--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The rich and powerful are going to…" description: "\"“The rich and powerful are going to survive longer, but the effects are very real―and they're getting worse very quickly as more and more people get ma..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20a/noam-chomsky-42_capitalism_the-rich-and-powerful-are-going-to-survi_1102576.jpg" --- # The rich and powerful are going to survive longer, but the… ![“The rich and powerful are going to survive longer, but the effects are very real―and they're getting worse very quickly as more and more people get marginalized because they play no role in profit-making, which is considered the only human value. Well, the environmental problems are simply much…” quote by Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20a/noam-chomsky-42_capitalism_the-rich-and-powerful-are-going-to-survi_1102576.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20a/noam-chomsky-42_capitalism_the-rich-and-powerful-are-going-to-survi_1102576.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20a/noam-chomsky-42_capitalism_the-rich-and-powerful-are-going-to-survi_1102576.jpg) > ““The rich and powerful are going to survive longer, but the effects are very real―and they're getting worse very quickly as more and more people get marginalized because they play no role in profit-making, which is considered the only human value. Well, the environmental problems are simply much more significant in scale than anything else in the past. And there's a fair possibility―certainly a possibility high enough so that no rational person would exclude it―that within a couple hundred years the world's water-level will have risen to the point that most of human life will have been destroyed.”” [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote warns that wealth and power protect a few while marginalizing many, and that climate change will cause catastrophic sea‑level rise threatening humanity. **In simple terms:** Power protects few, climate threatens all. Key Takeaway Act now to protect the vulnerable. Themes environment inequality climate change future justice Mood urgent grave reflective Type warning political environmental When to use this quote - policy making - urban planning - community activism - disaster preparedness Key Concepts social stratification ecological risk systemic neglect Questions to Reflect On - How can we restructure economies to value people over profit? - What immediate actions can reduce sea‑level rise? A Different Perspective The timeline may be uncertain, and technological fixes could mitigate impacts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Capitalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Climate change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate-change/) [Environmental problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environmental-problems/) [Global warming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/global-warming/) [Human life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-life/) [Inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality/) ## Related quotes > [The world is not going to survive very much longer as humanity's captive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-quinn/the-world-is-not-going-to-survive-very-much-longer-as-humanity-s/) [Daniel Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-quinn/) > [I'm just trying to be healthy because I want to survive longer as an artist. I want to go longer, and in order to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackson-wang/i-m-just-trying-to-be-healthy-because-i-want-to-survive-longer-as-an/) [Jackson Wang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackson-wang/) > [A basically dishonest man can survive longer in the church or the classroom than he can in the grain exchange or the furniture business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-a-rogge/a-basically-dishonest-man-can-survive-longer-in-the-church-or-the/) Benjamin A. Rogge > [“We line up and make a lot of noise about big environmental problems like incinerators, waste dumps, acid rain, global warming and pollution. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-c-jenkins/we-line-up-and-make-a-lot-of-noise-about-big-environmental-problems/) [Joseph C. Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-c-jenkins/) > [“In every remote corner of the world there are people like Carl Jones and Don Merton who have devoted their lives to saving threatened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-carwardine/in-every-remote-corner-of-the-world-there-are-people-like-carl-jones/) [Mark Carwardine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-carwardine/) > [Thousands of climate scientists agree that global warming is not only the most threatening environmental problem but also one of the greatest challenges facing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonardo-dicaprio/thousands-of-climate-scientists-agree-that-global-warming-is-not-only/) [Leonardo DiCaprio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonardo-dicaprio/) > [Our innate, built-in human value is the reason we have binding duties or obligations towards each other that we don't have towards any other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-koukl/our-innate-built-in-human-value-is-the-reason-we-have-binding-duties/) [Greg Koukl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-koukl/) > [You’re not a human being until you value something more than the life of your body. And the greater the thing you live and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/you-re-not-a-human-being-until-you-value-something-more-than-the-life/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [There's nothing of any importance in life — except how well you do your work. Nothing. Only that. Whatever else you are, will come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-s-nothing-of-any-importance-in-life-except-how-well-you-do-your-2/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [At the present