--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The world would be better off if people…" description: "\"The world would be better off if people tried to become better. And people would become better if they stopped trying to become better off. For when ev..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5c/peter-maurin-37750_becoming_the-world-would-be-better-off-if-people_452635.jpg" --- # The world would be better off if people tried to become… ![“The world would be better off if people tried to become better. And people would become better if they stopped trying to become better off. For when everybody tries to become better off, nobody is better off. But when everybody tries to become better, everybody is better off.” quote by Peter Maurin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5c/peter-maurin-37750_becoming_the-world-would-be-better-off-if-people_452635.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5c/peter-maurin-37750_becoming_the-world-would-be-better-off-if-people_452635.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5c/peter-maurin-37750_becoming_the-world-would-be-better-off-if-people_452635.jpg) > “The world would be better off if people tried to become better. And people would become better if they stopped trying to become better off. For when everybody tries to become better off, nobody is better off. But when everybody tries to become better, everybody is better off.” [Peter Maurin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maurin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Improving oneself benefits society more than seeking personal gain; collective self‑improvement lifts everyone. **In simple terms:** Self‑improvement helps all. Key Takeaway Focus on personal growth. Themes ethics community self‑improvement Mood thoughtful inspirational Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - social activism - personal development - education - policy making Key Concepts collectivism humanism Questions to Reflect On - How can personal growth address systemic issues? - What barriers prevent people from focusing on self‑improvement? A Different Perspective It may ignore structural inequalities that limit improvement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Catholic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholic/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Self improvement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/self-improvement/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [The world would be better off if people tried to become better, And people would become better if they stopped trying to be better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maurin/the-world-would-be-better-off-if-people-tried-to-become-better-and-2/) [Peter Maurin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maurin/) > [The world would become better off If people tried to become better. And people would become better If they stopped trying to become better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maurin/the-world-would-become-better-off-if-people-tried-to-become-better/) [Peter Maurin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maurin/) > [American exceptionalism, in the broad sense, is not a bunch of braggadocious words people say, "Yeah, we're better people. We have a better country.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/american-exceptionalism-in-the-broad-sense-is-not-a-bunch-of/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [Two people are better than one. When two people work together, they get more work done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuel-plove/two-people-are-better-than-one-when-two-people-work-together-they-get/) [Emmanuel Plove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuel-plove/) > [If people let other people alone, people would be better off. It's always people that screw things up for people anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nora-roberts/if-people-let-other-people-alone-people-would-be-better-off-it-s/) [Nora Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nora-roberts/) > [Management is the opportunity to help people become better people. Practiced that way, it's a magnificent profession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/management-is-the-opportunity-to-help-people-become-better-people/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The Internet is an excellent invention for people with nothing better to do, and people with something better to do who nonetheless don't want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-sledz/the-internet-is-an-excellent-invention-for-people-with-nothing-better/) Amanda Sledz > [We are working to help people become better people; then this will become a better world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-burrows/we-are-working-to-help-people-become-better-people-then-this-will/) [Eva Burrows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-burrows/) > [There is one thing you have got to learn about our movement. Three people are better than no people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/there-is-one-thing-you-have-got-to-learn-about-our-movement-three/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [“I took another road, past the old sugar works and the water wheel that had not turned for years. I went to parts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-rhys/i-took-another-road-past-the-old-sugar-works-and-the-water-wheel-that/) [Jean Rhys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-rhys/) > [We find as our interdependence increases that, on the whole, we do better when other people do better as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/we-find-as-our-interdependence-increases-that-on-the-whole-we-do/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [What kind of people would be able to rationalize better than other people? Better storytellers, right? Creative people, right? Because if you're creative, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-ariely/what-kind-of-people-would-be-able-to-rationalize-better-than-other/) [Dan Ariely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-ariely/) > [Remember in life. People may be better than you. People may be worse than you. But noone as you, stay special. ^\_^](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldyna-threesya/remember-in-life-people-may-be-better-than-you-people-may-be-worse/) [Aldyna Threesya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldyna-threesya/) > [“The only people who get better are people who know that, if they never get better, God will love them anyway.