--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Oh c'mon. Can you ever \"solve\" poverty?…" description: "\"“Oh c'mon. Can you ever \"solve\" poverty? Can you ever \"solve\" crime? Can you ever \"\"solve\" disease, unemployment, war, or any other societal herpes? He..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/max-brooks-2735_war_oh-c-mon-can-you-ever-solve-poverty-can_1366768.png" --- # Oh c'mon. Can you ever "solve" poverty? Can you ever… ![“Oh c'mon. Can you ever "solve" poverty? Can you ever "solve" crime? Can you ever ""solve" disease, unemployment, war, or any other societal herpes? Hell no. All you can hope for is to make them manageable enough to allow people to get on with their lives. All you can do is just build a roof that…” quote by Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/max-brooks-2735_war_oh-c-mon-can-you-ever-solve-poverty-can_1366768.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/max-brooks-2735_war_oh-c-mon-can-you-ever-solve-poverty-can_1366768.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/max-brooks-2735_war_oh-c-mon-can-you-ever-solve-poverty-can_1366768.png) > ““Oh c'mon. Can you ever "solve" poverty? Can you ever "solve" crime? Can you ever ""solve" disease, unemployment, war, or any other societal herpes? Hell no. All you can hope for is to make them manageable enough to allow people to get on with their lives. All you can do is just build a roof that you hope won't leak, or at least won't leak on the people who are gonna vote for you.”” [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Suggests that complex societal problems cannot be fully solved, only managed to a livable degree. **In simple terms:** We can only manage, not eliminate, big societal issues. Key Takeaway Focus on practical, incremental improvements. Themes poverty crime disease war policy management Mood analytical pragmatic Type political philosophical When to use this quote - government budgeting - community health programs - crime prevention - social welfare planning Key Concepts economics public health political science systems thinking Questions to Reflect On - What incremental steps can you support locally? - How do you balance hope for solutions with realistic expectations? A Different Perspective Managing may be seen as accepting insufficient progress. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Allow People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/allow-people/) [Poverty Solve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty-solve-3416372/) [Roof Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roof-hope-4694798/) [Solve Disease](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solve-disease-3416371/) [Solve Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solve-poverty-1300861/) [War](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ## Related quotes > [“Oh C'mon. Can you ever "solve" poverty? Can you ever "solve" crime? Can you ever "solve" disease, unemployment, war or any other societal herpes?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/oh-c-mon-can-you-ever-solve-poverty-can-you-ever-solve-crime-can-you-2/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [Can you ever “solve” poverty? Can you ever “solve” crime? Can you ever “solve” disease, unemployment, war, or any other societal herpes? Hell no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/can-you-ever-solve-poverty-can-you-ever-solve-crime-can-you-ever/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“Can you ever "solve" disease, unemployment, war, or any other societal herpes? Hell no. All you can hope for is to make them manageable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/can-you-ever-solve-disease-unemployment-war-or-any-other-societal/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“It's not morning until you're awake. And it's not night until you're asleep in your bed under my roof. And I could go on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiffany-reisz/it-s-not-morning-until-you-re-awake-and-it-s-not-night-until-you-re/) [Tiffany Reisz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiffany-reisz/) > [You will never solve poverty without solving water and sanitation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-damon/you-will-never-solve-poverty-without-solving-water-and-sanitation/) [Matt Damon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-damon/) > [“You will never solve poverty without solving health and sanitation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nivesh-raj/you-will-never-solve-poverty-without-solving-health-and-sanitation/) [Nivesh Raj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nivesh-raj/) > [The poverty of the West is far more difficult to solve than the poverty of India.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/the-poverty-of-the-west-is-far-more-difficult-to-solve-than-the/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [When poverty declines, the need for government declines, which is why expecting government to solve poverty is like expecting a tobacco company to mount…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefan-molyneux/when-poverty-declines-the-need-for-government-declines-which-is-why/) [Stefan Molyneux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefan-molyneux/) > [I cant solve the poverty problem, but there are things you can do to mitigate its effects on kids.