--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What the world needs is not romantic…" description: "\"What the world needs is not romantic lovers who are sufficient unto themselves, but husbands and wives who live in communities, relate to other people,..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/856/margaret-mead-982_attention_what-the-world-needs-is-not-romantic-lov_2538687.jpg" --- # What the world needs is not romantic lovers who are… ![“What the world needs is not romantic lovers who are sufficient unto themselves, but husbands and wives who live in communities, relate to other people, carry on useful work and willingly give time and attention to their children.” quote by Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/856/margaret-mead-982_attention_what-the-world-needs-is-not-romantic-lov_2538687.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/856/margaret-mead-982_attention_what-the-world-needs-is-not-romantic-lov_2538687.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/856/margaret-mead-982_attention_what-the-world-needs-is-not-romantic-lov_2538687.jpg) > “What the world needs is not romantic lovers who are sufficient unto themselves, but husbands and wives who live in communities, relate to other people, carry on useful work and willingly give time and attention to their children.” [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. She argues that societal health depends on families engaging with community, work, and children rather than isolated self-sufficiency. **In simple terms:** Community involvement beats isolated self-reliance. Key Takeaway Prioritize community and family over isolation. Themes family community responsibility parenting Mood reflective optimistic Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - neighborhood projects - parenting groups - volunteer work - local governance Key Concepts social cohesion collective well-being Questions to Reflect On - How can you foster community ties while maintaining individuality? - What role does work play in family cohesion? A Different Perspective Balancing personal autonomy with communal duties can be challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Community](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/community/) [Giving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/giving/) [Husband](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/husband/) [Husband and wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/husband-and-wife/) [Husbands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/husbands/) [Husbands And Wives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/husbands-and-wives/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Lovers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovers/) [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Romantic love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romantic-love/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) [Wives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wives/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Husbands and wives quarrel a lot more than anyone thinks, and it's oftener about little things than big ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-wentworth/husbands-and-wives-quarrel-a-lot-more-than-anyone-thinks-and-it-s/) [Patricia Wentworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-wentworth/) > [Husbands and wives, have fun with each other. I'm convinced it makes all the difference in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zig-ziglar/husbands-and-wives-have-fun-with-each-other-i-m-convinced-it-makes/) [Zig Ziglar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zig-ziglar/) > [“Yes... even husbands and wives are strangers.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/h-don/yes-even-husbands-and-wives-are-strangers/) Hēdonē > [God designed husbands and wives to complete each other, not to compete with each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-evans/god-designed-husbands-and-wives-to-complete-each-other-not-to-compete/) [Jimmy Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-evans/) > [Husbands and wives are equal partners. They have different but complementary responsibilities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-l-cook/husbands-and-wives-are-equal-partners-they-have-different-but/) [Quentin L. Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-l-cook/) > [... happy husbands and wives can hear each other say the same thing over and over again without being tired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/happy-husbands-and-wives-can-hear-each-other-say-the-same-thing-over/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [The reason husbands and wives do not understand each other is because they belong to different sexes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-reason-husbands-and-wives-do-not-understand-each-other-is-because/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Husbands and wives should have separate interests, cultivate different sets of friends and not impose on the other. You can't spend a lifetime breathing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-newman/husbands-and-wives-should-have-separate-interests-cultivate-different/) [Paul Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-newman/) > [Most of the time, husbands and wives argue about stupid, foolish things. If it doesn't mean that much to you, give in to your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-lamotta/most-of-the-time-husbands-and-wives-argue-about-stupid-foolish-things/) [Jake LaMotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-lamotta/) > [“You don't have to work in a mental hospital to know about husbands and wives.