---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To make the Society Happy... , it is…"
description: "\"“To make the Society Happy... , it is requisite that great numbers should be Ignorant as well as Poor,” wrote Bernard Mandeville, the shrewdest and wic..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/robert-l-heilbroner-61212_society-happy_to-make-the-society-happy-it-is-requisit_2807513.jpg"
---

#  To make the Society Happy... , it is requisite that great…

![“To make the Society Happy... , it is requisite that great numbers should be Ignorant as well as Poor,” wrote Bernard Mandeville, the shrewdest and wickedest social commentator of the early eighteenth century.” quote by Robert L. Heilbroner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/robert-l-heilbroner-61212_society-happy_to-make-the-society-happy-it-is-requisit_2807513.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/robert-l-heilbroner-61212_society-happy_to-make-the-society-happy-it-is-requisit_2807513.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ddd/robert-l-heilbroner-61212_society-happy_to-make-the-society-happy-it-is-requisit_2807513.jpg)

> ““To make the Society Happy... , it is requisite that great numbers should be Ignorant as well as Poor,” wrote Bernard Mandeville, the shrewdest and wickedest social commentator of the early eighteenth century.””

[Robert L. Heilbroner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-l-heilbroner/)

## About This Quote

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

Society’s happiness depends on a large ignorant and poor population, suggesting inequality sustains stability.

**In simple terms:** Inequality can keep society stable.

Key Takeaway

Recognize the role of inequality in social dynamics.

Themes

politics economics social critique

Mood

critical skeptical

Type

analytical philosophical

When to use this quote

- policy making
- public discourse
- education reform
- wealth distribution

Key Concepts

class structure public policy social stability

Questions to Reflect On

- How does ignorance affect civic participation?
- Can inequality ever be justified?

A Different Perspective

Ignores potential for social mobility and empowerment.

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[Bernard Mandeville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bernard-mandeville-3495403/) [Ignorant Poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ignorant-poor-3495402/) [Numbers Ignorant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/numbers-ignorant-3495404/) [Social Commentator](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-commentator-1746103/) [Society Happy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-happy-359900/)

## Related quotes

> [“If you are ignorant, you are poor; knowledgeable, you are fortunate; intelligent, you are privileged; brilliant, you are rich; and wise, you are wealthy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matshona-dhliwayo/if-you-are-ignorant-you-are-poor-knowledgeable-you-are-fortunate/)

[Matshona Dhliwayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matshona-dhliwayo/)

> [Primarily I'm a social commentator rather than someone who's out to get the belly laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-shapiro/primarily-i-m-a-social-commentator-rather-than-someone-who-s-out-to/)

[Jonathan Shapiro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-shapiro/)

> [I didn't try and say anything terribly meaningful. I'm definitely not a social commentator at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-tatum/i-didn-t-try-and-say-anything-terribly-meaningful-i-m-definitely-not/)

[Jack Tatum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-tatum/)

> [I have no problem paying taxes. It doesn't bother me, because I want to live in a society that's happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-meaden/i-have-no-problem-paying-taxes-it-doesn-t-bother-me-because-i-want-to/)

[Deborah Meaden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-meaden/)

> [Scientists cloister themselves away from the rest of society, happy just to receive their next grant. They lose their connection to a purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-turok/scientists-cloister-themselves-away-from-the-rest-of-society-happy/)

[Neil Turok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-turok/)

> [Society can only be happy and free in proportion as it is virtuous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/society-can-only-be-happy-and-free-in-proportion-as-it-is-virtuous/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [If a woman is happy, then your society is happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-scott/if-a-woman-is-happy-then-your-society-is-happy/)

[Jill Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-scott/)

> [For the most part, as a society, we are not happy with ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamel-shabazz/for-the-most-part-as-a-society-we-are-not-happy-with-ourselves/)

[Jamel Shabazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamel-shabazz/)

> [There are a great many people in our society who are happy, but since they don't know they're happy, they're not happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-isaac-rubin/there-are-a-great-many-people-in-our-society-who-are-happy-but-since/)

[Theodore Isaac Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-isaac-rubin/)

## More by Robert L. Heilbroner

> [“You cannot get them to talk of politics so long as they are well employed,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-l-heilbroner/you-cannot-get-them-to-talk-of-politics-so-long-as-they-are-well/)

[Robert L. Heilbroner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-l-heilbroner/)

> [“Weird and fantastic as it seems, the Fourierist idea took some hold, even in that fortress of practicality and common sense, the United States.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-l-heilbroner/weird-and-fantastic-as-it-seems-the-fourierist-idea-took-some-hold/)

[Robert L. Heilbroner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-l-heilbroner/)

> [“Communists talked to the masses and urged violence, if necessary, to encompass their ends; the Socialists appealed to their own kind—to the intelligentsia, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-l-heilbroner/communists-talked-to-the-masses-and-urged-violence-if-necessary-to/)

[Robert L. Heilbroner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-l-heilbroner/)

[Explore all 4 Robert L. Heilbroner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-l-heilbroner/)

## More Society Happy quotes

> [I have no problem paying taxes. It doesn't bother me, because I want to live in a society that's happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-meaden/i-have-no-problem-paying-taxes-it-doesn-t-bother-me-because-i-want-to/)

[Deborah Meaden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-meaden/)

> [Scientists cloister themselves away from the rest of society, happy just to receive their next grant. They lose their connection to a purpose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-turok/scientists-cloister-themselves-away-from-the-rest-of-society-happy/)

[Neil Turok](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-turok/)

> [Society can only be happy and free in proportion as it is virtuous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/society-can-only-be-happy-and-free-in-proportion-as-it-is-virtuous/)

[Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/)

> [If a woman is happy, then your society is happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-scott/if-a-woman-is-happy-then-your-society-is-happy/)

[Jill Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-scott/)

> [For the most part, as a society, we are not happy with ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamel-shabazz/for-the-most-part-as-a-society-we-are-not-happy-with-ourselves/)

[Jamel Shabazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamel-shabazz/)

> [There are a great many people in our society who are happy, but since they don't know they're happy, they're not happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-isaac-rubin/there-are-a-great-many-people-in-our-society-who-are-happy-but-since/)

[Theodore Isaac Rubin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodore-isaac-rubin/)

[Browse all 7 Society Happy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/society-happy-359900/)

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