--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Usually, when you look around the world…" description: "\"Usually, when you look around the world, people are killing each other, fighting over scarce resources.\" — Kofi Annan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/kofi-annan-799_around-the-world_usually-when-you-look-around-the-world-p_2976968.png" --- # Usually, when you look around the world, people are… ![“Usually, when you look around the world, people are killing each other, fighting over scarce resources.” quote by Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/kofi-annan-799_around-the-world_usually-when-you-look-around-the-world-p_2976968.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/kofi-annan-799_around-the-world_usually-when-you-look-around-the-world-p_2976968.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/kofi-annan-799_around-the-world_usually-when-you-look-around-the-world-p_2976968.png) > “Usually, when you look around the world, people are killing each other, fighting over scarce resources.” [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Conflict arises from competition over limited resources, highlighting humanity's destructive tendencies. **In simple terms:** People fight over scarcity. Key Takeaway Seek cooperation over competition. Themes conflict resource scarcity global politics Mood concerned hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - international relations - environmental policy - community planning - education Key Concepts economics human nature Questions to Reflect On - How can we create shared abundance? - What role does empathy play in resource disputes? A Different Perspective Resource scarcity can also inspire innovation and sharing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Around the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/around-the-world/) [Killing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/killing/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Scarce resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scarce-resources/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [People been killing each other since forever and hurting each other since forever and taking advantage of each other since forever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vince-staples/people-been-killing-each-other-since-forever-and-hurting-each-other/) [Vince Staples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vince-staples/) > [People killing each other in the Middle East is not news. People not killing each other in the Middle East is news.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelvin-mackenzie/people-killing-each-other-in-the-middle-east-is-not-news-people-not/) Kelvin MacKenzie > [“You're really going to do it, aren't you? You're really going to go back to war?" Gregor said. He could feel something boiling up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/you-re-really-going-to-do-it-aren-t-you-you-re-really-going-to-go/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [“As we all know, as if forever exploiting or attempting to exploit each other were not enough, a group of sane human beings who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/as-we-all-know-as-if-forever-exploiting-or-attempting-to-exploit-each/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [It takes time--loose, unstructured dreamtime-- to experience nature in a meaningful way. Unless parents are vigilant, such time becomes a scarce resource, not because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-louv/it-takes-time-loose-unstructured-dreamtime-to-experience-nature-in-a/) [Richard Louv](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-louv/) > [We must see ourselves in community with all other people at local, national and global levels. While this may seem superficially easy, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elisabet-sahtouris/we-must-see-ourselves-in-community-with-all-other-people-at-local/) Elisabet Sahtouris > [The basis of self-ownership is the fact that each person has direct control over the scarce resource of his body and therefore has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-kinsella/the-basis-of-self-ownership-is-the-fact-that-each-person-has-direct/) [Stephan Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-kinsella/) > [Profit is vital to human well-being. Profit is the payment to entrepreneurs just as wages are payments to labor, interest to capital and rent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-e-williams/profit-is-vital-to-human-well-being-profit-is-the-payment-to/) [Walter E. Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-e-williams/) > [I got to carve through the streets of New York's financial district and discover the awesome feeling of being part of a system where,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-schiff/i-got-to-carve-through-the-streets-of-new-york-s-financial-district/) [Lewis Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-schiff/) > [Assume that a surgeon has discovered how to do brain surgery, that he can do only one a month, that 1,000 persons a year…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-read/assume-that-a-surgeon-has-discovered-how-to-do-brain-surgery-that-he/) [Leonard Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-read/) > [To live means to experience-through doing, feeling, thinking. Experience takes place in time, so time is the ultimate scarce resource we have. Over the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/to-live-means-to-experience-through-doing-feeling-thinking-experience/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [The libertarian view is that human actors are self-owners and these self-owners are capable of appropriating unowned scarce resources by Lockean homesteading − some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-kinsella/the-libertarian-view-is-that-human-actors-are-self-owners-and-these/) [Stephan Kinsella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-kinsella/) > [It's well-known that people don't respond to scarce resources necessarily in what we might consider a positive light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-poynter/it-s-well-known-that-people-don-t-respond-to-scarce-resources/) [Jane Poynter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-poynter/) > [The definition of the problem, rather than its solution, will be the scarce resource in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esther-dyson/the-definition-of-the-problem-rather-than-its-solution-will-be-the/) [Esther Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esther-dyson/) > [An open, competitive, and liberalized financial market can effectively allocate scarce resources in a manner that promotes stability and prosperity far better than governmental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-paulson/an-open-competitive-and-liberalized-financial-market-can-effectively/) [Henry Paulson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-paulson/) ## More by Kofi Annan > [All our efforts to defeat poverty and pursue sustainable development will be in vain if environmental degradation and natural resource depletion continue unabated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/all-our-efforts-to-defeat-poverty-and-pursue-sustainable-development/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [We were all children once. And we all share the desire for the well-being of our children, which has always been and will continue…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/we-were-all-children-once-and-we-all-share-the-desire-for-the-well/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [You will recall that for months after 9/11, there was incredible support and sympathy for the US. I really hoped and wished they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/you-will-recall-that-for-months-after-9-11-there-was-incredible/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [A nation has the right to defend itself, but when it comes to the broader issue of peace and security, the legitimacy rests only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/a-nation-has-the-right-to-defend-itself-but-when-it-comes-to-the/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Sometimes when you take a tough action against one side in the conflict, they see you as part of the conflict and they attack…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/sometimes-when-you-take-a-tough-action-against-one-side-in-the/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Some have suggested that ideally there must be some international body that would treat areas like the Arctic as a global commerce, a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/some-have-suggested-that-ideally-there-must-be-some-international/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [In an age of interdependence, global citizenship - based on trust and sense of shared responsibility - is a crucial pillar of progress. