--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We can't leave people in abject poverty…" description: "\"We can't leave people in abject poverty, so we need to raise the standard of living for 80% of the world's people, while bringing it down considerably ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5c/jane-goodall-950_destroying_we-can-t-leave-people-in-abject-poverty_2109149.jpg" --- # We can't leave people in abject poverty, so we need to… ![“We can't leave people in abject poverty, so we need to raise the standard of living for 80% of the world's people, while bringing it down considerably for the 20% who are destroying our natural resources.” quote by Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5c/jane-goodall-950_destroying_we-can-t-leave-people-in-abject-poverty_2109149.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5c/jane-goodall-950_destroying_we-can-t-leave-people-in-abject-poverty_2109149.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5c/jane-goodall-950_destroying_we-can-t-leave-people-in-abject-poverty_2109149.jpg) > “We can't leave people in abject poverty, so we need to raise the standard of living for 80% of the world's people, while bringing it down considerably for the 20% who are destroying our natural resources.” [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Alleviating poverty must coexist with environmental stewardship; solutions should uplift the majority while curbing harmful elite practices. **In simple terms:** Help many, protect Earth. Key Takeaway Promote sustainable development for all. Themes poverty environment equity policy Mood hopeful urgent Type activist policy When to use this quote - community development - resource management - policy reform - global aid Key Concepts economics ecology social justice Questions to Reflect On - How can we incentivize sustainable practices among powerful actors? - What models successfully combine poverty reduction with ecological health? A Different Perspective Balancing growth and conservation is complex and politically contentious. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Natural resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-resources/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [“If you want to raise your standard of living, raise your standard of giving”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ziad-k-abdelnour/if-you-want-to-raise-your-standard-of-living-raise-your-standard-of/) [Ziad K. Abdelnour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ziad-k-abdelnour/) > [The cavemen had the same natural resources at their disposal as we have today, and the difference between their standard of living and ours…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-cavemen-had-the-same-natural-resources-at-their-disposal-as-we/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Like navigation markings in unknown waters, definitions of poverty need to be distinctive and unambiguous. A definition that is not precise is as bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/like-navigation-markings-in-unknown-waters-definitions-of-poverty/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) > [To get away from poverty, you need several things at the same time: school, health, and infrastructure - those are the public investments. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-rosling/to-get-away-from-poverty-you-need-several-things-at-the-same-time/) [Hans Rosling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-rosling/) > [There is no question in the world that educating a girl is good for her country and good for her. The challenge is, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-sperling/there-is-no-question-in-the-world-that-educating-a-girl-is-good-for/) Gene Sperling > [Seventy-five percent of our energy around the earth is being poured into war efforts. Are we servants of death and destruction? This 75 percent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/seventy-five-percent-of-our-energy-around-the-earth-is-being-poured/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [Many of the problems of poverty and need are really problems of physical infrastructure: not enough hospitals, too few schools, insufficient roads, bridges, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-jain/many-of-the-problems-of-poverty-and-need-are-really-problems-of/) [Naveen Jain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-jain/) > [I often think that people who write a lot about poverty need to go and spend more time with poor people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/i-often-think-that-people-who-write-a-lot-about-poverty-need-to-go/) [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chimamanda-ngozi-adichie/) > [Such is the scale and depth of poverty in many parts of the world that it won't be ended overnight. That is why if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-lennox/such-is-the-scale-and-depth-of-poverty-in-many-parts-of-the-world/) [Annie Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-lennox/) > [Eliminating global poverty will need the talent and potential of all, not just half the population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alok-sharma/eliminating-global-poverty-will-need-the-talent-and-potential-of-all/) [Alok Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alok-sharma/) > [People don't need to become more aware of poverty—they need to know how to end it,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-evans/people-don-t-need-to-become-more-aware-of-poverty-they-need-to-know/) [Hugh Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-evans/) > [“We have written too many books about love and so few about hunger and poverty; that is why we need to wake up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/we-have-written-too-many-books-about-love-and-so-few-about-hunger-and/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [The broad highway to poverty and need - Is, much to build and many mouths to feed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/acilius/the-broad-highway-to-poverty-and-need-is-much-to-build-and-many/) Acilius > [When it comes to poverty, there is no need to say anything. All we need to do is to help, the moment we encounter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/when-it-comes-to-poverty-there-is-no-need-to-say-anything-all-we-need/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Food in our society is a chronic poverty need, not a life-threatening one. And when we respond to a chronic need as though it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-d-lupton/food-in-our-society-is-a-chronic-poverty-need-not-a-life-threatening/) [Robert D. Lupton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-d-lupton/) ## More by Jane Goodall > [The voice of the natural world would be, "Could you please give us space and leave us alone to get along with our own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/the-voice-of-the-natural-world-would-be-could-you-please-give-us/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [What makes us human, I think, is an ability to ask questions, a consequence of our sophisticated spoken language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/what-makes-us-human-i-think-is-an-ability-to-ask-questions-a/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutan shave been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest,living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/chimpanzees-gorillas-orangutan-shave-been-living-for-hundreds-of/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [I did this book 'Harvest for Hope,' and I learned so much about food. And one thing I learned is that we have the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/i-did-this-book-harvest-for-hope-and-i-learned-so-much-about-food-and/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [From my perspective, I absolutely believe in a greater spiritual power, far greater than I am, from which I have derived strength in moments…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/from-my-perspective-i-absolutely-believe-in-a-greater-spiritual-power/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [We are always talking about how we can get more environmental and humanitarian education. It is about listening to the voice of young people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/we-are-always-talking-about-how-we-can-get-more-environmental-and/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Some humans are mathematicians-others aren't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/some-humans-are-mathematicians-others-aren-t/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [We started off with physical evolution and got our form. Then we somehow developed language, which meant cultural evolution could race so we could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/we-started-off-with-physical-evolution-and-got-our-form-then-we/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [It was both fascinating and appalling to learn that chimpanzees were capable of hostile and territorial behavior that was not unlike certain forms of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/it-was-both-fascinating-and-appalling-to-learn-that-chimpanzees-were/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [I wanted to talk to the animals like Dr. Dolittle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/i-wanted-to-talk-to-the-animals-like-dr-dolittle/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Some people say, therefore, that violence and war are inevitable. I say rubbish: Our brains are fully capable of controlling instinctive behavior.