--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No longer enslaved or made dependent by…" description: "\"“No longer enslaved or made dependent by force of law, the great majority are so by force of poverty; they are still chained to a place, to an occupati..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/john-stuart-mill-477_despotism_no-longer-enslaved-or-made-dependent-by_45153.jpg" --- # No longer enslaved or made dependent by force of law, the… ![“No longer enslaved or made dependent by force of law, the great majority are so by force of poverty; they are still chained to a place, to an occupation, and to conformity with the will of an employer, and debarred, by the accident of birth both from the enjoyments, and from the mental and moral…” quote by John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/john-stuart-mill-477_despotism_no-longer-enslaved-or-made-dependent-by_45153.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/john-stuart-mill-477_despotism_no-longer-enslaved-or-made-dependent-by_45153.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/john-stuart-mill-477_despotism_no-longer-enslaved-or-made-dependent-by_45153.jpg) > ““No longer enslaved or made dependent by force of law, the great majority are so by force of poverty; they are still chained to a place, to an occupation, and to conformity with the will of an employer, and debarred, by the accident of birth both from the enjoyments, and from the mental and moral advantages, which others inherit without exertion and independently of desert. That this is an evil equal to almost any of those against which mankind have hitherto struggled, the poor are not wrong in believing. Is it a necessary evil? They are told so by, those who do not feel it---by those who have gained the prizes in the lottery of life. But it was also said that slavery, that despotism, that all the privileges of oligarchy, were necessary.”” [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) ## 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 argues that poverty functions as a modern form of slavery, binding people to jobs and social expectations, depriving them of opportunities that others receive without effort. **In simple terms:** Poverty as a systemic constraint. Key Takeaway Economic inequality perpetuates oppression. Themes Economic inequality Social stratification Freedom Labor exploitation Moral philosophy Mood Somber Critical Urgent Type Political Philosophical When to use this quote - Low‑income workers trapped in menial jobs - Individuals lacking access to education - People forced into gig economy - Families unable to escape generational poverty Key Concepts Class oppression Meritocracy myth Structural violence Social mobility Practical Applications - Policy advocacy for universal basic income - Design of equitable labor regulations Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do societies have to dismantle economic shackles? - How can we differentiate between personal agency and structural constraints? A Different Perspective Some argue that market forces naturally allocate resources, and that poverty is a result of personal choices rather than systemic oppression. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Despotism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despotism/) [Necessary evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/necessary-evil/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Socialism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/socialism/) [Wealth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wealth/) ## Related quotes > [Socialism is the phantastic younger brother of despotism, which it wants to inherit. 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The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/there-is-one-characteristic-of-the-present-direction-of-public/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [Mechanizing man's work had changed but not lighted his toil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/mechanizing-man-s-work-had-changed-but-not-lighted-his-toil/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) [Explore all 524 John Stuart Mill quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) ## More Despotism quotes > [Generally, I like all islands. There, it is easier to rule.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/generally-i-like-all-islands-there-it-is-easier-to-rule/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [At a distance, we cannot conceive of the authority of a despot who knows all his subjects on sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stendhal/at-a-distance-we-cannot-conceive-of-the-authority-of-a-despot-who/) [Stendhal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stendhal/) > [“The central government was a despotism tempered by military rebellion and assassination and replacement of one scurvy lot of ruling dynasts by another. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-f-cantor/the-central-government-was-a-despotism-tempered-by-military-rebellion/) [Norman F. Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [When the savages of Louisiana wish to have fruit, they cut the tree at the bottom and gather the fruit. That is exactly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/baron-de-montesquieu/when-the-savages-of-louisiana-wish-to-have-fruit-they-cut-the-tree-at/) [Baron de Montesquieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/baron-de-montesquieu/) > [Republican despotism is more fertile in acts of tyranny, because everyone has a hand in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/republican-despotism-is-more-fertile-in-acts-of-tyranny-because/) [Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/) > [There are, after all, atheists who say they wish the fable were true but are unable to suspend the requisite disbelief, or who have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-are-after-all-atheists-who-say-they-wish-the-fable-were-true/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Neither should men study war with a view to the enslavement of those who do not deserve to be enslaved; but first of all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aristotle/neither-should-men-study-war-with-a-view-to-the-enslavement-of-those/) [Aristotle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aristotle/) > [If Despotism failed only for want of a capable benevolent despot, what chance has Democracy, which requires a whole population of capable voters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/if-despotism-failed-only-for-want-of-a-capable-benevolent-despot-what/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Liberty ... was a two-headed boon. There was first, the liberty of the people as a whole to determine the forms of their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-l-mencken/liberty-was-a-two-headed-boon-there-was-first-the-liberty-of-the/) [H. L. Mencken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-l-mencken/) > [“All despotism is bad; but the worst is that which works with the machinery of freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junius/all-despotism-is-bad-but-the-worst-is-that-which-works-with-the/) [Junius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junius/) > [But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-when-a-long-train-of-abuses-and-usurpations-pursuing-invariably/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Despotism often presents itself as the repairer of all the ills suffered, the support of just rights, defender of the oppressed, and founder of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/despotism-often-presents-itself-as-the-repairer-of-all-the-ills/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [A court which yields to the popular will thereby licenses itself to practice despotism, for there can be no assurance that it will not,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-frankfurter/a-court-which-yields-to-the-popular-will-thereby-licenses-itself-to/) [Felix Frankfurter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-frankfurter/) > [“Despotism may govern without faith, but liberty cannot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-de-tocqueville/despotism-may-govern-without-faith-but-liberty-cannot/) [Alexis de Tocqueville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-de-tocqueville/) > [The progress of despotism tends to disappoint its own purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/the-progress-of-despotism-tends-to-disappoint-its-own-purpose/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) [Browse all 327 Despotism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/despotism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“No longer enslaved or made dependent by force of law, the great majority are so by force of poverty; they are still chained to a place, to an occupation, and to conformity with the will of an employer, and debarred, by the accident of birth both from the enjoyments, and from the mental and moral advantages, which others inherit without exertion and independently of desert. 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