--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even if their outward fortunes could be…" description: "\"Even if their outward fortunes could be absolutely equalized, there would be, from individual constitution alone, an aristocracy and a democracy in eve..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/harriet-martineau-6736_aristocracy_even-if-their-outward-fortunes-could-be_2244859.jpg" --- # Even if their outward fortunes could be absolutely… ![“Even if their outward fortunes could be absolutely equalized, there would be, from individual constitution alone, an aristocracy and a democracy in every land. The fearful by nature would compose an aristocracy, the hopeful by nature a democracy, were all other causes of divergence done away.” quote by Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/harriet-martineau-6736_aristocracy_even-if-their-outward-fortunes-could-be_2244859.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/harriet-martineau-6736_aristocracy_even-if-their-outward-fortunes-could-be_2244859.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e0e/harriet-martineau-6736_aristocracy_even-if-their-outward-fortunes-could-be_2244859.jpg) > “Even if their outward fortunes could be absolutely equalized, there would be, from individual constitution alone, an aristocracy and a democracy in every land. The fearful by nature would compose an aristocracy, the hopeful by nature a democracy, were all other causes of divergence done away.” [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even if material conditions were identical, innate traits would still create social hierarchies of power and equality. **In simple terms:** Innate traits cause aristocracy and democracy despite equal wealth. Key Takeaway Recognize the role of personality in social structures. Themes social hierarchy human nature political theory Mood thoughtful analytical Type philosophical observational When to use this quote - workplace leadership - political campaigns - team building - education policy Key Concepts psychology political philosophy inequality Questions to Reflect On - How do innate traits shape leadership? - Can equal opportunity eliminate social stratification? A Different Perspective Ignores cultural and environmental influences on behavior. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Aristocracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristocracy/) [Aristocracy Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristocracy-democracy-1811873/) [Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes/) [Causes Divergence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/causes-divergence-5104381/) [Constitution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution/) [Constitution Aristocracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/constitution-aristocracy-5104379/) [Democracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy/) [Democracy Causes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracy-causes-5104380/) [Divergence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/divergence/) [Done](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/done/) [Fear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fear/) [Fearful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fearful/) [Fortune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fortune/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Hopeful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hopeful/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/land/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [The right constitutions, three in number- kingship, aristocracy, and polity- and the deviations from these, likewise three in number - tyranny from kingship, oligarchy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/the-right-constitutions-three-in-number-kingship-aristocracy-and/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [Brave people add up to an aristocracy. The democracy of thou-shalt-not is bound to be a collection of weak men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/brave-people-add-up-to-an-aristocracy-the-democracy-of-thou-shalt-not/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [I do not say that democracy has been more pernicious on the whole, and in the long run, than monarchy or aristocracy. Democracy has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/i-do-not-say-that-democracy-has-been-more-pernicious-on-the-whole-and-2/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [Thus, experience has ever shown, that education, as well as religion, aristocracy, as well as democracy and monarchy, are, singly, totally inadequate to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/thus-experience-has-ever-shown-that-education-as-well-as-religion/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [We don't have to sit by and watch our meritocracy be replaced by a permanent aristocracy, and our democracy be undermined by dynastic wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/we-don-t-have-to-sit-by-and-watch-our-meritocracy-be-replaced-by-a/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [It depends on the consent of the people to decide whether kings or consuls or other magistrates are to be established in authority over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bellarmine/it-depends-on-the-consent-of-the-people-to-decide-whether-kings-or/) [Robert Bellarmine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bellarmine/) > [“That of all the 'oracies (aristocracy and democracy included) hypocrisy is the most flourishing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenimore-cooper/that-of-all-the-oracies-aristocracy-and-democracy-included-hypocrisy/) [James Fenimore Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenimore-cooper/) > [“All the domestic controversies of the Americans at first appear to a stranger to be so incomprehensible and so puerile that he is at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/all-the-domestic-controversies-of-the-americans-at-first-appear-to-a/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [“I think that the thematic, formal history of the literary form ultimately harkens back to a different political system. That is to say, a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayad-akhtar/i-think-that-the-thematic-formal-history-of-the-literary-form/) [Ayad Akhtar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayad-akhtar/) > [“When men are spoken of as kings and subjects, or when Government is mentioned under the distinct and combined heads of monarchy, aristocracy, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-paine/when-men-are-spoken-of-as-kings-and-subjects-or-when-government-is/) [Thomas Paine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-paine/) > [Wherever the appearance of a conventional aristocracy exists in America, it must arise from wealth, as it cannot from birth. An aristocracy of mere…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/wherever-the-appearance-of-a-conventional-aristocracy-exists-in/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [“The life of a writer is directed by a mad impulsive muse, that can tell them to cancel all their storyline: a creative divergent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/the-life-of-a-writer-is-directed-by-a-mad-impulsive-muse-that-can/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [The proof given by Wright, that non-adaptive differentiation will occur in small populations owing to "drift," or the chance fixation of some new mutation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-huxley/the-proof-given-by-wright-that-non-adaptive-differentiation-will/) [Julian Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-huxley/) > [“As such, the usual pattern of interaction between a critical juncture and existing institutional differences leading to further institutional and economic divergence played out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daron-acemo-lu/as-such-the-usual-pattern-of-interaction-between-a-critical-juncture/) [Daron Acemoğlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daron-acemo-lu/) > [“Deep divergence is defined as divergent thinking to its most extreme levels, far beyond what is probable, beyond what is possible, and into an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-molesworth/deep-divergence-is-defined-as-divergent-thinking-to-its-most-extreme/) [Kevin Molesworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-molesworth/) ## More by Harriet Martineau > [There have been few things in my life which have had a more genial effect on my mind than the possession of a piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/there-have-been-few-things-in-my-life-which-have-had-a-more-genial/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [it