incentives that result…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barney-frank/increasing-inequality-in-income-distribution-in-this-country-has/) [Barney Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barney-frank/) > [“Normally, changes in the average income (total income divided by the total number of people) are not very different from changes in median income…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/normally-changes-in-the-average-income-total-income-divided-by-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The latest research on social mobility showed that there's a large aggregate decline in the U.S. in your chances of earning more than your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raj-chetty/the-latest-research-on-social-mobility-showed-that-there-s-a-large/) [Raj Chetty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raj-chetty/) > [The climate change problem is at its heart an ethical problem. It's a problem of income distribution and it's a problem of income distribution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-garnaut/the-climate-change-problem-is-at-its-heart-an-ethical-problem-it-s-a/) [Ross Garnaut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-garnaut/) ## More by Guy Standing > [“The ethical and philosophical justifications for basic income – social justice, freedom and economic security – have been well established. They are embedded in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/the-ethical-and-philosophical-justifications-for-basic-income-social/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [What we can say with confidence is that the technological revolution is worsening inequality, due mostly to mechanisms that limit free markets. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/what-we-can-say-with-confidence-is-that-the-technological-revolution/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“While there are reasons to be sceptical about the predicted technological dystopia that has prompted many high-tech plutocrats to come out in support of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/while-there-are-reasons-to-be-sceptical-about-the-predicted/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“Selective paternalism, for those on low incomes or for other groups needing state assistance, is perhaps even worse than general paternalism, since the minority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/selective-paternalism-for-those-on-low-incomes-or-for-other-groups/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [A democratically governed national fracking fund should be set up, perhaps similar to what Norway and Alaska have. Areas of drilling should be rented…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/a-democratically-governed-national-fracking-fund-should-be-set-up/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [Many low-income people in the U.S.A. charged with a crime opt to plead guilty to a lesser offence because they cannot afford to go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/many-low-income-people-in-the-u-s-a-charged-with-a-crime-opt-to-plead/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [People in the precariat rely very heavily on money wages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/people-in-the-precariat-rely-very-heavily-on-money-wages/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“Ironically, opponents of basic income on the grounds that it would lead to a dismantling of the welfare state tend to support some variant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/ironically-opponents-of-basic-income-on-the-grounds-that-it-would/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [Globalisation began what should be called the Great Convergence, creating a globalising labour market in which wages in emerging market economies slowly converge with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/globalisation-began-what-should-be-called-the-great-convergence/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“Although reducing poverty, economic insecurity, malnutrition and ill-health should be the primary driving forces, an additional factor is the stress being placed on societies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/although-reducing-poverty-economic-insecurity-malnutrition-and-ill/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“The first basic income pilot in a developing country was implemented in the small Namibian village of Otjivero-Omitara in 2008–9, covering about 1,000 people.40…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/the-first-basic-income-pilot-in-a-developing-country-was-implemented/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“Leaving aside instrumental reasons for supporting a basic income, the thrill lies in the potential to advance full freedom and social justice, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/leaving-aside-instrumental-reasons-for-supporting-a-basic-income-the/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“Reformers must be able to pre-empt the expected jibes over lack of ‘reciprocity’, affordability, inducement to laziness, ‘something for nothing’ and cash for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/reformers-must-be-able-to-pre-empt-the-expected-jibes-over-lack-of/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [“The importance of ethical governance, exemplified by the Norwegian Pension Fund, is highlighted by a deplorable UK government proposal in 2016 to set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/the-importance-of-ethical-governance-exemplified-by-the-norwegian/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) > [If the scale of gas is anything like the claims made by its advocates, it has major implications for the economy and British society.