--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Even if we act to erase material poverty…" description: "\"“Even if we act to erase material poverty, there is another greater task, it is to confront the poverty of satisfaction - purpose and dignity - that af..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/robert-f-kennedy-29776_air-pollution_even-if-we-act-to-erase-material-poverty_942388.jpg" --- # Even if we act to erase material poverty, there is another… ![“Even if we act to erase material poverty, there is another greater task, it is to confront the poverty of satisfaction - purpose and dignity - that afflicts us all. Too much and for too long, we seemed to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of…” quote by Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/robert-f-kennedy-29776_air-pollution_even-if-we-act-to-erase-material-poverty_942388.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/robert-f-kennedy-29776_air-pollution_even-if-we-act-to-erase-material-poverty_942388.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/aca/robert-f-kennedy-29776_air-pollution_even-if-we-act-to-erase-material-poverty_942388.jpg) > ““Even if we act to erase material poverty, there is another greater task, it is to confront the poverty of satisfaction - purpose and dignity - that afflicts us all. Too much and for too long, we seemed to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our Gross National Product, now, is over $800 billion dollars a year, but that Gross National Product - if we judge the United States of America by that - that Gross National Product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of the redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and counts nuclear warheads and armored cars for the police to fight the riots in our cities. It counts Whitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children. Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it can tell us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans. If this is true here at home, so it is true elsewhere in world.”” [Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. True wealth includes purpose, dignity, and community, not just material output measured by GDP. **In simple terms:** Life’s value exceeds economic numbers. Key Takeaway Prioritize purpose over profit. Themes values economics social justice Mood reflective urgent Type political philosophical When to use this quote - policy making - community building - education reform Key Concepts human development environmental ethics Questions to Reflect On - How can societies measure well‑being beyond GDP? - What steps can individuals take to foster dignity? A Different Perspective Economic metrics still dominate decision‑making. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Air pollution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air-pollution/) [Material things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/material-things/) [Nuclear war](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuclear-war/) [Personal excellence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/personal-excellence/) [Respect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respect/) [United states of america](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/united-states-of-america/) ## Related quotes > [“Even if we act to erase material poverty, there is another greater task; it is to confront the poverty of satisfaction – purpose and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nic-marks/even-if-we-act-to-erase-material-poverty-there-is-another-greater/) [Nic Marks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nic-marks/) > [“Even if we act to erase material poverty, there is another greater task; it is to confront the poverty of satisfaction – purpose and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nic-marks/even-if-we-act-to-erase-material-poverty-there-is-another-greater-3/) [Nic Marks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nic-marks/) > [In imitation of our Master, we Christians are called to confront the poverty of our brothers and sisters, to touch it, to make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/in-imitation-of-our-master-we-christians-are-called-to-confront-the/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [Life is a frail and transitory thing, but it has been given a higher purpose and dignity through the revelation of God's Teaching to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-hertz/life-is-a-frail-and-transitory-thing-but-it-has-been-given-a-higher/) [Joseph Hertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-hertz/) > [“... they all have a place and purpose of their own. They have their own dignity and their own destinies to fulfill, in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-pacelle/they-all-have-a-place-and-purpose-of-their-own-they-have-their-own/) [Wayne Pacelle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-pacelle/) > [Possession of material riches, without inner peace, is like dying of thirst while bathing in a lake. If material poverty is to be avoided,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/possession-of-material-riches-without-inner-peace-is-like-dying-of/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [There is no worse material poverty than one that does not allow for earning one’s bread and deprives one of the dignity of work.