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-roth/you-don-t-have-to-work-in-a-mental-hospital-to-know-about-husbands/) [Philip Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-roth/) > [“How many husbands and wives must believe they have fallen out of love because their hearts no longer race at the sight of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-peter-blatty/how-many-husbands-and-wives-must-believe-they-have-fallen-out-of-love/) [William Peter Blatty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-peter-blatty/) > [Not only, in strict truth, was marriage instituted for the propagation of the human race, but also that the lives of husbands and wives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-xiii/not-only-in-strict-truth-was-marriage-instituted-for-the-propagation/) [Pope Leo XIII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-xiii/) > [If nature had arranged that husbands and wives should have children alternatively, there would never be more than three in a family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-nature-had-arranged-that-husbands-and-wives-should-have-children/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Husbands and wives should understand that their first calling-from which they will never be released-is to one another and THEN to their children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boyd-k-packer/husbands-and-wives-should-understand-that-their-first-calling-from/) [Boyd K. Packer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boyd-k-packer/) > [Husbands and wives generally understand when opposition will be vain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/husbands-and-wives-generally-understand-when-opposition-will-be-vain/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) ## More by Margaret Mead > [The prophet who fails to present a bearable alternative and yet preaches doom is part of the trap that he postulates. Not only does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-prophet-who-fails-to-present-a-bearable-alternative-and-yet/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [The contempt for law and the contempt for the human consequences of lawbreaking go from the bottom to the top of American society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/the-contempt-for-law-and-the-contempt-for-the-human-consequences-of/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [If one cannot state a matter clearly enough so that even an intelligent twelve-year-old can understand it, one should remain within the cloistered walls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/if-one-cannot-state-a-matter-clearly-enough-so-that-even-an/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [I learned the value of hard work by working hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/i-learned-the-value-of-hard-work-by-working-hard/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Children must be taught how to think, not what to think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/children-must-be-taught-how-to-think-not-what-to-think/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Women are scolded both for being mothers and for not being mothers, for wanting to eat their cake and have it too, and for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/women-are-scolded-both-for-being-mothers-and-for-not-being-mothers/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [we came to realize that a civilization which rode roughshod over the way of life of other peoples was incorporating evil in its own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-came-to-realize-that-a-civilization-which-rode-roughshod-over-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [WE MUST DEVISE A SYSTEM IN WHICH PEACE IS MORE REWARDING THAN WAR.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-must-devise-a-system-in-which-peace-is-more-rewarding-than-war/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Through a grandmother's voice and hands the end of life is known at the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/through-a-grandmother-s-voice-and-hands-the-end-of-life-is-known-at/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [today's children are the first generation to grow up in a world that has the power to destroy itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/today-s-children-are-the-first-generation-to-grow-up-in-a-world-that/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We are now at a point where we must educate our children in what no one knew yesterday, and prepare our schools for what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-are-now-at-a-point-where-we-must-educate-our-children-in-what-no/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Humanity . . . lies in man's capacity to question the known and imagine the unknown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/humanity-lies-in-man-s-capacity-to-question-the-known-and-imagine-the/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [Fathers are biological necessities, but social accidents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/fathers-are-biological-necessities-but-social-accidents/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [“One of the most dangerous things that can happen to a child is to kill or torture an animal and not be held responsible.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/one-of-the-most-dangerous-things-that-can-happen-to-a-child-is-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) > [We end up with the contradictory picture of a society that appears to throw its doors wide open to women, but translates her every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/we-end-up-with-the-contradictory-picture-of-a-society-that-appears-to/) [Margaret Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) [Explore all 314 Margaret Mead quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. 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They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What the world needs is not romantic lovers who are sufficient unto themselves, but husbands and wives who live in communities, relate to other people, carry on useful work and willingly give time and attention to their children.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Margaret Mead" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/what-the-world-needs-is-not-romantic-lovers-who-are-sufficient-unto/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/what-the-world-needs-is-not-romantic-lovers-who-are-sufficient-unto/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/856/margaret-mead-982_attention_what-the-world-needs-is-not-romantic-lov_2538687.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/856/margaret-mead-982_attention_what-the-world-needs-is-not-romantic-lov_2538687.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/856/margaret-mead-982_attention_what-the-world-needs-is-not-romantic-lov_2538687.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What the world needs is not romantic lovers who are sufficient unto themselves, but husbands and wives who…” — Margaret Mead", "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": "Margaret Mead", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-mead/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What the world needs is not...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/what-the-world-needs-is-not-romantic-lovers-who-are-sufficient-unto/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-mead/what-the-world-needs-is-not-romantic-lovers-who-are-sufficient-unto/#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 } } ] } ```