--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Everything works, doesn't it? At least if…" description: "\"“Everything works, doesn't it? At least if you're white and middle class. So it must often seem to young people that they're not needed. In a sense, it..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/lionel-shriver-744_middle-class_everything-works-doesn-t-it-at-least-if_3111322.jpg" --- # Everything works, doesn't it? At least if you're white and… ![“Everything works, doesn't it? At least if you're white and middle class. So it must often seem to young people that they're not needed. In a sense, it's as if there's nothing more to do.” quote by Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/lionel-shriver-744_middle-class_everything-works-doesn-t-it-at-least-if_3111322.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/lionel-shriver-744_middle-class_everything-works-doesn-t-it-at-least-if_3111322.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/039/lionel-shriver-744_middle-class_everything-works-doesn-t-it-at-least-if_3111322.jpg) > ““Everything works, doesn't it? At least if you're white and middle class. So it must often seem to young people that they're not needed. In a sense, it's as if there's nothing more to do.”” [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker critiques systemic privilege, noting that societal structures often make marginalized youth feel unnecessary and powerless. **In simple terms:** Systemic privilege can make marginalized people feel useless. Key Takeaway Recognize and challenge systemic inequities. Themes privilege inequality youth societal structures Mood critical concerned Type social political When to use this quote - education - policy reform - community activism - personal empowerment Key Concepts social critique systemic bias Questions to Reflect On - How can we empower marginalized voices? - What steps reduce systemic bias? A Different Perspective It may overgeneralize experiences across diverse groups. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Class Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class-young-718853/) [Middle class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-class/) [People Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-needed-888716/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Young people](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-people/) ## Related quotes > [“He seems, in manner and rank, above the class of young men who take that turn; but I remember hearing them say, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-scott/he-seems-in-manner-and-rank-above-the-class-of-young-men-who-take/) [Walter Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-scott/) > [“It was one of the only times in my teaching career that I got angry and showed it in class. I was young and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/azar-nafisi/it-was-one-of-the-only-times-in-my-teaching-career-that-i-got-angry/) [Azar Nafisi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/azar-nafisi/) > [“You have a class of young men and women, and they want to give their lives to something. Advertising has these people chasing cars…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/you-have-a-class-of-young-men-and-women-and-they-want-to-give-their/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [“But the point about that kind of stuff was that you needed someone around to be proudly independent and self-reliant. People who didn’t need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/but-the-point-about-that-kind-of-stuff-was-that-you-needed-someone/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I don't feel we did wrong in taking this great country away from them. There were great numbers of people who needed new land,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wayne/i-don-t-feel-we-did-wrong-in-taking-this-great-country-away-from-them/) [John Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wayne/) > [I learned very early in life that I was always going to need people more than they needed me](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/i-learned-very-early-in-life-that-i-was-always-going-to-need-people/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [“People needed love most when they weren't at their best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-beaty/people-needed-love-most-when-they-weren-t-at-their-best/) [Erin Beaty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-beaty/) > [...even the most independent people sometimes needed help. And if I'd learned nothing else from my life thus far, it was that you don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/even-the-most-independent-people-sometimes-needed-help-and-if-i-d/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“He did not think anyone needed to look after Nynaeve; around Nynaeve, to his mind, other people needed someone to look after them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jordan/he-did-not-think-anyone-needed-to-look-after-nynaeve-around-nynaeve/) [Robert Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jordan/) > [Educated and productive young people are needed to help # LIFT their countries out of poverty and create a wealthier, more secure world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-m-mulcahy/educated-and-productive-young-people-are-needed-to-help-lift-their/) [Anne M. Mulcahy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-m-mulcahy/) > [“...But would that be enough? Because at the moment it felt like it could never be enough. People needed more than a place to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-brown/but-would-that-be-enough-because-at-the-moment-it-felt-like-it-could/) [Jennifer Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-brown/) > [People who didn't need people needed people around to know that they were the kind of people who didn't need people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/people-who-didn-t-need-people-needed-people-around-to-know-that-they/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [She often had to remind herself that she couldn't do everything alone. She wasn't always the best person for the job. Sometimes she got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/she-often-had-to-remind-herself-that-she-couldn-t-do-everything-alone/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“I envy you then. I have no idea what it would be like to have people like that in my life. People who needed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlyn-nicholas/i-envy-you-then-i-have-no-idea-what-it-would-be-like-to-have-people/) [Caitlyn Nicholas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlyn-nicholas/) > [“The problem wasn't drinking. The problem was people. And what they needed wasn't a new law; what they needed was a new heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siri-mitchell/the-problem-wasn-t-drinking-the-problem-was-people-and-what-they/) [Siri Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siri-mitchell/) ## More by Lionel Shriver > [The discovery that heartbreak is indeed heartbreaking consoles us about our humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-discovery-that-heartbreak-is-indeed-heartbreaking-consoles-us/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I’m a journalist, and journalists need news. Deprive them of it, and they go a bit barking. Deprive them of news long enough, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-m-a-journalist-and-journalists-need-news-deprive-them-of-it-and/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“One of the things I learned with Charles," said Gray carefully, "was that finding someone like you does not necessarily mean that either of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/one-of-the-things-i-learned-with-charles-said-gray-carefully-was-that/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [In the particular dwells the tawdry. In the conceptual dwells the grand, the transcendent, the everlasting. Earthly countries and single malignant boys can go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/in-the-particular-dwells-the-tawdry-in-the-conceptual-dwells-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“The idea is that you don't only have one destiny. Younger and younger, kids are pressed to decide what they want to do with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-idea-is-that-you-don-t-only-have-one-destiny-younger-and-younger/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [Oddly, for a book to do well merely because people like it is surprisingly rare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/oddly-for-a-book-to-do-well-merely-because-people-like-it-is/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“And there's a freedom in apathy, a wild, dizzying liberation on which you can almost get drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/and-there-s-a-freedom-in-apathy-a-wild-dizzying-liberation-on-which/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [The sign that I don't like the book I'm reading is finding myself watching reruns of 'Come Dine With Me.