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/there-is-no-worse-material-poverty-than-one-that-does-not-allow-for/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [On certain continents poverty is more spiritual than material, a poverty that consists of loneliness, discouragement, and the lack of meaning in life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-teresa/on-certain-continents-poverty-is-more-spiritual-than-material-a/) [Mother Teresa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mother-teresa/) > [It was with the Industrial Revolution, as society plunged ever more eagerly into the conquest of material riches and bent all its energies to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/it-was-with-the-industrial-revolution-as-society-plunged-ever-more/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [There is no worse material poverty, I am keen to stress, than the poverty which prevents people from earning their bread and deprives them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/there-is-no-worse-material-poverty-i-am-keen-to-stress-than-the/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [How many kinds of moral and material poverty we face today as a result of denying God and putting so many idols in his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/how-many-kinds-of-moral-and-material-poverty-we-face-today-as-a/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“Robert F. Kennedy in 1968: Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arianna-huffington/robert-f-kennedy-in-1968-too-much-and-too-long-we-seem-to-have/) [Arianna Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arianna-huffington/) > [Personal excellence can be achieved by a visionary goal, through planning, dedicated execution, and total follow-through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerald-r-ford/personal-excellence-can-be-achieved-by-a-visionary-goal-through/) [Gerald R. Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerald-r-ford/) > [“one could not attain greater personal excellence without also paving the way for everyone else in society to attain it as well.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-phillips/one-could-not-attain-greater-personal-excellence-without-also-paving/) [Christopher Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-phillips/) > [“Being mindful of your body movement, facial expressions, voice tone, gestures, orientation, postures, and touch will help you project personal excellence for transforming your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/being-mindful-of-your-body-movement-facial-expressions-voice-tone/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) ## More by Robert F. Kennedy > [“the President was deciding, for the U.S., the Soviet Union, Turkey, NATO, and really for all mankind….”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy/the-president-was-deciding-for-the-u-s-the-soviet-union-turkey-nato/) [Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) > [“First is the danger of futility; the belief there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy/first-is-the-danger-of-futility-the-belief-there-is-nothing-one-man/) [Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) > [“A revolution is coming – a revolution which will be peaceful if we are wise enough; compassionate if we care enough; successful if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy/a-revolution-is-coming-a-revolution-which-will-be-peaceful-if-we-are/) [Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) > [“Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy/few-will-have-the-greatness-to-bend-history-itself-but-each-of-us-can/) [Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) > [“Our goal is not the victory of might but the vindication of right—not peace at the expense of freedom, but both peace and freedom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy/our-goal-is-not-the-victory-of-might-but-the-vindication-of-right-not/) [Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) > [“Change has it's enemies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy/change-has-it-s-enemies/) [Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) > [“But we can perhaps remember, if only for a time, that those who live with us are our brothers, that they share with us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy/but-we-can-perhaps-remember-if-only-for-a-time-that-those-who-live/) [Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) > [“That was the beginning of the Cuban missile crisis—a confrontation between the two giant atomic nations, the U.S. and the U.S.S.R., which brought the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy/that-was-the-beginning-of-the-cuban-missile-crisis-a-confrontation/) [Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) > [“The responsibility of our time is nothing less than a revolution. A revolution that would be peaceful if we are wise enough; humane if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy/the-responsibility-of-our-time-is-nothing-less-than-a-revolution-a/) [Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) > [“But the greatest danger of all would be to do nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy/but-the-greatest-danger-of-all-would-be-to-do-nothing/) [Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) > [“What my father said about businessmen applies to liberals ... They're sons of bitches. The people who are selfish are interested in their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy/what-my-father-said-about-businessmen-applies-to-liberals-they-re/) [Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) > [“I did not lie awake at night worrying about the problems of Negroes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy/i-did-not-lie-awake-at-night-worrying-about-the-problems-of-negroes/) [Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) > [“We can move in that direction as a country, in greater polarization - black people amongst blacks, and white amongst whites, filled with hatred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy/we-can-move-in-that-direction-as-a-country-in-greater-polarization/) [Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) > [“We must admit the vanity of our false distinctions among men and learn to find our own advancement in the search for the advancement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy/we-must-admit-the-vanity-of-our-false-distinctions-among-men-and/) [Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) > [“The future will be shaped by those willing to commit their minds and their bodies to the task.