---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They're both plutocracies, rule by the…"
description: "\"“They're both plutocracies, rule by the rich. If they had won, all they'd have thought about was making more money, the upper class. Abendsen, he's wro..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7f/philip-k-dick-502_alternative-history_they-re-both-plutocracies-rule-by-the-ri_1919243.jpg"
---

#  They're both plutocracies, rule by the rich. If they had…

![“They're both plutocracies, rule by the rich. If they had won, all they'd have thought about was making more money, the upper class. Abendsen, he's wrong; there would be no social reform, no welfare public works plans - the Anglo-Saxon plutocrats wouldn't have permitted it.” quote by Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7f/philip-k-dick-502_alternative-history_they-re-both-plutocracies-rule-by-the-ri_1919243.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7f/philip-k-dick-502_alternative-history_they-re-both-plutocracies-rule-by-the-ri_1919243.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7f/philip-k-dick-502_alternative-history_they-re-both-plutocracies-rule-by-the-ri_1919243.jpg)

> ““They're both plutocracies, rule by the rich. If they had won, all they'd have thought about was making more money, the upper class. Abendsen, he's wrong; there would be no social reform, no welfare public works plans - the Anglo-Saxon plutocrats wouldn't have permitted it.””

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A critique of societies ruled solely by wealth, warning that such rule blocks social progress and public welfare.

**In simple terms:** Rich rule blocks reforms.

Key Takeaway

Beware wealth‑driven governance.

Themes

politics economics social justice

Mood

cautious critical

Type

political social commentary

When to use this quote

- government policy
- urban planning
- social welfare design
- economic reform

Key Concepts

plutocracy public policy inequality

Questions to Reflect On

- How would you ensure reforms under a plutocratic system?
- What safeguards can prevent wealth from dominating policy?

A Different Perspective

Wealthy elites may still support limited reforms if pressured.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Abendsen Wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/abendsen-wrong-2937605/) [Alternative-history](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alternative-history-6788/) [Classism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classism/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Plutocracies Rule](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plutocracies-rule-2937606/) [Plutocracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plutocracy/) [Plutocrats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plutocrats-655771/) [Plutocrats Wouldn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plutocrats-wouldn-2937603/) [Saxon Plutocrats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saxon-plutocrats-2937604/) [Science fiction](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/science-fiction/) [Social reform](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-reform/) [Upper class](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upper-class/)

## Related quotes

> [“What is more precious: a thousand answers derived from one question? Or, one answer…from a thousand questions?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-f-smith/what-is-more-precious-a-thousand-answers-derived-from-one-question-or/)

[G. F. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-f-smith/)

> [“There will never be slaves in Britain,' Godalming continued, 'but those who stay warm will naturally serve us, as the excellent Bessie has just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/there-will-never-be-slaves-in-britain-godalming-continued-but-those/)

[Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/)

> [“Written twenty years after she held office, this abridged biography is being released now, prior to taking place. Maybe we can learn from history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-omeara/written-twenty-years-after-she-held-office-this-abridged-biography-is/)

[Nancy Omeara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-omeara/)

> [“Having to accept hominoids as real will require having to acknowledge that the prehuman fossil record is comprised entirely of their bones, rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-pye/having-to-accept-hominoids-as-real-will-require-having-to-acknowledge/)

[Lloyd Pye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-pye/)

> [“Future Politics Effecting change in national politics was mostly a matter of making better use of online forums, encouraging voters to press forth with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-omeara/future-politics-effecting-change-in-national-politics-was-mostly-a/)

[Nancy Omeara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-omeara/)

> [The fundamental weakness in the Tea Party machine is the stark difference between what the leaders of the Tea Party elite - plutocrats like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-schumer/the-fundamental-weakness-in-the-tea-party-machine-is-the-stark/)

[Chuck Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-schumer/)

> [The irony of the political rise of the plutocrats is that, like Venice's oligarchs, they threaten the system that created them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/the-irony-of-the-political-rise-of-the-plutocrats-is-that-like-venice/)

[Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/)

> [Plutocrats were the chief beneficiaries of so-called neoliberalism and the suite of political changes it brought beginning in the late 1970s - deregulation, weaker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/plutocrats-were-the-chief-beneficiaries-of-so-called-neoliberalism/)

[Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/)

> [Plutocrats worldwide have readily understood the advantages of evading the burdens of the nation-state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/plutocrats-worldwide-have-readily-understood-the-advantages-of/)

[Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/)

> [This notion that borders wouldn't matter, that we would have commonality of interests around the world. Well, guess who got there first? The plutocrats.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chrystia-freeland/this-notion-that-borders-wouldn-t-matter-that-we-would-have/)

[Chrystia Freeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chrystia-freeland/)

> [Now, it’s true that some of the protesters are oddly dressed or have silly-sounding slogans, which is inevitable given the open character of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-krugman/now-it-s-true-that-some-of-the-protesters-are-oddly-dressed-or-have/)

[Paul Krugman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-krugman/)

> [Every president needs to deal with the permanent government of the country, and the permanent government of the country is Wall Street oligarchs and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/every-president-needs-to-deal-with-the-permanent-government-of-the/)

[Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/)