is a testament to the strength and purity of the democratic sentiment in the country, that the republic has not been overthrown by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/it-is-a-testament-to-the-strength-and-purity-of-the-democratic/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [School is no place of education for any children whatever till their minds are well put in action. This is the work which has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/school-is-no-place-of-education-for-any-children-whatever-till-their/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [Authorship has never been with me a matter of choice. I have not done it for amusement, or for money, or for fame, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/authorship-has-never-been-with-me-a-matter-of-choice-i-have-not-done/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [it is the worst humiliation and grievance of the suffering, that they cause suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/it-is-the-worst-humiliation-and-grievance-of-the-suffering-that-they/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [Fidelity to conscience is inconsistent with retiring modesty. If it be so, let the modesty succumb. It can be only a false modesty which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/fidelity-to-conscience-is-inconsistent-with-retiring-modesty-if-it-be/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [I wrote because I could not help it. There was something that I wanted to say, and I said it: that was all. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/i-wrote-because-i-could-not-help-it-there-was-something-that-i-wanted/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [The instruction furnished is not good enough for the youth of such a country ... There is not even any systematic instruction given on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/the-instruction-furnished-is-not-good-enough-for-the-youth-of-such-a/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [ \[I\] wish that the land-tax went a little more according to situation than it does. 'Tis really ridiculous, how one has to pay five… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/i-wish-that-the-land-tax-went-a-little-more-according-to-situation/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [Who is apt, on occasion, to assign a multitude of reasons when one will do? This is a sure sign of weakness in argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/who-is-apt-on-occasion-to-assign-a-multitude-of-reasons-when-one-will/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [It is hard to tell which is worse; the wide diffusion of things that are not true, or the suppression of things that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/it-is-hard-to-tell-which-is-worse-the-wide-diffusion-of-things-that/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [Religion is a temper, not a pursuit. It is the moral atmosphere in which human beings are to live and move. Men do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/religion-is-a-temper-not-a-pursuit-it-is-the-moral-atmosphere-in/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [Moral excellence has no regard to classes and professions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/moral-excellence-has-no-regard-to-classes-and-professions/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [I want to be a free rover on the breezy common of the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/i-want-to-be-a-free-rover-on-the-breezy-common-of-the-universe/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [For my own part, I had rather suffer any inconvenience from having to work occasionally in chambers and kitchenthan witness the subservience in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/for-my-own-part-i-had-rather-suffer-any-inconvenience-from-having-to/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) [Explore all 98 Harriet Martineau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) ## More Aristocracy quotes > [When I was trying to come up with a stage name, I thought 'Lord' was super rad, but really masculine - ever since I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorde/when-i-was-trying-to-come-up-with-a-stage-name-i-thought-lord-was/) [Lorde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorde/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [Motherland is our property and we have right to handle our properties as pleased. The jokes about death for the sake of the motherland…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/motherland-is-our-property-and-we-have-right-to-handle-our-properties/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is... an artificial aristocracy founded on wealth and birth, without either virtue or talents... The artificial aristocracy is a mischievous ingredient in government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/there-is-an-artificial-aristocracy-founded-on-wealth-and-birth/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Your best friends are your principles, if you havent them, dont look for another friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/your-best-friends-are-your-principles-if-you-havent-them-dont-look/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [A strong saying is not afraid of criticism, because it includes all the answers to criticism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/a-strong-saying-is-not-afraid-of-criticism-because-it-includes-all/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [“I believe in aristocracy, though -- if that is the right word, and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/i-believe-in-aristocracy-though-if-that-is-the-right-word-and-if-a/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [24.9 percent of American children live in poverty, while the proportions in Germany, France and Italy are 8.6, 7.4 and 10.5 percent. And once…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-hutton/24-9-percent-of-american-children-live-in-poverty-while-the/) [Will Hutton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-hutton/) > [Tomorrow every Duchess in London will be waiting to kiss me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramsay-macdonald/tomorrow-every-duchess-in-london-will-be-waiting-to-kiss-me/) [Ramsay MacDonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramsay-macdonald/) > [“Why do these big old country houses always have family portraits in the dining room? Do you really want to eat with someone's gloomy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-jane-howard/why-do-these-big-old-country-houses-always-have-family-portraits-in/) [Elizabeth Jane Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-jane-howard/) > [“I believe in aristocracy, though—if that is the right word, and if a democrat may use it. Not an aristocracy of power … but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-n-aron/i-believe-in-aristocracy-though-if-that-is-the-right-word-and-if-a-2/) [Elaine N. Aron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-n-aron/) > [Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations. Books, the oldest and the best, stand naturally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/books-are-the-treasured-wealth-of-the-world-and-the-fit-inheritance/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [We stand a better chance with aristocracy, whether hereditary or elective, than with monarchy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezra-stiles/we-stand-a-better-chance-with-aristocracy-whether-hereditary-or/) [Ezra Stiles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezra-stiles/) > [ The law for religious freedom... \[has\]put down the aristocracy of the clergy and restored to the citizen the freedom of the mind. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-law-for-religious-freedom-has-put-down-the-aristocracy-of-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [Common sense, in so far as it exists, is all for the bourgeoisie. Nonsense is the privilege of the aristocracy. The worries of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-jean-nathan/common-sense-in-so-far-as-it-exists-is-all-for-the-bourgeoisie/) [George Jean Nathan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-jean-nathan/) [Browse all 426 Aristocracy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/aristocracy/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Even if their outward fortunes could be absolutely equalized, there would be, from individual constitution alone, an aristocracy and a democracy in every land. 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