--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Long before they slump into poverty…" description: "\"Long before they slump into poverty, great powers succumb to a poverty of ambition.\" — Mark Steyn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5f/mark-steyn-1844_ambition_long-before-they-slump-into-poverty-grea_2957992.png" --- # Long before they slump into poverty, great powers succumb… ![“Long before they slump into poverty, great powers succumb to a poverty of ambition.” quote by Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5f/mark-steyn-1844_ambition_long-before-they-slump-into-poverty-grea_2957992.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5f/mark-steyn-1844_ambition_long-before-they-slump-into-poverty-grea_2957992.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5f/mark-steyn-1844_ambition_long-before-they-slump-into-poverty-grea_2957992.png) > “Long before they slump into poverty, great powers succumb to a poverty of ambition.” [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Great powers decline when they lose drive and purpose. **In simple terms:** Loss of ambition weakens societies. Key Takeaway Cultivate ambition. Themes politics history leadership Mood thoughtful critical Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - government policy - corporate strategy - personal career - community projects Key Concepts decline motivation national identity Questions to Reflect On - What fuels your ambition? - How can societies rekindle purpose? A Different Perspective Ambition alone cannot fix structural issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) [Great power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-power/) [Great Powers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/great-powers/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Poverty Ambition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty-ambition-257407/) [Poverty Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty-great-369253/) [Powers Succumb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powers-succumb-4490648/) [Slump Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slump-poverty-4490647/) [Slumps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slumps/) ## Related quotes > [Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a certain poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. Because it's only when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/focusing-your-life-solely-on-making-a-buck-shows-a-certain-poverty-of/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [The elevation of appearance over substance, of celebrity over character, of short term gains over lasting achievement displays a poverty of ambition. It distracts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-elevation-of-appearance-over-substance-of-celebrity-over/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. And it will leave you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/focusing-your-life-solely-on-making-a-buck-shows-a-poverty-of-2/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [As a young black immigrant at an inner-city school, I saw how poverty of ambition left many from disadvantaged backgrounds on the scrap-heap.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kemi-badenoch/as-a-young-black-immigrant-at-an-inner-city-school-i-saw-how-poverty/) [Kemi Badenoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kemi-badenoch/) > [It betrays a poverty of ambition if all you think about is what goods you can buy instead of what good you can do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/it-betrays-a-poverty-of-ambition-if-all-you-think-about-is-what-goods/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“the big house and the nice suits and the other things that our money culture says you should buy ... betrays a poverty of ambition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/the-big-house-and-the-nice-suits-and-the-other-things-that-our-money/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“Focusing your life solely on making a buck shows a poverty of ambition. It asks too little of yourself. And it will leave you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-h-manser/focusing-your-life-solely-on-making-a-buck-shows-a-poverty-of/) [Martin H. Manser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-h-manser/) > [We need to steer clear of this poverty of ambition, where people want to drive fancy cars and wear nice clothes and live in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/we-need-to-steer-clear-of-this-poverty-of-ambition-where-people-want/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“Nothing incites to money-crimes like great poverty or great wealth. - More Maxims of Mark, Johnson, 1927”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/nothing-incites-to-money-crimes-like-great-poverty-or-great-wealth/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I'm very familiar with poverty. I find it easy to be with, whether I'm in America or in Africa or in Asia. Wherever I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-belafonte/i-m-very-familiar-with-poverty-i-find-it-easy-to-be-with-whether-i-m/) [Harry Belafonte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-belafonte/) > [Poverty is a great cutter-off and riches a great shutter-off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-durrell/poverty-is-a-great-cutter-off-and-riches-a-great-shutter-off/) [Lawrence Durrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-durrell/) > [“Where the conditions to which material progress... are most fully realized... where wealth is greatest... we find the deepest poverty, the sharpest struggle for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/1884-henry-george-progress-and-poverty/where-the-conditions-to-which-material-progress-are-most-fully/) [1884 Henry George (Progress and Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/1884-henry-george-progress-and-poverty/) > [Great is Youth--equally great is Old Age--great are Day and Night. Great is Wealth--great is Poverty--great is Expression-great is Silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/great-is-youth-equally-great-is-old-age-great-are-day-and-night-great/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [Poverty is a great equalizer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-grisham/poverty-is-a-great-equalizer/) [John Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-grisham/) > [Resolve not to be poor: whatever you have, spend less. Poverty is a great enemy to human happiness; it certainly destroys liberty, and it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/resolve-not-to-be-poor-whatever-you-have-spend-less-poverty-is-a/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) ## More by Mark Steyn > [Popular culture as a whole is popular, but in today's fragmented market it's a jostle of competing unpopular popular cultures. As the critic Stanley…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/popular-culture-as-a-whole-is-popular-but-in-today-s-fragmented/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [“The populations of wealthy democratic societies expect to have total choice over their satellite TV packages, yet think it perfectly normal to allow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/the-populations-of-wealthy-democratic-societies-expect-to-have-total/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [For Al Gore and Paul Ehrlich and Co., whatever the problem, the solution is always the same. Whether it's global cooling, global warming, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/for-al-gore-and-paul-ehrlich-and-co-whatever-the-problem-the-solution/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [Sadly, a U.S. invasion of Iraq 'would threaten the whole stability of the Middle East' - or so Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/sadly-a-u-s-invasion-of-iraq-would-threaten-the-whole-stability-of/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [I don't think Donald Trump is a conservative. I think his line on China for example, that he's going to talk tough to China.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/i-don-t-think-donald-trump-is-a-conservative-i-think-his-line-on/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [A big chunk of Western civilization, consciously or otherwise, has given the impression that it's dying to surrender to somebody, anybody. 