--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I said I didn't think it would be a…" description: "\"I said I didn't think it would be a collectivist state so much as a wilderness in which most people lived hand to mouth, and the rich would live like p..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03b/paul-theroux-913_britain_i-said-i-didn-t-think-it-would-be-a-coll_1654546.jpg" --- # I said I didn't think it would be a collectivist state so… ![“I said I didn't think it would be a collectivist state so much as a wilderness in which most people lived hand to mouth, and the rich would live like princes - better than the rich had ever lived, except that their lives would constantly be in danger from the hungry predatory poor. All the…” quote by Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03b/paul-theroux-913_britain_i-said-i-didn-t-think-it-would-be-a-coll_1654546.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03b/paul-theroux-913_britain_i-said-i-didn-t-think-it-would-be-a-coll_1654546.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03b/paul-theroux-913_britain_i-said-i-didn-t-think-it-would-be-a-coll_1654546.jpg) > “I said I didn't think it would be a collectivist state so much as a wilderness in which most people lived hand to mouth, and the rich would live like princes - better than the rich had ever lived, except that their lives would constantly be in danger from the hungry predatory poor. All the technology would serve the rich, but they would need it for their own protection and to assure their continued prosperity.” [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A dystopian vision where wealth protects the elite while the poor become dangerous predators, highlighting inequality and the perils of technology serving only the rich. **In simple terms:** Rich protected, poor predatory, tech serves elite Key Takeaway Recognize how inequality can corrupt technology use. Themes inequality technology power survival class conflict Mood cautious critical reflective Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - Political analysis - economic policy - urban planning - social activism Key Concepts Social stratification resource allocation security dilemmas Questions to Reflect On - How does wealth shape technological priorities? - What safeguards could prevent elite‑only tech? A Different Perspective Technology alone cannot solve systemic poverty. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Britain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/britain/) [Class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/class/) [Collectivist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collectivist-690948/) [Collectivist State](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collectivist-state-690945/) [Danger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/danger/) [Eighties](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/eighties/) [England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/england/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Hungry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hungry/) [Mouths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mouths/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Needs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needs/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor/) [Predatory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predatory/) [Predatory Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/predatory-poor-690947/) [Prosperity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prosperity/) [Protection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protection/) [Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich/) [Rich Need](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-need-690946/) [Said](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/said/) [Society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society/) [States](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/states/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Think Collectivist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/think-collectivist-690944/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Wilderness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wilderness/) [Would be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/would-be/) ## Related quotes > [The wealth of the country, its capital, its credit, must be saved from the predatory poor as well as the predatory rich, but above…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-j-hill/the-wealth-of-the-country-its-capital-its-credit-must-be-saved-from/) [James J. Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-j-hill/) > [You are rich... when you never need more than what you have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikhil-saluja/you-are-rich-when-you-never-need-more-than-what-you-have/) [Nikhil Saluja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikhil-saluja/) > [People say to me. 'What about the rich?' They need Jesus too.' Well, that's fine if you're called to them, but we're called to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-pullinger/people-say-to-me-what-about-the-rich-they-need-jesus-too-well-that-s/) [Jackie Pullinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-pullinger/) > [“The poor have nothing and the rich need nothing, and if you eat nothing, you will die.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-woods/the-poor-have-nothing-and-the-rich-need-nothing-and-if-you-eat/) [Adrienne Woods](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-woods/) > [“If you want to be rich, you need to be financially literate.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-t-kiyosaki/if-you-want-to-be-rich-you-need-to-be-financially-literate/) [Robert T. Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-t-kiyosaki/) > [Being Beautiful is not the only way to be rich, You only need to be hard working, smart enough to decide and plan ,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-alapan/being-beautiful-is-not-the-only-way-to-be-rich-you-only-need-to-be/) [Mitch Alapan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-alapan/) > [He that is rich need not live sparingly, and he that can live sparingly need not be rich.