moment, in the prevailing situation, what is most essential is the cultivation of love. Losing love mankind has lost its humanness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sathya-sai-baba/at-the-present-moment-in-the-prevailing-situation-what-is-most/) [Sathya Sai Baba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sathya-sai-baba/) > [A half century from now, our grandchildren are likely to look back at the era of mass employment in the market with the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-rifkin/a-half-century-from-now-our-grandchildren-are-likely-to-look-back-at/) [Jeremy Rifkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-rifkin/) > [“There has to be something other than keeping busy that gives human life value, because our society so often functions as if ‘productivity’ and/or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tasha-golden/there-has-to-be-something-other-than-keeping-busy-that-gives-human/) Tasha Golden > [Human beings by nature want happiness and do not want suffering. With that feeling everyone tries to achieve happiness and tries to get rid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/human-beings-by-nature-want-happiness-and-do-not-want-suffering-with/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [Basically, from the viewpoint of real human value we are all the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/basically-from-the-viewpoint-of-real-human-value-we-are-all-the-same/) [Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/) > [the 'natural' is not necessarily a 'human' value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulamith-firestone/the-natural-is-not-necessarily-a-human-value/) [Shulamith Firestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulamith-firestone/) ## More by Noam Chomsky > [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/) > [If you believe in democracy, why shouldn't you know what the government is doing?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/if-you-believe-in-democracy-why-shouldn-t-you-know-what-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [It’s a shameful moment for U.S. media when it insists on being subservient to the grotesque propaganda agencies of a violent, aggressive state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/it-s-a-shameful-moment-for-u-s-media-when-it-insists-on-being/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are questions as to whether it should even exist. Who should corporations be responsive to, the management of a corporation? Theoretically they are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-questions-as-to-whether-it-should-even-exist-who-should/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Governments regard their own citizens as their main enemy, and they have to be - protect themselves. That's why you have state secret laws.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/governments-regard-their-own-citizens-as-their-main-enemy-and-they/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [I don't join the New Atheists. So, for example, I wouldn't have the arrogance to lecture some mother who hopes to see her dying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-don-t-join-the-new-atheists-so-for-example-i-wouldn-t-have-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The first thing you ought to do is verify what I present. Just because I say it doesn't make it true. So check it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-first-thing-you-ought-to-do-is-verify-what-i-present-just-because/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [ I wrote an article about the marine landing \[in Haiti\] right away, but barely mentioned the oil, because my article would come out two… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/i-wrote-an-article-about-the-marine-landing-in-haiti-right-away-but/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [American society is now remarkably atomized. Political organizations have collapsed. In fact, it seems like even bowling leagues are collapsing. The left has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/american-society-is-now-remarkably-atomized-political-organizations/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [Discovery is the ability to be puzzled by simple things. Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/discovery-is-the-ability-to-be-puzzled-by-simple-things-noam-chomsky/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's an interesting book about that called The Third Reich and the Ivory Tower, written by Stephen H. Norwood. It has a long discussion…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-an-interesting-book-about-that-called-the-third-reich-and-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There are big, extremely irrational parts of the society, and they have now been mobilized politically by the Republican establishment, hoping that these people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-are-big-extremely-irrational-parts-of-the-society-and-they-have/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [There's plenty to criticize about the mass media, but they are the source of regular information about a wide range of topics. You can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/there-s-plenty-to-criticize-about-the-mass-media-but-they-are-the/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [The 50,000 Korean mercenaries we had in Vietnam were professional killers and just massacred people outright. And the American army did plenty of that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-50-000-korean-mercenaries-we-had-in-vietnam-were-professional/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) [Explore all 2,129 Noam Chomsky quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) ## More Capitalism quotes > [Don't let's lose sight of what creates wealth. It is open markets, it is capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/don-t-let-s-lose-sight-of-what-creates-wealth-it-is-open-markets-it/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Philosopher