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sal-albanese/i-cant-solve-the-poverty-problem-but-there-are-things-you-can-do-to/) [Sal Albanese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sal-albanese/) > [Effective organizations put people in jobs in which they can do the most good. They place people -- and allow people to place themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-drucker/effective-organizations-put-people-in-jobs-in-which-they-can-do-the/) [Peter Drucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-drucker/) > [In terms of leadership, you've got to allow for people to be amazing and to contribute in a way that's meaningful. You can't hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nahnatchka-khan/in-terms-of-leadership-you-ve-got-to-allow-for-people-to-be-amazing/) [Nahnatchka Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nahnatchka-khan/) > [I'm just like any other man. I understand why people become reclusive. One of my weaknesses is that I sometimes allow people in that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-loftin/i-m-just-like-any-other-man-i-understand-why-people-become-reclusive/) [Peter Loftin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-loftin/) > [I just want to get my voice heard again and to allow people to know me outside of a group situation. I also want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letoya-luckett/i-just-want-to-get-my-voice-heard-again-and-to-allow-people-to-know/) [LeToya Luckett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letoya-luckett/) > [If you don't allow people to contribute, to offer their point of view, or to criticize what has been put before them, then they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nelson-mandela/if-you-don-t-allow-people-to-contribute-to-offer-their-point-of-view/) [Nelson Mandela](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nelson-mandela/) > [I would wish that people would accept people for who they are, not be judgemental, allow people to live their lives and enjoy themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barrowman/i-would-wish-that-people-would-accept-people-for-who-they-are-not-be/) [John Barrowman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barrowman/) ## More by Max Brooks > [When I believe in my ability to do something, there is no such word as no.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/when-i-believe-in-my-ability-to-do-something-there-is-no-such-word-as/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [Fear is the most valuable commodity in the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/fear-is-the-most-valuable-commodity-in-the-universe/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [I think the general anxiety of the 1960s - '70s spawned our interest in the living dead. When people worry about the end of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/i-think-the-general-anxiety-of-the-1960s-70s-spawned-our-interest-in/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [Sometimes you find your path, sometimes it finds you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/sometimes-you-find-your-path-sometimes-it-finds-you/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [I wanted to serve. It was Desert Storm. I thought, 'I was a rich kid, and America's been good to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/i-wanted-to-serve-it-was-desert-storm-i-thought-i-was-a-rich-kid-and/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [ \[...\]you don’t have to be Sun freakin Tzu to know that real fighting isn’t about killing or even hurting the other guy, it’s about… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/you-don-t-have-to-be-sun-freakin-tzu-to-know-that-real-fighting-isn-t/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“rank warehouses among your most attractive hideouts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/rank-warehouses-among-your-most-attractive-hideouts/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [I think Americans are at our best when we recover from a crisis. We've suffered some blows that other countries would have never recovered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/i-think-americans-are-at-our-best-when-we-recover-from-a-crisis-we-ve/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“The living dead had taken more from us than land and loved ones. They'd robbed us of our confidence as the planet's dominant life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/the-living-dead-had-taken-more-from-us-than-land-and-loved-ones-they/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“PARNELL AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, TENNESSEE”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/parnell-air-national-guard-base-tennessee/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [Often, a school is your best bet-perhaps not for education but certainly for protection from an undead attack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/often-a-school-is-your-best-bet-perhaps-not-for-education-but/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [Any survival guide will tell you, don't buy a pair of combat boots before any disaster. They'll tear your feet up. Or water -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/any-survival-guide-will-tell-you-don-t-buy-a-pair-of-combat-boots/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [When I read Frank Miller's 'The Dark Knight Returns', I think it's a wonderful record of the Reagan era. I think it's amazing. This…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/when-i-read-frank-miller-s-the-dark-knight-returns-i-think-it-s-a/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [The dead walk among us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/the-dead-walk-among-us/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) > [“What we did, what every president since Washington has done, was provide a measured, appropriate response, in direct relation to a realistic threat assessment.