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/he-that-is-rich-need-not-live-sparingly-and-he-that-can-live/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [There are two ways to be rich: to have more or need less. It's estimated that we squander about 30 percent of our energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-nye/there-are-two-ways-to-be-rich-to-have-more-or-need-less-it-s/) [Bill Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-nye/) > [“To become a filthy rich, first you need to be filthy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-f-moonzajer/to-become-a-filthy-rich-first-you-need-to-be-filthy/) [M.F. Moonzajer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-f-moonzajer/) > [“No matter how rich you are; you still only need one good toaster in the morning to get going.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-nolan/no-matter-how-rich-you-are-you-still-only-need-one-good-toaster-in/) [Brendan Nolan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-nolan/) > [If you want to be rich, you need to develop your vision. You must be standing on the edge of time gazing into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/if-you-want-to-be-rich-you-need-to-develop-your-vision-you-must-be/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) > [What the poor need is not charity but capital, not caseworkers but coworkers. And what the rich need is a wise, honorable and just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clarence-jordan/what-the-poor-need-is-not-charity-but-capital-not-caseworkers-but/) [Clarence Jordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clarence-jordan/) > [That's one of the nice things. I mean, part of the beauty of me is that I'm very rich. So if I need $600…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/that-s-one-of-the-nice-things-i-mean-part-of-the-beauty-of-me-is-that/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [If we want the whole world to be rich, we need to start loving wealth. In the difference between poverty and plenty, the problem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/if-we-want-the-whole-world-to-be-rich-we-need-to-start-loving-wealth/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [“The fact is that people who work the hardest do not wind up rich. If you want to be rich, you need to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-fact-is-that-people-who-work-the-hardest-do-not-wind-up-rich-if/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Paul Theroux > [I feel as if my mission is to write, to see, to observe, and I feel lazy if I'm not reaching conclusions. I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/i-feel-as-if-my-mission-is-to-write-to-see-to-observe-and-i-feel-lazy/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [The larger an English industry was, the more likely it was to go bankrupt, because the English were not naturally corporate people; they disliked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-larger-an-english-industry-was-the-more-likely-it-was-to-go/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Maine out of season is unmistakably a great destination: hospitable, good-humored, plenty of elbow room, short days, dark nights of crackling ice crystals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/maine-out-of-season-is-unmistakably-a-great-destination-hospitable/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [You can't write about a friend, you can only write about a former friend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/you-can-t-write-about-a-friend-you-can-only-write-about-a-former/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [“sightseeing, an activity that delights the truly idle because it seems so much like scholarship, gawping and eavesdropping on antiquity, flattering oneself with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/sightseeing-an-activity-that-delights-the-truly-idle-because-it-seems/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [The Australian Book of Etiquette is a very slim volume.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-australian-book-of-etiquette-is-a-very-slim-volume/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Tourists who go to Africa have more of a traditional experience than Africans do. A tourist goes on safari; Africans don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/tourists-who-go-to-africa-have-more-of-a-traditional-experience-than/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [In a way, Che Guevara's fate was far worse than Simon Bolivar's. Guevara's collapse was complete: his intentions were forgotten, but his style was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/in-a-way-che-guevara-s-fate-was-far-worse-than-simon-bolivar-s/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [It is the simplest fact of Indian life: there are too many Indians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/it-is-the-simplest-fact-of-indian-life-there-are-too-many-indians/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Pain does not create a long-lasting memory, but the memory of luxury exerts itself for ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/pain-does-not-create-a-long-lasting-memory-but-the-memory-of-luxury/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [When I began to make some money, I really wanted to have a home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/when-i-began-to-make-some-money-i-really-wanted-to-have-a-home/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [Men in their late 50s often make very bad decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/men-in-their-late-50s-often-make-very-bad-decisions/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [The wish to disappear sends many travelers away. If you are thoroughly sick of being kept waiting at home or at work, travel