--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Probably the most extreme form of…" description: "\"Probably the most extreme form of inequality is between people who are alive and people who are dead.\" — Peter Thiel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d62/peter-thiel-1311_alive_probably-the-most-extreme-form-of-inequa_1027435.png" --- # Probably the most extreme form of inequality is between… ![“Probably the most extreme form of inequality is between people who are alive and people who are dead.” quote by Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d62/peter-thiel-1311_alive_probably-the-most-extreme-form-of-inequa_1027435.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d62/peter-thiel-1311_alive_probably-the-most-extreme-form-of-inequa_1027435.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d62/peter-thiel-1311_alive_probably-the-most-extreme-form-of-inequa_1027435.png) > “Probably the most extreme form of inequality is between people who are alive and people who are dead.” [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Inequality is framed as a stark contrast between the living, who can act, and the dead, who cannot, emphasizing the ultimate final of mortality. **In simple terms:** It highlights the ultimate inequality: life versus death. Key Takeaway Consider the impact of mortality on fairness. Themes mortality inequality existence Mood reflective serious Type ethical philosophical When to use this quote - policy debates - historical analysis - personal reflection Key Concepts philosophy ethics social justice Questions to Reflect On - How does mortality shape our sense of justice? - Can we address inequality knowing life is finite? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Extremes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/extremes/) [Form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form/) [Form Inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/form-inequality-2327234/) [Inequality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality/) [Inequality People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inequality-people-943900/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-dead-364245/) [Probably Extreme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probably-extreme-2327233/) ## Related quotes > [I'm a very safe person, probably to the extreme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-wilson/i-m-a-very-safe-person-probably-to-the-extreme/) [Taylor Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-wilson/) > [Some people say we have this inequality because some people have been contributing much more to our society, and so it's fair that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-stiglitz/some-people-say-we-have-this-inequality-because-some-people-have-been/) [Joseph Stiglitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-stiglitz/) > [There is no off-roading to solve income inequality for people of color. They must have broadband.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-wiley/there-is-no-off-roading-to-solve-income-inequality-for-people-of/) [Maya Wiley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-wiley/) > [Being in a war situation is probably the most extreme situation for a human being to be in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boaz-lavie/being-in-a-war-situation-is-probably-the-most-extreme-situation-for-a/) [Boaz Lavie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boaz-lavie/) > [I think climate change is probably the most extreme, and it's been going on for years because it's very difficult to talk about a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-mccarthy/i-think-climate-change-is-probably-the-most-extreme-and-it-s-been/) [Gina McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-mccarthy/) > [Forty-two years after Dr. King was murdered, we are still a nation of inequality. People of color, women, gays, lesbians, and others are still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-l-francione/forty-two-years-after-dr-king-was-murdered-we-are-still-a-nation-of/) [Gary L. Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) > [The answer to the problem of inequality is for the people who are fortunate enough to either have been gifted or deserved more to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jordan-peterson/the-answer-to-the-problem-of-inequality-is-for-the-people-who-are/) [Jordan Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jordan-peterson/) > [Becoming involved in sports and traveling the world and seeing how people of color were treated around the world, and America being such a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carlos/becoming-involved-in-sports-and-traveling-the-world-and-seeing-how/) [John Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carlos/) > [People on left have to better understand what are the benefits of inequality, and people on right have to understand better what the dangers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-deaton/people-on-left-have-to-better-understand-what-are-the-benefits-of/) [Angus Deaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-deaton/) > [America has tolerated inequality because people think they can get ahead. If you have immobility on top of inequality, then people are not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-b-edsall/america-has-tolerated-inequality-because-people-think-they-can-get/) [Thomas B. Edsall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-b-edsall/) > [How can one not speak about war, poverty, and inequality when people who suffer from these afflictions don't have a voice to speak?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/isabel-allende/how-can-one-not-speak-about-war-poverty-and-inequality-when-people/) [Isabel Allende](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/isabel-allende/) > [When I find too many puzzles about the way explanations are given about why there is inequality - why people who work the hardest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vandana-shiva/when-i-find-too-many-puzzles-about-the-way-explanations-are-given/) [Vandana Shiva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vandana-shiva/) > [This is our world now, and those ancient people are dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/this-is-our-world-now-and-those-ancient-people-are-dead/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Out of the people that ever were, almost all of them are dead. There are way more dead people, and you're all gonna die…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-c-k/out-of-the-people-that-ever-were-almost-all-of-them-are-dead-there/) [Louis C. K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-c-k/) > [Most people are dead. Hitler. Ray Charles. Some other guys. But mostly those two.