--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Bankruptcy and repudiation are the…" description: "\"“Bankruptcy and repudiation are the spring-boards from which much of our civilization vaults and turns its somersets, but the savage stands on the unel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/570/henry-david-thoreau-20_bankruptcy_bankruptcy-and-repudiation-are-the-sprin_2838251.jpg" --- # Bankruptcy and repudiation are the spring-boards from… ![“Bankruptcy and repudiation are the spring-boards from which much of our civilization vaults and turns its somersets, but the savage stands on the unelastic plank of famine” quote by Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/570/henry-david-thoreau-20_bankruptcy_bankruptcy-and-repudiation-are-the-sprin_2838251.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/570/henry-david-thoreau-20_bankruptcy_bankruptcy-and-repudiation-are-the-sprin_2838251.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/570/henry-david-thoreau-20_bankruptcy_bankruptcy-and-repudiation-are-the-sprin_2838251.jpg) > ““Bankruptcy and repudiation are the spring-boards from which much of our civilization vaults and turns its somersets, but the savage stands on the unelastic plank of famine”” [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Economic hardship can catalyze societal breakthroughs, but the impoverished bear the brunt. **In simple terms:** Hardship can drive progress, yet the poor suffer. Key Takeaway Recognize systemic inequality. Themes economics social change inequality Mood reflective critical Type philosophical political When to use this quote - Revolution - entrepreneurship - social reform Key Concepts Resilience systemic oppression Questions to Reflect On - How can societies protect the vulnerable during upheaval? - Can scarcity truly inspire innovation? A Different Perspective Not all crises lead to positive change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bankruptcy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bankruptcy/) [Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy/) [Famine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/famine/) [Repudiation](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/repudiation/) ## Related quotes > [Bankruptcy and repudiation are the springboards from which much of our civilization vaults and turns its somersets, but the savagestands on the unelastic plank…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/bankruptcy-and-repudiation-are-the-springboards-from-which-much-of/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [My opposition to war was not because of the horrors of war, not because war demands that the race offer up its very best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriot-eaton-stanton-blatch/my-opposition-to-war-was-not-because-of-the-horrors-of-war-not/) Harriot Eaton Stanton Blatch > [“Any fool that had once helped you will someday make known to everyone that you were once a needy. No matter how broke you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/any-fool-that-had-once-helped-you-will-someday-make-known-to-everyone/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [In this denial of the right to participate in government, not merely the degradation of woman and the perpetuation of a great injustice happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/in-this-denial-of-the-right-to-participate-in-government-not-merely/) [Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/) > [ \[Nancy\] Pelosi personifies this \[Democratic\] party's repudiation. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/nancy-pelosi-personifies-this-democratic-party-s-repudiation/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“Some views are truly bad enough that they deserve repudiation rather than accommodation. To”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-corvino/some-views-are-truly-bad-enough-that-they-deserve-repudiation-rather/) [John Corvino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-corvino/) > [Once you take yourself off the pedestal, saying, "It's bad for you to torture, but for us, this is our national security, so we're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-clark/once-you-take-yourself-off-the-pedestal-saying-it-s-bad-for-you-to/) [Wesley Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-clark/) > [The repudiation of the primacy of understanding means the repudiation of the norms of judgment as well, and hence the abandonment of all ethical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johan-huizinga/the-repudiation-of-the-primacy-of-understanding-means-the-repudiation/) [Johan Huizinga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johan-huizinga/) > [Citizen service is a repudiation of the principles upon which our country was based. We are all here for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/citizen-service-is-a-repudiation-of-the-principles-upon-which-our/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [“Act as if you don't know me, and i will make it seem as though you don't exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/act-as-if-you-don-t-know-me-and-i-will-make-it-seem-as-though-you-don/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [Inflation is repudiation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calvin-coolidge/inflation-is-repudiation/) [Calvin Coolidge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calvin-coolidge/) > [“Much of the excitement of a new novel lies in the repudiation of the one written before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/much-of-the-excitement-of-a-new-novel-lies-in-the-repudiation-of-the/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [A succession of eye-openers each involving the repudiation of some previously held belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/a-succession-of-eye-openers-each-involving-the-repudiation-of-some/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [“The most interesting aspect of this culture of repudiation has been the attack on the central place accorded to reason in human affairs by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-scruton/the-most-interesting-aspect-of-this-culture-of-repudiation-has-been/) [Roger Scruton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-scruton/) > [Let us not forget who we are. Drug abuse is a repudiation of everything America is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/let-us-not-forget-who-we-are-drug-abuse-is-a-repudiation-of/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) ## More by Henry David Thoreau > [If ever I did a man any goodof course it was something exceptional and insignificant compared with the good or evil which I am…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/if-ever-i-did-a-man-any-goodof-course-it-was-something-exceptional/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Men say they know many things; But lo! they have taken wings, — The arts and sciences, And a thousand appliances; The wind that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/men-say-they-know-many-things-but-lo-they-have-taken-wings-the-arts/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I am not afraid of praise, for I have practiced it on myself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-am-not-afraid-of-praise-for-i-have-practiced-it-on-myself/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“All voting is a sort of gaming, like checkers or back gammon, with a slight moral tinge to it, a playing with right and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/all-voting-is-a-sort-of-gaming-like-checkers-or-back-gammon-with-a/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [As for doing good; that is one of the professions which is full. 