--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The same was true of Charles Murray’s…" description: "\"“The same was true of Charles Murray’s seminal Losing Ground, another book about black folks that could have been written about hillbillies—which addre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a6/j-d-vance-3503_books_the-same-was-true-of-charles-murray-s-se_1966228.jpg" --- # The same was true of Charles Murray’s seminal Losing… ![“The same was true of Charles Murray’s seminal Losing Ground, another book about black folks that could have been written about hillbillies—which addressed the way our government encouraged social decay through the welfare state.” quote by J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a6/j-d-vance-3503_books_the-same-was-true-of-charles-murray-s-se_1966228.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a6/j-d-vance-3503_books_the-same-was-true-of-charles-murray-s-se_1966228.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a6/j-d-vance-3503_books_the-same-was-true-of-charles-murray-s-se_1966228.jpg) > ““The same was true of Charles Murray’s seminal Losing Ground, another book about black folks that could have been written about hillbillies—which addressed the way our government encouraged social decay through the welfare state.”” [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote critiques how welfare policies can unintentionally foster social decline, similar to other marginalized groups. **In simple terms:** Welfare can worsen the problems it aims to solve. Key Takeaway Examine policy impacts before expanding welfare. Themes policy social welfare inequality government critique Mood critical analytical Type political sociological When to use this quote - government budgeting - social program design - community development - academic research Key Concepts Welfare state social decay public policy structural inequality Questions to Reflect On - How do we balance assistance with empowerment? - What safeguards prevent dependency? A Different Perspective Welfare may also provide essential safety nets for vulnerable populations. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Welfare state](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/welfare-state/) ## Related quotes > [“Olin Foundation made a key $25,000 investment of its own in an unknown writer named Charles Murray, funding a grant at the Manhattan Institute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-mayer/olin-foundation-made-a-key-25-000-investment-of-its-own-in-an-unknown/) [Jane Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-mayer/) > [“academic chair the following year. In his account of what happened, Lessing acknowledged he could do nothing to prevent being “shouted down, threatened and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinesh-d-souza/academic-chair-the-following-year-in-his-account-of-what-happened/) [Dinesh D'Souza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinesh-d-souza/) > [Charles Murray, however, clearly believes that being able to cure fatal diseases is more important than some other things and that Rembrandt was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/charles-murray-however-clearly-believes-that-being-able-to-cure-fatal/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [In the age in which we live, the impossible is every day losing ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sophie-swetchine/in-the-age-in-which-we-live-the-impossible-is-every-day-losing-ground/) Anne Sophie Swetchine > [If you get a wrinkle, I don't feel that's indicative of your losing ground. That's ridiculous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leighton-meester/if-you-get-a-wrinkle-i-don-t-feel-that-s-indicative-of-your-losing/) [Leighton Meester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leighton-meester/) > [He who throws dirt is losing ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/he-who-throws-dirt-is-losing-ground/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you THROW DIRT at people, you're not doing a thing but LOSING GROUND.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/when-you-throw-dirt-at-people-you-re-not-doing-a-thing-but-losing/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [“amount to a fart in a cyclone. His parents and their parson had tried to sell him the same message, binding him to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-pendleton/amount-to-a-fart-in-a-cyclone-his-parents-and-their-parson-had-tried/) [Don Pendleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-pendleton/) > [We're losing ground. This planet is losing ground. So things need to happen and they need to happen quick. Our message should be-loud and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-wilson/we-re-losing-ground-this-planet-is-losing-ground-so-things-need-to/) [Diane Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-wilson/) > [We need to focus much more on the bottom 40 per cent. They are losing ground, and the fact that they are losing ground…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-angel-gurria/we-need-to-focus-much-more-on-the-bottom-40-per-cent-they-are-losing/) [Jose Angel Gurria](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-angel-gurria/) > [“She was moving slowly, appearing to come no closer. Perhaps she was losing ground against the earth's rotation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-lileks/she-was-moving-slowly-appearing-to-come-no-closer-perhaps-she-was/) [James Lileks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-lileks/) > [By the end of writing 'Losing Ground,' I realized I was a libertarian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-murray/by-the-end-of-writing-losing-ground-i-realized-i-was-a-libertarian/) [Charles Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-murray/) > [In