--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The perennial conviction that those who…" description: "\"The perennial conviction that those who work hard and play by the rules will be rewarded with a more comfortable present and a stronger future for thei..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03b/jon-meacham-2863_assault_the-perennial-conviction-that-those-who_2666867.png" --- # The perennial conviction that those who work hard and play… ![“The perennial conviction that those who work hard and play by the rules will be rewarded with a more comfortable present and a stronger future for their children faces assault from just about every direction. That great enemy of democratic capitalism, economic inequality, is real and growing.” quote by Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03b/jon-meacham-2863_assault_the-perennial-conviction-that-those-who_2666867.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03b/jon-meacham-2863_assault_the-perennial-conviction-that-those-who_2666867.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03b/jon-meacham-2863_assault_the-perennial-conviction-that-those-who_2666867.png) > “The perennial conviction that those who work hard and play by the rules will be rewarded with a more comfortable present and a stronger future for their children faces assault from just about every direction. That great enemy of democratic capitalism, economic inequality, is real and growing.” [Jon Meacham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-meacham/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Hard work and rule‑following are believed to yield comfort and security, yet economic inequality challenges this promise. **In simple terms:** Hard work may not guarantee security due to inequality. Key Takeaway Recognize systemic barriers, advocate change. Themes economics inequality hard work Mood concerned analytical Type non‑fiction political commentary When to use this quote - policy reform - education access - labor rights Key Concepts political science history Questions to Reflect On - How can we address inequality while valuing effort? - What policies reduce the wealth gap? A Different Perspective Individual effort still matters despite systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Assault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assault/) [Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Capitalism Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism-economic-445785/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Comfortable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/comfortable/) [Conviction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conviction/) [Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic/) [Democratic Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democratic-capitalism-391226/) [Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic/) [Economic inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-inequality/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Enemy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy/) [Enemy Democratic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enemy-democratic-2472659/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future/) [Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great/) [Growing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growing/) [Hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard/) [Hard work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hard-work/) [Inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Real](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/real/) [Stronger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stronger/) [Stronger Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stronger-future-2472658/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) [Work hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-hard/) ## Related quotes > [From working in my mum's tiny chemist shop to my experience building large businesses, I have seen how we should support free enterprise and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rishi-sunak/from-working-in-my-mum-s-tiny-chemist-shop-to-my-experience-building/) [Rishi Sunak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rishi-sunak/) > [The fact is if we do our job right, if we keep worrying not about polls but about the jobs of the American people,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-axelrod/the-fact-is-if-we-do-our-job-right-if-we-keep-worrying-not-about/) [David Axelrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-axelrod/) > [Our friendship will weather the current disagreement as well, to grow even stronger in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-netanyahu/our-friendship-will-weather-the-current-disagreement-as-well-to-grow/) [Benjamin Netanyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-netanyahu/) > [“In sum, capitalism is a thing of beauty. 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