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/what-we-did-what-every-president-since-washington-has-done-was/) [Max Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) [Explore all 142 Max Brooks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/) ## More War quotes > [The costs of the Bush-Obama wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are now estimated to run as high as $4.4 trillion - a major victory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-costs-of-the-bush-obama-wars-in-iraq-and-afghanistan-are-now/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [For us who are now in power, we need to be challenged to serve the people and ignore our own egos and personal interests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wangari-maathai/for-us-who-are-now-in-power-we-need-to-be-challenged-to-serve-the/) [Wangari Maathai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wangari-maathai/) > [“People came to our house from far and wide. Party and military bigwigs, some guy known as the “combat commander,” the village headman, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masaji-ishikawa/people-came-to-our-house-from-far-and-wide-party-and-military-bigwigs/) [Masaji Ishikawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masaji-ishikawa/) > [Love does not begin and end the way we seem to think it does. Love is a batter. Love is a war. Love is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-does-not-begin-and-end-the-way-we-seem-to-think-it-does-love-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [“The world," said Pavone, "will swing to the left. The whole world except America. The world will swing, not because people read Karl Marx,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irwin-shaw/the-world-said-pavone-will-swing-to-the-left-the-whole-world-except/) [Irwin Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irwin-shaw/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Five days or five months, but it certainly isn't going to last longer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-rumsfeld/five-days-or-five-months-but-it-certainly-isn-t-going-to-last-longer/) [Donald Rumsfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-rumsfeld/) > [So here's what I want you to know, and here's what I want all our men and women in uniform to know: Because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-here-s-what-i-want-you-to-know-and-here-s-what-i-want-all-our-men/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I don't want to go into space because of war. I think we would if it was triggered. If China said they want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/i-don-t-want-to-go-into-space-because-of-war-i-think-we-would-if-it/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [If I had to guess and put a name on it, I'd say that at some point, the drug war was as much a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simon/if-i-had-to-guess-and-put-a-name-on-it-i-d-say-that-at-some-point-the/) [David Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simon/) > [“Fear and desire for pleasure. Aggressiveness comes out of fear, predominantly, and sexuality predominantly out of the other. But they mix in the middle.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-french/fear-and-desire-for-pleasure-aggressiveness-comes-out-of-fear/) [Marilyn French](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-french/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [I did not know that the planning for biological and chemical warfare was so widespread in England, and even in France before France fell.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/i-did-not-know-that-the-planning-for-biological-and-chemical-warfare/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [“Peace requires a discipline more iron than war. - Easter, 1939 ”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-j-turner/peace-requires-a-discipline-more-iron-than-war-easter-1939/) [W.J. Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-j-turner/) [Browse all 38,922 War quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/war/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Oh c'mon. Can you ever \"solve\" poverty? Can you ever \"solve\" crime? Can you ever \"\"solve\" disease, unemployment, war, or any other societal herpes? Hell no. All you can hope for is to make them manageable enough to allow people to get on with their lives. All you can do is just build a roof that you hope won't leak, or at least won't leak on the people who are gonna vote for you.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Max Brooks" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/oh-c-mon-can-you-ever-solve-poverty-can-you-ever-solve-crime-can-you/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "War" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/oh-c-mon-can-you-ever-solve-poverty-can-you-ever-solve-crime-can-you/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/max-brooks-2735_war_oh-c-mon-can-you-ever-solve-poverty-can_1366768.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/max-brooks-2735_war_oh-c-mon-can-you-ever-solve-poverty-can_1366768.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/911/max-brooks-2735_war_oh-c-mon-can-you-ever-solve-poverty-can_1366768.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Oh c'mon. Can you ever \"solve\" poverty? Can you ever \"solve\" crime? Can you ever \"\"solve\" disease…” — Max Brooks", "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": "Max Brooks", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-brooks/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Oh c'mon. Can you ever \"solve\"...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/oh-c-mon-can-you-ever-solve-poverty-can-you-ever-solve-crime-can-you/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-brooks/oh-c-mon-can-you-ever-solve-poverty-can-you-ever-solve-crime-can-you/#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 } } ] } ```