--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Economic and social misery increases in…" description: "\"Economic and social misery increases in direct proportion to the size and power of the central government of a nation or state.\" — Kirkpatrick Sale" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a3/kirkpatrick-sale-34363_central-government_economic-and-social-misery-increases-in_1209241.png" --- # Economic and social misery increases in direct proportion… ![“Economic and social misery increases in direct proportion to the size and power of the central government of a nation or state.” quote by Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a3/kirkpatrick-sale-34363_central-government_economic-and-social-misery-increases-in_1209241.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a3/kirkpatrick-sale-34363_central-government_economic-and-social-misery-increases-in_1209241.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7a3/kirkpatrick-sale-34363_central-government_economic-and-social-misery-increases-in_1209241.png) > “Economic and social misery increases in direct proportion to the size and power of the central government of a nation or state.” [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Larger, more powerful governments tend to increase economic and social suffering proportionally. **In simple terms:** Big governments cause more misery. Key Takeaway Question the size and power of authority. Themes government economics social justice power misery Mood critical analytical Type political economic When to use this quote - tax policy - regulation - public welfare debates Key Concepts political theory public policy Questions to Reflect On - What factors besides government size affect societal well‑being? - How can citizens influence government scope? A Different Perspective Oversimplifies complex causes of misery. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Central government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/central-government/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misery/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) ## Related quotes > [Of all aspects of social misery nothing is so heartbreaking as unemployment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-addams/of-all-aspects-of-social-misery-nothing-is-so-heartbreaking-as/) [Jane Addams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-addams/) > [Part of why I wrote my book was so that we could focus on the structural and systemic reasons behind social misery. 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It is now a government that has a nation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ellsworth/the-united-states-is-no-longer-a-nation-that-has-a-government-it-is/) [David Ellsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ellsworth/) > [Under a Presidential government, a nation has, except at the electing moment, no influence; it has not the ballot-box before it; its virtue is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bagehot/under-a-presidential-government-a-nation-has-except-at-the-electing/) [Walter Bagehot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-bagehot/) > [No expectations, no tension between goals and performance, no outrage, resolve or intention, no action, no results. 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It isn't an issue that one segment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atishi/safety-and-security-in-east-delhi-is-a-very-big-concern-and-this-is/) [Atishi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atishi/) > [Everything is selected by the central government without good judgment or an understanding of culture to make it really safe. They will become nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/everything-is-selected-by-the-central-government-without-good/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [When I speak of Team India I believe that the foundation for India's development will not be the single pillar of the Central Government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/when-i-speak-of-team-india-i-believe-that-the-foundation-for-india-s/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [“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/) ## More by Kirkpatrick Sale > [I want to leave my country without leaving my home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/i-want-to-leave-my-country-without-leaving-my-home/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [The virtue of small government is that the mistakes are small as well...If you want to leave a nation you think is corrupt, inefficient,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/the-virtue-of-small-government-is-that-the-mistakes-are-small-as-well/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [That is the onslaught. It has been going on a long time, I argue, but in the 20th century humans have certainly perfected it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/that-is-the-onslaught-it-has-been-going-on-a-long-time-i-argue-but-in/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [When I speak of knowledge of nature, I do not mean industrial science, which argues that nature is inert and can be understood only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/when-i-speak-of-knowledge-of-nature-i-do-not-mean-industrial-science/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [It's from love and knowledge of nature that any sensible understanding must come. Technology is essentially antagonistic to nature - that in fact is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/it-s-from-love-and-knowledge-of-nature-that-any-sensible/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [And it was only when we invented the spear and began roaming the planet that technologies got complex and central to human survival.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/and-it-was-only-when-we-invented-the-spear-and-began-roaming-the/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [That is certainly the point: when the human species was born, on the African savanna, life was pretty good; we could live in harmony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/that-is-certainly-the-point-when-the-human-species-was-born-on-the/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [So the technology that does the least alteration of nature, the least harm to other species and systems, and provides the greatest intimacy of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/so-the-technology-that-does-the-least-alteration-of-nature-the-least/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [My analysis, especially of the computer revolution, always comes back to capitalism. It's that economic system that has led to Western civilization's willingness to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/my-analysis-especially-of-the-computer-revolution-always-comes-back/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [“It was the task of industrial society to destroy all of that. All that "community" implies -- self-sufficiency, mutual aid, morality in the marketplace,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/it-was-the-task-of-industrial-society-to-destroy-all-of-that-all-that/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [I'm convinced that the catastrophes of the next two decades will be so vast as to bring about a world where life, if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirkpatrick-sale/i-m-convinced-that-the-catastrophes-of-the-next-two-decades-will-be/) [Kirkpatrick Sale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirkpatrick-sale/) > [Everyone is shy - it is the inborn modesty that makes us able to live in harmony with other creatures and our fellows. 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Cantor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-f-cantor/) > [When I speak of Team India I believe that the foundation for India's development will not be the single pillar of the Central Government,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/when-i-speak-of-team-india-i-believe-that-the-foundation-for-india-s/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [Everything is selected by the central government without good judgment or an understanding of culture to make it really safe. They will become nobody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/everything-is-selected-by-the-central-government-without-good/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [Safety and security in East Delhi is a very big concern, and this is an across-class concern. 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Permanent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/liberty-as-we-all-know-cannot-flourish-in-a-country-that-is/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [India is one among the biggest nations in the world with a mighty Armed Force. But, the tiny Sri Lanka is playing with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-jayalalithaa/india-is-one-among-the-biggest-nations-in-the-world-with-a-mighty/) [J. Jayalalithaa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-jayalalithaa/) > [I'm grateful to the state and central government for all their support for my academy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-kom/i-m-grateful-to-the-state-and-central-government-for-all-their/) [Mary Kom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-kom/) > [The Government should create, issue, and circulate all the currency and credits needed to satisfy the spending power of the Government and the buying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/the-government-should-create-issue-and-circulate-all-the-currency-and/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [We have seen a central government promote the power of labor-union bosses, and in turn be supported by that power, until it has become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-have-seen-a-central-government-promote-the-power-of-labor-union/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The government has completed the entire process to do away with interviews for lower rank jobs. 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