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/the-sign-that-i-don-t-like-the-book-i-m-reading-is-finding-myself/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [We speak often of 'destroying the planet' when what we mean is destroying its habitability for humans.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/we-speak-often-of-destroying-the-planet-when-what-we-mean-is/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [My agent had warned that, while a fine film would do my profile a world of good, a bad one wouldn't help me at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/my-agent-had-warned-that-while-a-fine-film-would-do-my-profile-a/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I think that's the biggest favor you can grant anyone, don't you? Permission to be dull. I know Henry will sometimes say something so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-think-that-s-the-biggest-favor-you-can-grant-anyone-don-t-you/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“They were determined to find something mechanically wrong with him - because broken machines are easier to fix. p303”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/they-were-determined-to-find-something-mechanically-wrong-with-him/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“Bur Armenians have a talent for sorrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/bur-armenians-have-a-talent-for-sorrow/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“What is cool changes; that there is such a thing as cool is immutable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/what-is-cool-changes-that-there-is-such-a-thing-as-cool-is-immutable/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) > [“I have theorized that you can locate most people on a spectrum of the crudest sort and that it may be their position on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lionel-shriver/i-have-theorized-that-you-can-locate-most-people-on-a-spectrum-of-the/) [Lionel Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) [Explore all 375 Lionel Shriver quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lionel-shriver/) ## More Middle class quotes > [I grew up in the middle class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-scaramucci/i-grew-up-in-the-middle-class/) [Anthony Scaramucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-scaramucci/) > [But I don't think the Democratic Party is at eye level with the middle class.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-i-don-t-think-the-democratic-party-is-at-eye-level-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [We are not going back to the failed policies of the past. We are fighting for the middle class!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/we-are-not-going-back-to-the-failed-policies-of-the-past-we-are/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [Aristocratic depression has this cosmic dimension to it, where it's asking these big questions about, "Why?" "What is the purpose of all this?" Neuroses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-douglas/aristocratic-depression-has-this-cosmic-dimension-to-it-where-it-s/) [Lawrence Douglas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-douglas/) > [The Democrats have been there for working people in our country. That's who we are, trickle-down vs. middle-class economics. That's the major difference between…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-pelosi/the-democrats-have-been-there-for-working-people-in-our-country-that/) [Nancy Pelosi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-pelosi/) > [If you read the 'Daily Mail,' you would imagine that the British middle classes lead lives of unremitting misery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-hoggart/if-you-read-the-daily-mail-you-would-imagine-that-the-british-middle/) [Simon Hoggart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-hoggart/) > [“They had tried to reproduce their own attitude to life upon the stage, and to dress up as the middle-class English people they actually…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster-2/they-had-tried-to-reproduce-their-own-attitude-to-life-upon-the-stage/) [E.M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster-2/) > [I wasn't the smartest in school - I was always sort of middle of the class - but when it came to football, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-wilson/i-wasn-t-the-smartest-in-school-i-was-always-sort-of-middle-of-the/) [Harry Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-wilson/) > [The family of my mother had a lot of money; the family of my father, nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charo/the-family-of-my-mother-had-a-lot-of-money-the-family-of-my-father/) [Charo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charo/) > [Now that I'm more middle class, I have access to consumer goods. I do enjoy feminine frippery, feminine doo-da, stuff like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-geok-lin-lim/now-that-i-m-more-middle-class-i-have-access-to-consumer-goods-i-do/) [Shirley Geok-lin Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-geok-lin-lim/) > [Poor and most middle-class people believe "If I have a lot of money, I could do what I want and I'd be a success."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-harv-eker/poor-and-most-middle-class-people-believe-if-i-have-a-lot-of-money-i/) [T. Harv Eker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-harv-eker/) > [My dad was a bartender. My mom was a cashier, a maid and a stock clerk at K-Mart. They never made it big. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-rubio/my-dad-was-a-bartender-my-mom-was-a-cashier-a-maid-and-a-stock-clerk/) [Marco Rubio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-rubio/) > [My father was in real estate, banking, and land management. As family life, it was very conventional, happy, and comfortable. We weren't wealthy, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-child/my-father-was-in-real-estate-banking-and-land-management-as-family/) [Julia Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-child/) > [When in one area of the world the standard of living and the size of the middle class increases, it is going to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-lagarde/when-in-one-area-of-the-world-the-standard-of-living-and-the-size-of/) [Christine Lagarde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-lagarde/) > [The benefit of living in a free society is that we all have the choice to be rich, poor, or middle class. The decision…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/the-benefit-of-living-in-a-free-society-is-that-we-all-have-the/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) [Browse all 2,050 Middle class quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/middle-class/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Everything works, doesn't it? At least if you're white and middle class. So it must often seem to young people that they're not needed. 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