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-brown/the-only-people-who-get-better-are-people-who-know-that-if-they-never/) [Steve Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-brown/) > [There's not a system better than another. There are some people better than others. I'm not anti-democracy, but there's no real system yet that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-lepage/there-s-not-a-system-better-than-another-there-are-some-people-better/) [Robert Lepage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-lepage/) ## More by Peter Maurin > [In the first centuries of Christianity the hungry were fed at a personal sacrifice, the naked were clothed at a personal sacrifice, the homeless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maurin/in-the-first-centuries-of-christianity-the-hungry-were-fed-at-a/) [Peter Maurin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maurin/) > [The world would become better off If people tried to become better. And people would become better If they stopped trying to become better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maurin/the-world-would-become-better-off-if-people-tried-to-become-better/) [Peter Maurin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maurin/) > [If we are crazy, then it is because we refuse to be crazy in the same way that the world has gone crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maurin/if-we-are-crazy-then-it-is-because-we-refuse-to-be-crazy-in-the-same/) [Peter Maurin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maurin/) > [The future will be different if we make the present different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maurin/the-future-will-be-different-if-we-make-the-present-different/) [Peter Maurin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maurin/) > [I want a change, and a radical change. I want a change from an acquisitive society to a functional society, from a society of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maurin/i-want-a-change-and-a-radical-change-i-want-a-change-from-an/) [Peter Maurin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maurin/) > [“Modern society calls the beggar bum and panhandler and gives him the bum's rush. But the Greeks used to say that people in need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maurin/modern-society-calls-the-beggar-bum-and-panhandler-and-gives-him-the/) [Peter Maurin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maurin/) > [The scholars must become workers so the workers may be scholars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maurin/the-scholars-must-become-workers-so-the-workers-may-be-scholars/) [Peter Maurin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maurin/) > [The world would be better off if people tried to become better, And people would become better if they stopped trying to be better…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maurin/the-world-would-be-better-off-if-people-tried-to-become-better-and-2/) [Peter Maurin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maurin/) > [In the Catholic Worker we must try to have the voluntary poverty of St. Francis, the charity of St. Vincent de Paul, the intellectual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maurin/in-the-catholic-worker-we-must-try-to-have-the-voluntary-poverty-of/) [Peter Maurin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maurin/) > [The coat that hangs in your closet belongs to the poor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maurin/the-coat-that-hangs-in-your-closet-belongs-to-the-poor/) [Peter Maurin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maurin/) > [What we give to the poor for Christ's sake, is what we carry with us when we die.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-maurin/what-we-give-to-the-poor-for-christ-s-sake-is-what-we-carry-with-us/) [Peter Maurin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maurin/) [Explore all 12 Peter Maurin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-maurin/) ## More Becoming quotes > [Focus on becoming more to achieve more while doing less](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-elrod/focus-on-becoming-more-to-achieve-more-while-doing-less/) [Hal Elrod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-elrod/) > [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/) Jennifer Siebel Newsom > [But I already saw no great difference between the psyche and spirituality. To amass knowledge without becoming wise is not my idea of progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-scott-peck/but-i-already-saw-no-great-difference-between-the-psyche-and/) [M. Scott Peck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-scott-peck/) > [It's easy to say, let's go in and get the bad guys. But you have a divided country of Sunnis and Shias. The United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tulsi-gabbard/it-s-easy-to-say-let-s-go-in-and-get-the-bad-guys-but-you-have-a/) [Tulsi Gabbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tulsi-gabbard/) > [The path I choose through the maze makes me what I am. I am not only a thing, but also a way of being--one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-keyes/the-path-i-choose-through-the-maze-makes-me-what-i-am-i-am-not-only-a/) [Daniel Keyes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-keyes/) > [Becoming famous is a really shocking thing, especially when you don't have aspirations to it. It got to the point where I would try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-moyet/becoming-famous-is-a-really-shocking-thing-especially-when-you-don-t/) [Alison Moyet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-moyet/) > [When other boys dreamt of going to the moon or becoming doctors, I wanted to be a designer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-theyskens/when-other-boys-dreamt-of-going-to-the-moon-or-becoming-doctors-i/) [Olivier Theyskens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-theyskens/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [The dream of coming back is becoming a reality. A lot of the uncertainty about the future has been cleared up. A lot of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tagliabue/the-dream-of-coming-back-is-becoming-a-reality-a-lot-of-the/) [Paul Tagliabue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tagliabue/) > [I'm getting to a point where everything is becoming streamlined in my life. I'm learning how to stand onstage for two hours and play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mayer/i-m-getting-to-a-point-where-everything-is-becoming-streamlined-in-my/) [John Mayer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mayer/) > [The term 'Pre-Raphaelite' is in danger of becoming one of the most misused tags in art history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-wood/the-term-pre-raphaelite-is-in-danger-of-becoming-one-of-the-most/) Christopher Wood > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The reason so many of us are obsessed with becoming stars is because we are not yet starring in our own lives. The cosmic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-reason-so-many-of-us-are-obsessed-with-becoming-stars-is-because/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [In a personal way, to do with family and the father-son relationship, in a kind of artistic way with regard to him being an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-serkis/in-a-personal-way-to-do-with-family-and-the-father-son-relationship/) [Andy Serkis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-serkis/) > [Trying to be perfect may be inevitable for people who are smart and ambitious and interested in the world and its good opinion...What is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-quindlen/trying-to-be-perfect-may-be-inevitable-for-people-who-are-smart-and/) [Anna Quindlen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-quindlen/) Browse all 4,715 Becoming quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The world would be better off if people tried to become better. 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