> [We're learning lessons from Africa. And the lesson that we need to learn is, how do we straighten our backs up in the face…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/we-re-learning-lessons-from-africa-and-the-lesson-that-we-need-to/)

[Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/)

## More by Philip K. Dick

> [So we and our elaborately evolving computers may meet each other halfway. Someday a human being, named perhaps Fred White, may shoot a robot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/so-we-and-our-elaborately-evolving-computers-may-meet-each-other/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [Even if all life on our planet is destroyed, there must be other life somewhere which we know nothing of. It is impossible that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/even-if-all-life-on-our-planet-is-destroyed-there-must-be-other-life/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [“That is not how you do it; you do not solve one problem with another, greater problem.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/that-is-not-how-you-do-it-you-do-not-solve-one-problem-with-another/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [For each person there is a sentence—a series of words—which has the power to destroy them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/for-each-person-there-is-a-sentence-a-series-of-words-which-has-the/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [I want to write about people I love, and put them into a fictional world spun out of my own mind, not the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/i-want-to-write-about-people-i-love-and-put-them-into-a-fictional/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [Why does a man cry? he wondered. Not like a woman; not for that. Not for sentiment. A man cries over the loss of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/why-does-a-man-cry-he-wondered-not-like-a-woman-not-for-that-not-for/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [The day came. The wrath descended. Sin, guilt, and retribution? The manic psychoses of those entities we referred to as states, institutions, systems -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-day-came-the-wrath-descended-sin-guilt-and-retribution-the-manic/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [The church of my choice is the free, open world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/the-church-of-my-choice-is-the-free-open-world/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [“I see,' Rick said. He felt numb. Completely. Throughout his entire body.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/i-see-rick-said-he-felt-numb-completely-throughout-his-entire-body/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [“What is identity? he asked himself. Where does the act end? Nobody knows.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/what-is-identity-he-asked-himself-where-does-the-act-end-nobody-knows/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [You're killing yourself with cynicism. Your idols got taken away from you one by one and now you have nothing to give your love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/you-re-killing-yourself-with-cynicism-your-idols-got-taken-away-from/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [What scared me the most was when my father would put on the gasmask. His face would disappear... This was not a human being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/what-scared-me-the-most-was-when-my-father-would-put-on-the-gasmask/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [“A man is an angel that has become deranged, Joe Fernwright thought. Once they – all of them – had been genuine angels, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/a-man-is-an-angel-that-has-become-deranged-joe-fernwright-thought/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [“When do I see a photograph, when a reflection?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/when-do-i-see-a-photograph-when-a-reflection/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

> [My major preoccupation is the question, 'What is reality?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/my-major-preoccupation-is-the-question-what-is-reality/)

[Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

[Explore all 489 Philip K. Dick quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/)

## More Alternative-history quotes

> [“There will never be slaves in Britain,' Godalming continued, 'but those who stay warm will naturally serve us, as the excellent Bessie has just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-newman/there-will-never-be-slaves-in-britain-godalming-continued-but-those/)

[Kim Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-newman/)

> [“Having to accept hominoids as real will require having to acknowledge that the prehuman fossil record is comprised entirely of their bones, rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lloyd-pye/having-to-accept-hominoids-as-real-will-require-having-to-acknowledge/)

[Lloyd Pye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lloyd-pye/)

> [“Future Politics Effecting change in national politics was mostly a matter of making better use of online forums, encouraging voters to press forth with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-omeara/future-politics-effecting-change-in-national-politics-was-mostly-a/)

[Nancy Omeara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-omeara/)

> [“Written twenty years after she held office, this abridged biography is being released now, prior to taking place. Maybe we can learn from history…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-omeara/written-twenty-years-after-she-held-office-this-abridged-biography-is/)

[Nancy Omeara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-omeara/)

> [“What is more precious: a thousand answers derived from one question? Or, one answer…from a thousand questions?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-f-smith/what-is-more-precious-a-thousand-answers-derived-from-one-question-or/)

[G. F. Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-f-smith/)

[Browse all 6 Alternative-history quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alternative-history-6788/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“They're both plutocracies, rule by the rich. If they had won, all they'd have thought about was making more money, the upper class. Abendsen, he's wrong; there would be no social reform, no welfare public works plans - the Anglo-Saxon plutocrats wouldn't have permitted it.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Philip K. Dick"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/they-re-both-plutocracies-rule-by-the-rich-if-they-had-won-all-they-d/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Alternative-history"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/they-re-both-plutocracies-rule-by-the-rich-if-they-had-won-all-they-d/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7f/philip-k-dick-502_alternative-history_they-re-both-plutocracies-rule-by-the-ri_1919243.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7f/philip-k-dick-502_alternative-history_they-re-both-plutocracies-rule-by-the-ri_1919243.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a7f/philip-k-dick-502_alternative-history_they-re-both-plutocracies-rule-by-the-ri_1919243.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“They're both plutocracies, rule by the rich. If they had won, all they'd have thought about was making more…” — Philip K. Dick",
                "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": "Philip K. Dick",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“They're both plutocracies, rule by the...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/they-re-both-plutocracies-rule-by-the-rich-if-they-had-won-all-they-d/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/they-re-both-plutocracies-rule-by-the-rich-if-they-had-won-all-they-d/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