is a dictator who modifies accepted standards with his thoughts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilkin-santak/philosopher-is-a-dictator-who-modifies-accepted-standards-with-his/) [Ilkin Santak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilkin-santak/) > [There is only one party in the United States, the Property Party...and it has two right wings: Republican and Democrat. Republicans are a bit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/there-is-only-one-party-in-the-united-states-the-property-party-and/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [ Neither Italian fascism nor German national "socialism" have anything in common with such a \[Soviet socialistic\] society, primarily because private ownership of factories, plants,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stalin/neither-italian-fascism-nor-german-national-socialism-have-anything/) [Joseph Stalin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stalin/) > [Corporations have nothing to do with values, and they know it, and sometimes say it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kierans/corporations-have-nothing-to-do-with-values-and-they-know-it-and/) [Eric Kierans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kierans/) > [Both fact and logic seem to me to support the view that savings invested in privately owned economic tools of production amount to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-a-harper/both-fact-and-logic-seem-to-me-to-support-the-view-that-savings/) F. A. Harper > [The free market is ugly and stupid, like going to the mall; the unfree market is just as ugly and just as stupid, except…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-free-market-is-ugly-and-stupid-like-going-to-the-mall-the-unfree/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Capitalism, communism ... it's all garbage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mstislav-rostropovich/capitalism-communism-it-s-all-garbage/) [Mstislav Rostropovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mstislav-rostropovich/) > [There are no two countries with the same style of economic mechanism, with the same capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-chubais/there-are-no-two-countries-with-the-same-style-of-economic-mechanism/) [Anatoly Chubais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-chubais/) > [It is more than a little ironic that "capital accumulation" once a rather tendentious Marxian view of a supposed capitalist obsession, should have become…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kuttner/it-is-more-than-a-little-ironic-that-capital-accumulation-once-a/) [Robert Kuttner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kuttner/) > [Historically, usury was defined as any interest whatever on an unproductive loan.Our whole banking system I have ever abhorred, I continue to abhor, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-adams/historically-usury-was-defined-as-any-interest-whatever-on-an/) [John Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-adams/) > [Socialism is humanity's second nature. All politicians do is turn human vice into votes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/socialism-is-humanity-s-second-nature-all-politicians-do-is-turn/) [Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/) > [“Scholars have long debated whether capital markets lead to appropriate levels of saving and investment for future generations.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-l-weimer/scholars-have-long-debated-whether-capital-markets-lead-to/) David L. Weimer > [“A car is one of the most interesting inventions, but driving is one of the most boring activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-car-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-inventions-but-driving-is-one-of/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) [Browse all 3,832 Capitalism quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalism/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The rich and powerful are going to survive longer, but the effects are very real―and they're getting worse very quickly as more and more people get marginalized because they play no role in profit-making, which is considered the only human value. Well, the environmental problems are simply much more significant in scale than anything else in the past. And there's a fair possibility―certainly a possibility high enough so that no rational person would exclude it―that within a couple hundred years the world's water-level will have risen to the point that most of human life will have been destroyed.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Noam Chomsky" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-rich-and-powerful-are-going-to-survive-longer-but-the-effects-are/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Capitalism" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-rich-and-powerful-are-going-to-survive-longer-but-the-effects-are/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20a/noam-chomsky-42_capitalism_the-rich-and-powerful-are-going-to-survi_1102576.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20a/noam-chomsky-42_capitalism_the-rich-and-powerful-are-going-to-survi_1102576.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/20a/noam-chomsky-42_capitalism_the-rich-and-powerful-are-going-to-survi_1102576.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The rich and powerful are going to survive longer, but the effects are very real―and they're getting worse…” — Noam Chomsky", "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": "Noam Chomsky", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The rich and powerful are going...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-rich-and-powerful-are-going-to-survive-longer-but-the-effects-are/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-rich-and-powerful-are-going-to-survive-longer-but-the-effects-are/#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 } } ] } ```