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/in-an-age-of-interdependence-global-citizenship-based-on-trust-and/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [We knew the Syrian situation was complex and there were lots of divisions, particularly on the side of the opposition... This is a tough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/we-knew-the-syrian-situation-was-complex-and-there-were-lots-of/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [The question is the morning after. What sort of Iraq do we wake up to after the bombing? What happens in the region? What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/the-question-is-the-morning-after-what-sort-of-iraq-do-we-wake-up-to/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [I laugh a lot inside and outside, and at myself sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/i-laugh-a-lot-inside-and-outside-and-at-myself-sometimes/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Can the state, which represents the whole of society and has the duty of protecting society, fulfill that duty by lowering itself to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/can-the-state-which-represents-the-whole-of-society-and-has-the-duty/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [As long as inequality and other social problems plague us, populists will try to exploit them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/as-long-as-inequality-and-other-social-problems-plague-us-populists/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [Developing and newer democracies are much more susceptible to the tactics of populists and demagogues - they often do not have strong institutions, free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/developing-and-newer-democracies-are-much-more-susceptible-to-the/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) > [The young and dynamic and idealistic people in the square do not have the chance to organise themselves politically, to be able to follow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/the-young-and-dynamic-and-idealistic-people-in-the-square-do-not-have/) [Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) [Explore all 366 Kofi Annan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/) ## More Around the world quotes > [Public infrastructure around the world is facing unprecedented stress, with hurricanes, cyclones, floods and forest fires all increasing in frequency and intensity. It's easy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naomi-klein/public-infrastructure-around-the-world-is-facing-unprecedented-stress/) [Naomi Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naomi-klein/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [Look at music for what it's worth around the world and not just America. In other countries, people are still buying CDs and going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/look-at-music-for-what-it-s-worth-around-the-world-and-not-just/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/throughout-our-history-the-words-of-the-declaration-have-inspired/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [It's difficult to believe in yourself because the idea of self is an artificial construction. You are, in fact, part of the glorious oneness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-brand/it-s-difficult-to-believe-in-yourself-because-the-idea-of-self-is-an/) [Russell Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-brand/) > [We know the candidate Barack Obama, what he was like - the anti-war government nig... America was a source for division around the world,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-santorum/we-know-the-candidate-barack-obama-what-he-was-like-the-anti-war/) [Rick Santorum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-santorum/) > [Since 'coming out,' I've marched in gay pride parades all around the world, I've filled my home full of rainbow tat and I've become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-carr/since-coming-out-i-ve-marched-in-gay-pride-parades-all-around-the/) [Liz Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-carr/) > [Once, as an experiment, I travelled around the world with a single suit. Before I left, I went to a tailor in Savile Row…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hamilton/once-as-an-experiment-i-travelled-around-the-world-with-a-single-suit/) [George Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hamilton/) > [Thanks to all members of the military around the world for giving me the ultimate motivation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalya-neidhart/thanks-to-all-members-of-the-military-around-the-world-for-giving-me/) [Natalya Neidhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalya-neidhart/) > [I look at what's happening around the world and I see Iran four years closer to a bomb. I see the Middle East with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-look-at-what-s-happening-around-the-world-and-i-see-iran-four-years/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [“The low point occurred in July, during Romney’s junior week abroad, in which the press became increasingly frustrated over Romney’s refusal to talk to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-leibovich/the-low-point-occurred-in-july-during-romney-s-junior-week-abroad-in/) [Mark Leibovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-leibovich/) > [I believe there definitely are good things about social networking. It's a way for people to connect all around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lizzie-velasquez/i-believe-there-definitely-are-good-things-about-social-networking-it/) [Lizzie Velasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lizzie-velasquez/) > [“Isn’t everyone on the planet or at least everyone on the planet called me stuck between the two impulses of wanting to walk away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/isn-t-everyone-on-the-planet-or-at-least-everyone-on-the-planet/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [You always can improve and I think that's the beauty of international cricket, particularly test cricket, is playing all around the world against different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kane-williamson/you-always-can-improve-and-i-think-that-s-the-beauty-of-international/) [Kane Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kane-williamson/) > [Trump is reviled around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joy-reid/trump-is-reviled-around-the-world/) [Joy Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joy-reid/) [Browse all 3,349 Around the world quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/around-the-world/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Usually, when you look around the world, people are killing each other, fighting over scarce resources.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kofi Annan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/usually-when-you-look-around-the-world-people-are-killing-each-other/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Around the world" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/usually-when-you-look-around-the-world-people-are-killing-each-other/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/kofi-annan-799_around-the-world_usually-when-you-look-around-the-world-p_2976968.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/kofi-annan-799_around-the-world_usually-when-you-look-around-the-world-p_2976968.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4e5/kofi-annan-799_around-the-world_usually-when-you-look-around-the-world-p_2976968.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Usually, when you look around the world, people are killing each other, fighting over scarce resources.” — Kofi Annan", "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": "Kofi Annan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Usually, when you look around the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/usually-when-you-look-around-the-world-people-are-killing-each-other/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/usually-when-you-look-around-the-world-people-are-killing-each-other/#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 } } ] } ```