a region with a growing population, if you're doing nothing, you're losing ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stewart-udall/in-a-region-with-a-growing-population-if-you-re-doing-nothing-you-re/) [Stewart Udall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stewart-udall/) > [When I'm lost in the rain, In your eyes I know I'll find the light to light my way And when I'm scared, losing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-aguilera/when-i-m-lost-in-the-rain-in-your-eyes-i-know-i-ll-find-the-light-to/) [Christina Aguilera](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-aguilera/) > [Nothing more guarantees the erosion of character than getting something for nothing. In the liberal welfare state, one develops an entitlement mentality. And the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-prager/nothing-more-guarantees-the-erosion-of-character-than-getting/) [Dennis Prager](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-prager/) ## More by J.D. Vance > [“Wed don't need to live like the elites of California, New York, or Washington, D.C. We don't need to work a hundred hours a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/wed-don-t-need-to-live-like-the-elites-of-california-new-york-or/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“Within two generations, the transplanted hillbillies had largely caught up to the native population in terms of income and poverty level.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/within-two-generations-the-transplanted-hillbillies-had-largely/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“Powerful people sometimes do things to help people like me without really understanding people like me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/powerful-people-sometimes-do-things-to-help-people-like-me-without/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“Research does reveal a genetic disposition to substance abuse, but those who believe their addiction is a disease show less of an inclination to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/research-does-reveal-a-genetic-disposition-to-substance-abuse-but/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“But I often wonder: Where would I be without them? I think”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/but-i-often-wonder-where-would-i-be-without-them-i-think/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“the first impulse is escape, but people who lurch toward the exit rarely choose the right door.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/the-first-impulse-is-escape-but-people-who-lurch-toward-the-exit/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“was my first indication that the policies of Mamaw’s “party of the working man”—the Democrats—weren’t all they were cracked up to be. Political scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/was-my-first-indication-that-the-policies-of-mamaw-s-party-of-the/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“A young man was sitting at home when a terrible rainstorm began. Within hours, the man’s house began to flood, and someone came to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/a-young-man-was-sitting-at-home-when-a-terrible-rainstorm-began/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“As a culture, we had no heroes. Certainly not any politician--Barack Obama was then the most admired man in America (and likely still is),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/as-a-culture-we-had-no-heroes-certainly-not-any-politician-barack/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“To this day, being able to “take advantage” of someone is the measure in my mind of having a parent. For me and Lindsay,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/to-this-day-being-able-to-take-advantage-of-someone-is-the-measure-in/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“As one book, Appalachian Odyssey, notes about the influx of hill people to Detroit: “It was not simply that the Appalachian migrants, as rural…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/as-one-book-appalachian-odyssey-notes-about-the-influx-of-hill-people/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“As a 2011 Brookings Institution study found, “compared to 2000, residents of extreme-poverty neighborhoods in 2005–09 were more likely to be white, native-born, high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/as-a-2011-brookings-institution-study-found-compared-to-2000/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“There was, and still is, a sense that those who make it are of two varieties. The first are lucky: They come from wealthy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/there-was-and-still-is-a-sense-that-those-who-make-it-are-of-two/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“We spend to pretend that we’re upper-class. And when the dust clears—when bankruptcy hits or a family member bails us out of our stupidity—there’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/we-spend-to-pretend-that-we-re-upper-class-and-when-the-dust-clears/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) > [“Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Chaos begets chaos. Instability begets instability.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-d-vance/out-of-the-frying-pan-and-into-the-fire-chaos-begets-chaos/) [J.D. Vance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) [Explore all 127 J.D. Vance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-d-vance/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. 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