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/most-people-are-dead-hitler-ray-charles-some-other-guys-but-mostly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Peter Thiel > [People don't want to believe that technology is broken. Pharmaceuticals, robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology - all these areas where the progress has been a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/people-don-t-want-to-believe-that-technology-is-broken/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [If you think about basic science or coming up with new theories of mathematics, these are not the kinds of things which are necessarily…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/if-you-think-about-basic-science-or-coming-up-with-new-theories-of/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [I think we have a bubble in the US in government bonds, because of the quantitative easing and the negative real interest rates, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/i-think-we-have-a-bubble-in-the-us-in-government-bonds-because-of-the/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“Time and decision-making themselves follow a power law, and some moments matter far more than others”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/time-and-decision-making-themselves-follow-a-power-law-and-some/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“Today, we exaggerate the differences between left-liberal egalitarianism and libertarian individualism because almost everyone shares their common indefinite attitude. In philosophy, politics, and business,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/today-we-exaggerate-the-differences-between-left-liberal/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [When you already have $150 billion a year in revenues from the iPhone, it's very hard to come up with any new vertical that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/when-you-already-have-150-billion-a-year-in-revenues-from-the-iphone/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“CREATIVE MONOPOLY means new products that benefit everybody and sustainable profits for the creator. Competition means no profits for anybody, no meaningful differentiation, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/creative-monopoly-means-new-products-that-benefit-everybody-and/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“we have given up our sense of wonder at secrets left to be discovered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/we-have-given-up-our-sense-of-wonder-at-secrets-left-to-be-discovered/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“Today our society is permeated by the twin ideas that death is both inevitable and random.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/today-our-society-is-permeated-by-the-twin-ideas-that-death-is-both/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“if your company can be summed up by its opposition to already existing firms, it can’t be completely new and it’s probably not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/if-your-company-can-be-summed-up-by-its-opposition-to-already/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“Is a lukewarm attitude to one’s work a sign of mental health? Is a merely professional attitude the only sane approach?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/is-a-lukewarm-attitude-to-one-s-work-a-sign-of-mental-health-is-a/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [“If you’ve invented something new but you haven’t invented an effective way to sell it, you have a bad business—no matter how good the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/if-you-ve-invented-something-new-but-you-haven-t-invented-an/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [The business model piece is we're always talking about competing more effectively. If you're starting a company or career you don't want to compete.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/the-business-model-piece-is-we-re-always-talking-about-competing-more/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [If you invest in Microsoft or Oracle, or a number of other companies for that matter, you're fundamentally making a bet that there's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/if-you-invest-in-microsoft-or-oracle-or-a-number-of-other-companies/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) > [Our economy is broken. I'm not a politician, but neither is Donald Trump. He is a builder, and it's time to rebuild America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/our-economy-is-broken-i-m-not-a-politician-but-neither-is-donald/) [Peter Thiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) [Explore all 257 Peter Thiel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Probably the most extreme form of inequality is between people who are alive and people who are dead.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Thiel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/probably-the-most-extreme-form-of-inequality-is-between-people-who/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/probably-the-most-extreme-form-of-inequality-is-between-people-who/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d62/peter-thiel-1311_alive_probably-the-most-extreme-form-of-inequa_1027435.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d62/peter-thiel-1311_alive_probably-the-most-extreme-form-of-inequa_1027435.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d62/peter-thiel-1311_alive_probably-the-most-extreme-form-of-inequa_1027435.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Probably the most extreme form of inequality is between people who are alive and people who are dead.” — Peter Thiel", "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": "Peter Thiel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-thiel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Probably the most extreme form of...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/probably-the-most-extreme-form-of-inequality-is-between-people-who/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-thiel/probably-the-most-extreme-form-of-inequality-is-between-people-who/#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 } } ] } ```