--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Without entrepreneurs, economies become…" description: "\"Without entrepreneurs, economies become poor and weak. The old will not exist, the new can't enter\" — Lester Thurow" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/lester-thurow-32621_business_without-entrepreneurs-economies-become-p_2735149.png" --- # Without entrepreneurs, economies become poor and weak. The… ![“Without entrepreneurs, economies become poor and weak. The old will not exist, the new can't enter” quote by Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/lester-thurow-32621_business_without-entrepreneurs-economies-become-p_2735149.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/lester-thurow-32621_business_without-entrepreneurs-economies-become-p_2735149.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/lester-thurow-32621_business_without-entrepreneurs-economies-become-p_2735149.png) > “Without entrepreneurs, economies become poor and weak. The old will not exist, the new can't enter” [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Entrepreneurship drives economic vitality; without it, economies stagnate and lack renewal **In simple terms:** Entrepreneurs are essential for a thriving economy Key Takeaway Support innovation and new ventures Themes economy entrepreneurship growth Mood analytical critical Type economic philosophical When to use this quote - startup funding - policy incentives - education programs - community incubators Key Concepts innovation market dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What policies foster inclusive entrepreneurship? - How to balance risk and stability? A Different Perspective Too much focus on entrepreneurship can ignore social safety nets ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Economies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economies/) [Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy/) [Entrepreneur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entrepreneur/) [Entrepreneurs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entrepreneurs/) ## Related quotes > [ The abject pleasure of an abject mind And hence so dear to poor weak woman kind. \[Lat., Vindicta Nemo magis gaudet, quam femina.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juvenal/the-abject-pleasure-of-an-abject-mind-and-hence-so-dear-to-poor-weak/) [Juvenal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juvenal/) > [The rich are too indolent, the poor too weak, to bear the insupportable fatigue of thinking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper/the-rich-are-too-indolent-the-poor-too-weak-to-bear-the-insupportable/) [William Cowper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper/) > [What the poor, the weak, and the inarticulate desperately require is power, organization, and a sense of identity and purpose, not rarefied advice of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wellstone/what-the-poor-the-weak-and-the-inarticulate-desperately-require-is/) [Paul Wellstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wellstone/) > [A generous spirit prefers that his country should be poor, and weak, and of no account, but free, rather than powerful, prosperous, and enslaved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-acton/a-generous-spirit-prefers-that-his-country-should-be-poor-and-weak/) [Lord Acton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-acton/) > [The anger of the weak never goes away, Professor, it just gets a little moldy. It molds like a beautiful blue cheese in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marge-piercy/the-anger-of-the-weak-never-goes-away-professor-it-just-gets-a-little/) [Marge Piercy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marge-piercy/) > [Keep a goverment poor and weak and it's your servant; when it is rich and powerful it becomes your master.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-beam-piper/keep-a-goverment-poor-and-weak-and-it-s-your-servant-when-it-is-rich/) [H. Beam Piper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/h-beam-piper/) > [Friends and family will tell you why your ideas won't work. Most are left-brained employees and specialists and NOT entrepreneurs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/friends-and-family-will-tell-you-why-your-ideas-won-t-work-most-are/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [Entrepreneurs have a great ability to create change, be flexible, build companies and cultivate the kind of work environment in which they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tory-burch/entrepreneurs-have-a-great-ability-to-create-change-be-flexible-build/) [Tory Burch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tory-burch/) > [Entrepreneurs are great at dealing with uncertainty and also very good at minimizing risk. That's the classic great entrepreneur.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohnish-pabrai/entrepreneurs-are-great-at-dealing-with-uncertainty-and-also-very/) [Mohnish Pabrai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohnish-pabrai/) > [We understand that you have to create an environment where that those men and women who are entrepreneurs can risk their capital and have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-perry/we-understand-that-you-have-to-create-an-environment-where-that-those/) [Rick Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-perry/) > [You will find that every successful entrepreneur has suffered many setbacks. These entrepreneurs just forget to mention these when they are doing interviews with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vivek-wadhwa/you-will-find-that-every-successful-entrepreneur-has-suffered-many/) [Vivek Wadhwa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vivek-wadhwa/) > [The more entrepreneurs in the world that are getting their ideas financed, the more great companies there are going to be that we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-wilson/the-more-entrepreneurs-in-the-world-that-are-getting-their-ideas/) [Fred Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-wilson/) > [I will work day and night to avoid failure, but if I can't, I'll pick myself up the next day. The most important thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-will-work-day-and-night-to-avoid-failure-but-if-i-can-t-i-ll-pick/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [What is entrepreneurship, after all? Bigness is not the issue. Poor people are the ones who take challenges every day. The guy who sells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-yunus/what-is-entrepreneurship-after-all-bigness-is-not-the-issue-poor/) [Muhammad Yunus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-yunus/) > [It's a great story for us whenever an entrepreneur makes a crazy amount of money and we get to tell the world about it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-lacy/it-s-a-great-story-for-us-whenever-an-entrepreneur-makes-a-crazy/) [Sarah Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-lacy/) ## More by Lester Thurow > [A competitive world offers two possibilities. You can lose. Or, if you want to win, you can change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/a-competitive-world-offers-two-possibilities-you-can-lose-or-if-you/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [“Probably no country has ever had as large a shift in the distribution of wealth \[as what we've seen in the U.S. in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/probably-no-country-has-ever-had-as-large-a-shift-in-the-distribution/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [We've believed for 50 years that the Japanese are small Americans who wanted to be like us. They are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/we-ve-believed-for-50-years-that-the-japanese-are-small-americans-who/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [Change requires individuals who recognize that new things can be done and who take the initiative to get them done ... The existing bureaucracies,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/change-requires-individuals-who-recognize-that-new-things-can-be-done/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [Natural resources have dropped out of the competitive equation. In fact, a lack of natural resources