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You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I had three chairs in my house; one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-had-three-chairs-in-my-house-one-for-solitude-two-for-friendship/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The still youthful energies of the globe have only to be directed in their proper channel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-still-youthful-energies-of-the-globe-have-only-to-be-directed-in/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Concord's little arch does not span all our fate, nor is what transpires under it law for the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/concord-s-little-arch-does-not-span-all-our-fate-nor-is-what/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The lumberers rarely trouble themselves to put out their fires, such is the dampness of the primitive forest; and this is one cause, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-lumberers-rarely-trouble-themselves-to-put-out-their-fires-such/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“When he has obtained those things which are necessary to life, there is another alternative than to obtain the superfluities; and that is, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-he-has-obtained-those-things-which-are-necessary-to-life-there/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Wealth is measured by the level of experience in all aspects of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/wealth-is-measured-by-the-level-of-experience-in-all-aspects-of-life/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Explore all 3,376 Henry David Thoreau quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More Bankruptcy quotes > [One's ability to enter into thousands of lawsuits as a tool for success, or to use bankruptcy to avoid paying your former employees and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-hickenlooper/one-s-ability-to-enter-into-thousands-of-lawsuits-as-a-tool-for/) [John Hickenlooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-hickenlooper/) > [And now, what has Anarchism to say to all this, this bankruptcy of republicanism, this modern empire that has grown up on the ruins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/voltairine-de-cleyre/and-now-what-has-anarchism-to-say-to-all-this-this-bankruptcy-of/) [Voltairine de Cleyre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/voltairine-de-cleyre/) > [The moral and constitutional obligations of our representatives in Washington are to protect our liberty, not coddle the world, precipitating no-win wars, while bringing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/the-moral-and-constitutional-obligations-of-our-representatives-in/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [“Bankruptcy-Seeking assistance on declaring and filing for bankruptcy then bankruptcy centre is the right place.Get professional advice and guidance before you file for bankruptcy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankruptcy-centre/bankruptcy-seeking-assistance-on-declaring-and-filing-for-bankruptcy/) Bankruptcy Centre > [A woman's whole life is a history of the affections. The heart is her world: it is there her ambition strives for empire; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/a-woman-s-whole-life-is-a-history-of-the-affections-the-heart-is-her/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Trump Entertainment Resorts declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Or as Donald Trump describes Chapter 11, "Back-to-back number ones!"](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/trump-entertainment-resorts-declared-chapter-11-bankruptcy-or-as/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [If we don't change, millions of American families are just one medical emergency, or one layoff, away from financial disaster and bankruptcy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/if-we-don-t-change-millions-of-american-families-are-just-one-medical/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [The unions and the auto companies have been unable to put a deal together that fundamentally restructures the industry. It needs to get done.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-unions-and-the-auto-companies-have-been-unable-to-put-a-deal/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The current health care takeover proposals feature a crucial payoff to Big Labor - a golden exemption from any tax on union members' generous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-malkin/the-current-health-care-takeover-proposals-feature-a-crucial-payoff/) [Michelle Malkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-malkin/) > [Legalized gambling is the leading cause of bankruptcy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-warren-kindt/legalized-gambling-is-the-leading-cause-of-bankruptcy/) [John Warren Kindt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-warren-kindt/) > [We do not project power from bankruptcy court. We're borrowing a million dollars a minute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rand-paul/we-do-not-project-power-from-bankruptcy-court-we-re-borrowing-a/) [Rand Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rand-paul/) > [ In my very first term there was an issue that brought us \[George Mitchell, Ted Kennedy, Chris Dodd\] together in a very deep, emotional,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-mikulski/in-my-very-first-term-there-was-an-issue-that-brought-us-george/) [Barbara Mikulski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-mikulski/) > [Even if the government spends itself into bankruptcy and the economy still does not recover, Keynesians can always say that it would have worked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/even-if-the-government-spends-itself-into-bankruptcy-and-the-economy/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [In our equities business, 49 of the 50 most important Lehman clients are back doing business with us. 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