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/some-people-say-therefore-that-violence-and-war-are-inevitable-i-say/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [It's been proven by quite a few studies that plants are good for our psychological development. If you green an area, the rate of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/it-s-been-proven-by-quite-a-few-studies-that-plants-are-good-for-our/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [Having respect for animals makes us better humans..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/having-respect-for-animals-makes-us-better-humans/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [If we kill off the wild, then we are killing a part of our souls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/if-we-kill-off-the-wild-then-we-are-killing-a-part-of-our-souls/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [“We still have a long way to go. But we are moving in the right direction. If only we can overcome cruelty, to human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/we-still-have-a-long-way-to-go-but-we-are-moving-in-the-right/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) [Explore all 321 Jane Goodall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) ## More Destroying quotes > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Donald Trump is a different ball of wax. I've been trying to say for I don't know how many months now that the traditional…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/donald-trump-is-a-different-ball-of-wax-i-ve-been-trying-to-say-for-i/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [What Wall Street and credit card companies are doing is really not much different from what gangsters and loan sharks do who make predatory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-sanders/what-wall-street-and-credit-card-companies-are-doing-is-really-not/) [Bernie Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-sanders/) > [Work and leisure are complementary parts of the same living process and cannot be separated without destroying the joy of work and the bliss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-f-schumacher/work-and-leisure-are-complementary-parts-of-the-same-living-process/) [E. F. Schumacher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-f-schumacher/) > [If the civil magistrate be a Christian, a disciple or follower of the meek Lamb of God, he is bound to be far from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-williams/if-the-civil-magistrate-be-a-christian-a-disciple-or-follower-of-the/) [Roger Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-williams/) > [You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-h-boetcker/you-cannot-help-the-poor-by-destroying-the-rich/) [William J. H. Boetcker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-h-boetcker/) > [Do not suppose that abuses are eliminated by destroying the object which is abused. Men can go wrong with wine and women. Shall we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/do-not-suppose-that-abuses-are-eliminated-by-destroying-the-object/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [The future is religion and commerce, aphrodisiac and Benzedrine, a mother of mysterious comfort and a mistress of familiar ravishments ever on the verge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-kennedy/the-future-is-religion-and-commerce-aphrodisiac-and-benzedrine-a/) [Eugene Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-kennedy/) > [Time is a corrosive fluid, dissolving motivation, destroying novelty, and leaching the joy from life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/time-is-a-corrosive-fluid-dissolving-motivation-destroying-novelty/) [Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/) > [Religion grants its adherents malign, intoxicating and morally corrosive sensations. Destroying intellectual freedom is always evil, but only religion makes doing evil feel quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-pullman/religion-grants-its-adherents-malign-intoxicating-and-morally/) [Philip Pullman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-pullman/) > [Even if we are destroying this planet, we are playing our role perfectly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-kest/even-if-we-are-destroying-this-planet-we-are-playing-our-role/) [Bryan Kest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-kest/) > [Love creates an "us" without destroying the "me".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-buscaglia/love-creates-an-us-without-destroying-the-me/) [Leo Buscaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-buscaglia/) > [As societies grow decadent, the language grows decadent, too. Words are used to disguise, not to illuminate, action: you liberate a city by destroying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/as-societies-grow-decadent-the-language-grows-decadent-too-words-are/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [Chimpanzees, gorillas, orangutan shave been living for hundreds of thousands of years in their forest,living fantastic lives, never overpopulating, never destroying the forest. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/chimpanzees-gorillas-orangutan-shave-been-living-for-hundreds-of/) [Jane Goodall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/) > [People of the Philippines: I have returned. By the grace of Almighty God our forces stand again on Philippine soil—soil consecrated in the blood…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-macarthur/people-of-the-philippines-i-have-returned-by-the-grace-of-almighty/) [Douglas MacArthur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-macarthur/) Browse all 983 Destroying quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We can't leave people in abject poverty, so we need to raise the standard of living for 80% of the world's people, while bringing it down considerably for the 20% who are destroying our natural resources.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Jane Goodall" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/we-can-t-leave-people-in-abject-poverty-so-we-need-to-raise-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Destroying" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/we-can-t-leave-people-in-abject-poverty-so-we-need-to-raise-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5c/jane-goodall-950_destroying_we-can-t-leave-people-in-abject-poverty_2109149.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5c/jane-goodall-950_destroying_we-can-t-leave-people-in-abject-poverty_2109149.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5c/jane-goodall-950_destroying_we-can-t-leave-people-in-abject-poverty_2109149.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We can't leave people in abject poverty, so we need to raise the standard of living for 80% of the world's…” — Jane Goodall", "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": "Jane Goodall", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-goodall/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We can't leave people in abject...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/we-can-t-leave-people-in-abject-poverty-so-we-need-to-raise-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-goodall/we-can-t-leave-people-in-abject-poverty-so-we-need-to-raise-the/#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 } } ] } ```