may even be an advantage. Because the industries…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/natural-resources-have-dropped-out-of-the-competitive-equation-in/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [Technology and Ideology are shaking the foundations of 21st century capitalism. Technology is making skills and knowledge the only sources of sustainable strategic advantage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/technology-and-ideology-are-shaking-the-foundations-of-21st-century/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [The old foundations of success are gone ... The world's wealthiest man, Bill Gates, owns nothing tangible: no land, no gold or oil, no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/the-old-foundations-of-success-are-gone-the-world-s-wealthiest-man/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [AT&T invented the cellular telephone, but saw no future in it. It takes entrepreneurs, who are angels of destruction, to take advantage of things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/at-t-invented-the-cellular-telephone-but-saw-no-future-in-it-it-takes/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [There is nothing antithetical in American history, culture, or traditions to teamwork. Teams were important in America's history - wagon trains conquered the West,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/there-is-nothing-antithetical-in-american-history-culture-or/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [“No country without a revolution or a military defeat and subsequent occupation has ever experienced such a sharp a shift in the distribution of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/no-country-without-a-revolution-or-a-military-defeat-and-subsequent/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [One of the peculiarities of economics is that it still rests on a behavioral assumption-rational utility maximization-that has long since been rejected by sociologists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/one-of-the-peculiarities-of-economics-is-that-it-still-rests-on-a/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [If a group of people has no sense where they came from-it is difficult for them to have a sense where they should go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/if-a-group-of-people-has-no-sense-where-they-came-from-it-is/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [Economists are always recommending the elimination of this or that market imperfection ... no astrophysicist recommends the elimination of planets that he does not like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/economists-are-always-recommending-the-elimination-of-this-or-that/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) > [Major investment decisions have become too important to be left to the private sector.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/major-investment-decisions-have-become-too-important-to-be-left-to/) [Lester Thurow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) [Explore all 15 Lester Thurow quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/) ## More Business quotes > [Companies with cultures that celebrate diverse opinions and encourage the exchange of ideas have an advantage when solving difficult problems. A company that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-mcmillon/companies-with-cultures-that-celebrate-diverse-opinions-and-encourage/) [Doug McMillon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-mcmillon/) > [You can laugh at me, but I understand show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ksenia-sobchak/you-can-laugh-at-me-but-i-understand-show-business/) [Ksenia Sobchak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ksenia-sobchak/) > [“Start a business, not a startup”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/start-a-business-not-a-startup/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [Many early-stage entrepreneurs make one simple mistake: Describing this 'big picture' in vague concepts and words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunil-nagaraj/many-early-stage-entrepreneurs-make-one-simple-mistake-describing/) [Sunil Nagaraj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunil-nagaraj/) > [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/) [Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/) > [I think a business guy is different from an artist. They walk different paths. Artists create the best outputs when they're having fun. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-dragon/i-think-a-business-guy-is-different-from-an-artist-they-walk/) [G-Dragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-dragon/) > [ “\[S\]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-ephron/s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-the-possible-irrelevance-of/) [Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-ephron/) > [If you have a different mindset, you will have a different outcome: if you make different choices from your peers, your life will then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-ma/if-you-have-a-different-mindset-you-will-have-a-different-outcome-if/) [Jack Ma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-ma/) > [“Some say the Earth is angry Because he wants no company; I say the Earth is angry Because he lives alone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-k-jemisin/some-say-the-earth-is-angry-because-he-wants-no-company-i-say-the/) [N.K. Jemisin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-k-jemisin/) > [ If the State does not acquire supremacy over \[vast private\] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertrand-russell/if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy-over-vast-private-enterprises/) [Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertrand-russell/) > [It's not just that families can't buy a home or start a business without some savings tucked away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/it-s-not-just-that-families-can-t-buy-a-home-or-start-a-business/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) > [I'm not into business at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-mercury/i-m-not-into-business-at-all/) [Freddie Mercury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-mercury/) > [I've long believed one of the mainsprings of our own liberty has been the widespread ownership of property among our people and the expectation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-ve-long-believed-one-of-the-mainsprings-of-our-own-liberty-has-been/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) [Browse all 39,016 Business quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Without entrepreneurs, economies become poor and weak. The old will not exist, the new can't enter", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lester Thurow" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/without-entrepreneurs-economies-become-poor-and-weak-the-old-will-not/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Business" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/without-entrepreneurs-economies-become-poor-and-weak-the-old-will-not/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/lester-thurow-32621_business_without-entrepreneurs-economies-become-p_2735149.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/lester-thurow-32621_business_without-entrepreneurs-economies-become-p_2735149.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/34b/lester-thurow-32621_business_without-entrepreneurs-economies-become-p_2735149.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Without entrepreneurs, economies become poor and weak. The old will not exist, the new can't enter” — Lester Thurow", "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": "Lester Thurow", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-thurow/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Without entrepreneurs, economies become poor and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/without-entrepreneurs-economies-become-poor-and-weak-the-old-will-not/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-thurow/without-entrepreneurs-economies-become-poor-and-weak-the-old-will-not/#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 } } ] } ```