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-f-kennedy/the-future-will-be-shaped-by-those-willing-to-commit-their-minds-and/) [Robert F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) [Explore all 17 Robert F. Kennedy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-f-kennedy/) ## More Air pollution quotes > [Transportation is responsible for half of our state's air pollution, and many suffer as a result. Children are more likely to develop respiratory illnesses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-padilla/transportation-is-responsible-for-half-of-our-state-s-air-pollution/) [Alex Padilla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-padilla/) > [Air pollution puts people at higher risks for cancer, heart disease, and premature death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruben-gallego/air-pollution-puts-people-at-higher-risks-for-cancer-heart-disease/) [Ruben Gallego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruben-gallego/) > [Air pollution is my biggest concern right now. Maybe because I live in Beijing, and in this city we have such severe challenges due…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-bingbing/air-pollution-is-my-biggest-concern-right-now-maybe-because-i-live-in/) [Li Bingbing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-bingbing/) > [You go into a community and they will vote 80 percent to 20 percent in favor of a tougher Clean Air Act, but if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ruckelshaus/you-go-into-a-community-and-they-will-vote-80-percent-to-20-percent/) [William Ruckelshaus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ruckelshaus/) > [In my home state of Delaware, we've done our homework and worked hard and, as a result, we've made great strides in cleaning up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/in-my-home-state-of-delaware-we-ve-done-our-homework-and-worked-hard/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For some time I watch the coming of the night? Above is the glistening galaxy of childhood, now hidden in the Western world by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-matthiessen/for-some-time-i-watch-the-coming-of-the-night-above-is-the-glistening/) [Peter Matthiessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-matthiessen/) > [Nowadays a lot of what was wrong with me would no doubt be ascribed to Attention Deficit Disorder, tartrazine food colouring, dairy produce and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-fry/nowadays-a-lot-of-what-was-wrong-with-me-would-no-doubt-be-ascribed/) [Stephen Fry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-fry/) > [Carpooling is important for urban density, air pollution and other reasons, but carpooling is not the kind of thing that actually changes the energy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clay-shirky/carpooling-is-important-for-urban-density-air-pollution-and-other/) [Clay Shirky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clay-shirky/) > [Like air pollution, flood risk is a threat that government should be protecting us against.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gardiner/like-air-pollution-flood-risk-is-a-threat-that-government-should-be/) [Barry Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gardiner/) > [Overpopulation in the United States will become THE single greatest issue facing Americans in the 21st century. We either solve it proactively or nature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frosty-wooldridge/overpopulation-in-the-united-states-will-become-the-single-greatest/) [Frosty Wooldridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frosty-wooldridge/) > [Many people will never be bothered by air pollution because they don't stop talking long enough to take a deep breath.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/many-people-will-never-be-bothered-by-air-pollution-because-they-don/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [“Even if we act to erase material poverty, there is another greater task; it is to confront the poverty of satisfaction – purpose and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nic-marks/even-if-we-act-to-erase-material-poverty-there-is-another-greater/) [Nic Marks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nic-marks/) > [“Pages could be written on the immense losses of productive soil that occur annually in almost every continent of the earth; on lethal air…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-bookchin/pages-could-be-written-on-the-immense-losses-of-productive-soil-that/) [Murray Bookchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-bookchin/) > [Years of government inaction on air pollution has got people thinking that the state cannot even protect basic public goods like clean air.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gardiner/years-of-government-inaction-on-air-pollution-has-got-people-thinking/) [Barry Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gardiner/) > [“To say it's the poor quality of the paint under socialism is correct, but it is not enough. To say it's soft-coal exploitation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavenka-drakuli/to-say-it-s-the-poor-quality-of-the-paint-under-socialism-is-correct/) [Slavenka Drakulić](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavenka-drakuli/) [Browse all 96 Air pollution quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/air-pollution/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Even if we act to erase material poverty, there is another greater task, it is to confront the poverty of satisfaction - purpose and dignity - that afflicts us all. Too much and for too long, we seemed to have surrendered personal excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our Gross National Product, now, is over $800 billion dollars a year, but that Gross National Product - if we judge the United States of America by that - that Gross National Product counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage. It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for the people who break them. It counts the destruction of the redwood and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and counts nuclear warheads and armored cars for the police to fight the riots in our cities. It counts Whitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children. Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages, the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage, neither our wisdom nor our learning, neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country, it measures everything in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. 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