is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-wish-to-disappear-sends-many-travelers-away-if-you-are-thoroughly/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [To a lot of Africans, seeing an animal is a something of a rarity. So it's a paradox of this sort of parallel life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/to-a-lot-of-africans-seeing-an-animal-is-a-something-of-a-rarity-so/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [The wish to travel seems to me characteristically human: the desire to move, to satisfy your curiosity or ease your fears, to change the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-wish-to-travel-seems-to-me-characteristically-human-the-desire-to/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) [Explore all 328 Paul Theroux quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) ## More Britain quotes > [We can find common qualities and common values that have made Britain the country it is. Our belief in tolerance and liberty which shines…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-brown/we-can-find-common-qualities-and-common-values-that-have-made-britain/) [Gordon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-brown/) > [In Britain, the press want to kill a show by revealing what's coming up and spoiling the pleasure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-bonneville/in-britain-the-press-want-to-kill-a-show-by-revealing-what-s-coming/) [Hugh Bonneville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-bonneville/) > [If we don't like modern Britain, then it is very unlikely that modern Britain will like us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damian-green/if-we-don-t-like-modern-britain-then-it-is-very-unlikely-that-modern/) [Damian Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damian-green/) > [It is time Britain put its trust back into the Labour Party. I believe I am the candidate that can make this happen precisely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-abbott/it-is-time-britain-put-its-trust-back-into-the-labour-party-i-believe/) [Diane Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-abbott/) > [Britain has the IRA and no one cancels concerts there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-osbourne/britain-has-the-ira-and-no-one-cancels-concerts-there/) [Sharon Osbourne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-osbourne/) > [The establishment in Britain is certainly against the arts and against education. If something doesn't make a profit, it's invalid, and art doesn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maxwell-davies/the-establishment-in-britain-is-certainly-against-the-arts-and/) [Peter Maxwell Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maxwell-davies/) > [We from every religion feel comfortable in Britain because there is a host. The Church of England is a good host, it has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/we-from-every-religion-feel-comfortable-in-britain-because-there-is-a/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) > [The larger an English industry was, the more likely it was to go bankrupt, because the English were not naturally corporate people; they disliked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-theroux/the-larger-an-english-industry-was-the-more-likely-it-was-to-go/) [Paul Theroux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-theroux/) > [I think the first person to call me 'Britain's Obama' was Martin Bright at the New Statesman. Harriet Harman made the comparison once at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuka-umunna/i-think-the-first-person-to-call-me-britain-s-obama-was-martin-bright/) [Chuka Umunna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuka-umunna/) > [I am the last of Britain's stately homos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/quentin-crisp/i-am-the-last-of-britain-s-stately-homos/) [Quentin Crisp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/quentin-crisp/) > [ As for whether what happened in Britain improves\[Donald\] Trump's chances of winning, I don't think so. He has the same chances; we may just… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-michael-cillizza/as-for-whether-what-happened-in-britain-improves-donald-trump-s/) [Christopher Michael Cillizza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-michael-cillizza/) > [Britain, like other European states, is not and never will again be in the top-world-power league, so its male leaders can afford to play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-colley/britain-like-other-european-states-is-not-and-never-will-again-be-in/) [Linda Colley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-colley/) > [When you go away, you see where you come from in a different light. I see Scotland, and the rest of Britain, as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvine-welsh/when-you-go-away-you-see-where-you-come-from-in-a-different-light-i/) [Irvine Welsh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvine-welsh/) > [It was very hard breaking into the film industry in Britain. I had been to art school, and I was painting and doing commercials.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-scott/it-was-very-hard-breaking-into-the-film-industry-in-britain-i-had/) [Tony Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-scott/) > [Germany has always stood for an E.U. of the 27 countries. But in light of Britain's continued resistance to further integration steps, as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-schauble/germany-has-always-stood-for-an-e-u-of-the-27-countries-but-in-light/) [Wolfgang Schauble](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-schauble/) [Browse all 1,648 Britain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/britain/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I said I didn't think it would be a collectivist state so much as a wilderness in which most people lived hand to mouth, and the rich would live like princes - better than the rich had ever lived, except that their lives would constantly be in danger from the hungry predatory poor. 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