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The mutual incompatibility is about to plunge Europe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/the-progressive-left-can-be-in-favor-of-big-government-or-population/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [“But in practice the lack of belief in divine presence is just as likely to lead to humans avoiding responsibility: if there's nothing other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/but-in-practice-the-lack-of-belief-in-divine-presence-is-just-as/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [No family of an American hostage has ever been prosecuted for paying a ransom for the return of their loved ones. The last thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/no-family-of-an-american-hostage-has-ever-been-prosecuted-for-paying/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [“America is now a land that rewards failure--at the personal, corporate and state level. If you reward it, you get more of it. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/america-is-now-a-land-that-rewards-failure-at-the-personal-corporate/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [Obama's Nobel Peace Prize is an exquisite act of condescension from Norwegians, a dog biscuit and a pat on the head to the American…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/obama-s-nobel-peace-prize-is-an-exquisite-act-of-condescension-from/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [“You cannot wage a sustained ideological assault on your own civilization without grave consequences. We are approaching the end of the Anglo-American moment, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/you-cannot-wage-a-sustained-ideological-assault-on-your-own/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [“Almost by definition, secularism cannot be a future: it's a present-tense culture that over time disconnects a society from cross-generational purpose. Which is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/almost-by-definition-secularism-cannot-be-a-future-it-s-a-present/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [Her Majesty's government is engaging not merely in Orwellian Newspeak but in self-defeating Orwellian Newspeak. The broader message it sends is that ours is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/her-majesty-s-government-is-engaging-not-merely-in-orwellian-newspeak/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) [Explore all 204 Mark Steyn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) ## More Ambition quotes > [Ambition drives you on, ability certainly helps, but the fickle finger of fate and luck are great things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergus-henderson/ambition-drives-you-on-ability-certainly-helps-but-the-fickle-finger/) [Fergus Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergus-henderson/) > [One needs more than ambition and talent to make a success of anything, really. There must be love and a vocation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jessye-norman/one-needs-more-than-ambition-and-talent-to-make-a-success-of-anything/) [Jessye Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jessye-norman/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [A man's worth is no greater than the worth of his ambitions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-man-s-worth-is-no-greater-than-the-worth-of-his-ambitions/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm hungry and ambitious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julen-lopetegui/i-m-hungry-and-ambitious/) [Julen Lopetegui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julen-lopetegui/) > [“I was ambitious and desperate to direct my first film, so I capitulated and blew it. Never again. Never fucking again.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-ferguson/i-was-ambitious-and-desperate-to-direct-my-first-film-so-i/) [Craig Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-ferguson/) > [I was always attracted most to joining City, and I am pleased to be at such a good club with such a big ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edin-dzeko/i-was-always-attracted-most-to-joining-city-and-i-am-pleased-to-be-at/) [Edin Dzeko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edin-dzeko/) > [Work towards your goal and dont watch the post size,its either they hate,or like you.there is no room for both sides.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isaac-buabeng/work-towards-your-goal-and-dont-watch-the-post-size-its-either-they/) [Isaac Buabeng](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isaac-buabeng/) > [“But young men have not only this frivolous ambition of being thought masters of execution, inciting them on the one hand, but also their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/but-young-men-have-not-only-this-frivolous-ambition-of-being-thought/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I almost never have a plan for myself... I'm not ambitious in that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-plimpton/i-almost-never-have-a-plan-for-myself-i-m-not-ambitious-in-that-way/) [Martha Plimpton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-plimpton/) > [I play for high stakes and given an audience - there is no act too daring or too noble.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/i-play-for-high-stakes-and-given-an-audience-there-is-no-act-too/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) > [There's nothing worse than a leader who lacks ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-nothing-worse-than-a-leader-who-lacks-ambition/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If i can't even protect my captain's dream, then whatever ambition i have is nothing but talk..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoro/if-i-can-t-even-protect-my-captain-s-dream-then-whatever-ambition-i/) [Zoro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoro/) > [It may seem unattainable but if you put actions, your heart and your mind into it, you will prevail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/london-mond/it-may-seem-unattainable-but-if-you-put-actions-your-heart-and-your/) [London Mond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/london-mond/) > [Obligation is what's leading us to toward successful, and what keeps us moving towards the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wazim-shaw/obligation-is-what-s-leading-us-to-toward-successful-and-what-keeps/) [Wazim Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wazim-shaw/) [Browse all 4,601 Ambition quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ambition/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Long before they slump into poverty, great powers succumb to a poverty of ambition.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Steyn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/long-before-they-slump-into-poverty-great-powers-succumb-to-a-poverty/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Ambition" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/long-before-they-slump-into-poverty-great-powers-succumb-to-a-poverty/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5f/mark-steyn-1844_ambition_long-before-they-slump-into-poverty-grea_2957992.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5f/mark-steyn-1844_ambition_long-before-they-slump-into-poverty-grea_2957992.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b5f/mark-steyn-1844_ambition_long-before-they-slump-into-poverty-grea_2957992.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Long before they slump into poverty, great powers succumb to a poverty of ambition.” — Mark Steyn", "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": "Mark Steyn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Long before they slump into poverty,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/long-before-they-slump-into-poverty-great-powers-succumb-to-a-poverty/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/long-before-they-slump-into-poverty-great-powers-succumb-to-a-poverty/#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 } } ] } ```