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/if-the-scale-of-gas-is-anything-like-the-claims-made-by-its-advocates/) [Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) [Explore all 117 Guy Standing quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/) ## More 20th century quotes > [I think the inhabitants of the past are fighting hard to keep the rents they acquired in the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bennet/i-think-the-inhabitants-of-the-past-are-fighting-hard-to-keep-the/) [Michael Bennet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bennet/) > [Corporate America is a 20th-century dinosaur, trembling on the edge of extinction, and the only way for you to have a genuinely secure future…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/corporate-america-is-a-20th-century-dinosaur-trembling-on-the-edge-of/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [America thrived in the 20th century because we made high school free. We sent a generation to college. We cultivated the most educated workforce…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/america-thrived-in-the-20th-century-because-we-made-high-school-free/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The 20th century has been marked by cynicism, selfishness, greed, and the desire to please, all without changing the status quo. In the 21st…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/the-20th-century-has-been-marked-by-cynicism-selfishness-greed-and/) [Óscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [I've studied the lives of the 20th century's great businessmen and concluded self-confidence was instrumental in all their success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-spanos/i-ve-studied-the-lives-of-the-20th-century-s-great-businessmen-and/) [Alex Spanos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-spanos/) > [Universal literacy was a 20th-century goal. Before then, reading and writing were skills largely confined to a small, highly educated class of professional people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-mackay/universal-literacy-was-a-20th-century-goal-before-then-reading-and/) [Hugh Mackay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-mackay/) > [The great wars of the 20th Century made it into the worst Century ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-ambrose/the-great-wars-of-the-20th-century-made-it-into-the-worst-century-ever/) [Stephen Ambrose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-ambrose/) > [That is very different from how it used to be in the 20th century. Media was very one way. There's a small little industry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-gordon-levitt/that-is-very-different-from-how-it-used-to-be-in-the-20th-century/) [Joseph Gordon-Levitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-gordon-levitt/) > [If you look back on the history of the 20th century, the 19th century or even to the ancien régime of the 18th, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zygmunt-bauman/if-you-look-back-on-the-history-of-the-20th-century-the-19th-century/) [Zygmunt Bauman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zygmunt-bauman/) > [Up to the 20th century, we can say that this whole period was an Earth epoch, 'Earth' meaning the riches of the earth, simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/up-to-the-20th-century-we-can-say-that-this-whole-period-was-an-earth/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [I think this century more than any other really has seen the phenomenon of people being uprooted in such numbers, such a degree. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/i-think-this-century-more-than-any-other-really-has-seen-the/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [If you look at that incredible burst of fantastic characters that emerged in the late 19th century/early 20th century, you can see so many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-moore/if-you-look-at-that-incredible-burst-of-fantastic-characters-that/) [Alan Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-moore/) > [Cruel and paradoxical though it undoubtedly is, the record shows that yje most succesful 20th century monarchs have been those who were not actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-cannadine/cruel-and-paradoxical-though-it-undoubtedly-is-the-record-shows-that/) [David Cannadine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-cannadine/) > [An interesting thing about New Zealand, you know, literature is that it really didn't begin in any real sense until the 20th century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eleanor-catton/an-interesting-thing-about-new-zealand-you-know-literature-is-that-it/) [Eleanor Catton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eleanor-catton/) > [The Warmth of Other Suns is a sweeping and yet deeply personal tale of America's hidden 20th century history - the long and difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-brokaw/the-warmth-of-other-suns-is-a-sweeping-and-yet-deeply-personal-tale/) [Tom Brokaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-brokaw/) [Browse all 672 20th century quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/20th-century/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The income distribution system constructed in the 20th century has broken down, and it will not come back.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Guy Standing" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/the-income-distribution-system-constructed-in-the-20th-century-has/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "20th century" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/the-income-distribution-system-constructed-in-the-20th-century-has/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a12/guy-standing-4017_20th-century_the-income-distribution-system-construct_2605976.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a12/guy-standing-4017_20th-century_the-income-distribution-system-construct_2605976.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a12/guy-standing-4017_20th-century_the-income-distribution-system-construct_2605976.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The income distribution system constructed in the 20th century has broken down, and it will not come back.” — Guy Standing", "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": "Guy Standing", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The income distribution system constructed in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/the-income-distribution-system-constructed-in-the-20th-century-has/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/the-income-distribution-system-constructed-in-the-20th-century-has/#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 } } ] } ```