---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We ought to define a man's income as the…"
description: "\"We ought to define a man's income as the maximum value which he can consume during a week, and still expect to be as well off at the end of the week as..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/sir-john-richard-hicks-54693_ends_we-ought-to-define-a-man-s-income-as-the_1462509.jpg"
---

#  We ought to define a man's income as the maximum value…

![“We ought to define a man's income as the maximum value which he can consume during a week, and still expect to be as well off at the end of the week as he was at the beginning.” quote by Sir John Richard Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/sir-john-richard-hicks-54693_ends_we-ought-to-define-a-man-s-income-as-the_1462509.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/sir-john-richard-hicks-54693_ends_we-ought-to-define-a-man-s-income-as-the_1462509.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/sir-john-richard-hicks-54693_ends_we-ought-to-define-a-man-s-income-as-the_1462509.jpg)

> “We ought to define a man's income as the maximum value which he can consume during a week, and still expect to be as well off at the end of the week as he was at the beginning.”

[Sir John Richard Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-john-richard-hicks/)

## About This Quote

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

Income should be measured by what can be consumed while maintaining the same wealth level week after week.

**In simple terms:** Consume without losing wealth.

Key Takeaway

Spend within sustainable limits.

Themes

economics wealth consumption

Mood

analytical pragmatic

Type

theoretical advice

When to use this quote

- personal budgeting
- financial planning
- policy design

Key Concepts

intertemporal choice utility budgeting

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you define a sustainable consumption level?
- What risks arise from over‑consumption?

A Different Perspective

Sustainable consumption may ignore future uncertainties.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Consume Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consume-week-5287147/) [End Of The Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-of-the-week/) [End Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-week-679361/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Income](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/income/) [Income Maximum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/income-maximum-5287146/) [Man Income](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-income-2057971/) [Maximum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maximum/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Ought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ought/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Values](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/values/) [Week](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week/) [Week Expect](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/week-expect-4047627/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/)

## Related quotes

> [I used to get my money at the end of the week, buy my mum something, or buy a record, and that was it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/i-used-to-get-my-money-at-the-end-of-the-week-buy-my-mum-something-or/)

[Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/)

> [I always do a mental audit at the end of the week to make sure Im balancing time between my career and my personal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-wagner/i-always-do-a-mental-audit-at-the-end-of-the-week-to-make-sure-im/)

[Jill Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-wagner/)

> [After Monday's and Tuesday's, even the end of the week says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/after-monday-s-and-tuesday-s-even-the-end-of-the-week-says/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [There's something helpful about the fast pace of a TV set where everything has to be finished by the end of the week. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-mortimer/there-s-something-helpful-about-the-fast-pace-of-a-tv-set-where/)

[Emily Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-mortimer/)

> [Wherever you are practicing, whether it's back home or on the road, doesn't matter. Just go out there and stick to you routine and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mac-jones/wherever-you-are-practicing-whether-it-s-back-home-or-on-the-road/)

[Mac Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mac-jones/)

> [Many have no desire to be in it, because their work does not interest them, providing them with neither challenge nor satisfaction, and has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/many-have-no-desire-to-be-in-it-because-their-work-does-not-interest/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [With so many training sessions you forget what you have done when you look back at the end of the week so you have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonjo-shelvey/with-so-many-training-sessions-you-forget-what-you-have-done-when-you/)

[Jonjo Shelvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonjo-shelvey/)

> [My radio show is actually the conclusion to my week. Which means there'll be 20% of what's happened to me during those five days,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jazzie-b/my-radio-show-is-actually-the-conclusion-to-my-week-which-means-there/)

[Jazzie B](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jazzie-b/)

> [When I said forever, I meant it. When you said and ever, you meant the end of the week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-said-forever-i-meant-it-when-you-said-and-ever-you-meant-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“I'm going to be heading for New Orleans towards the end of the week," I told Loretta over dinner that night. "Really? What for?"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gideon-rathbone/i-m-going-to-be-heading-for-new-orleans-towards-the-end-of-the-week-i/)

[Gideon Rathbone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gideon-rathbone/)

> [Action is hope. At the end of each day, when you've done your work, you lie there and think, Well, I'll be damned, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-bradbury/action-is-hope-at-the-end-of-each-day-when-you-ve-done-your-work-you/)

[Ray Bradbury](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-bradbury/)

> [The people I spend time with are the most important to me at the end of the week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonja-morgan/the-people-i-spend-time-with-are-the-most-important-to-me-at-the-end/)

[Sonja Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonja-morgan/)

> [By the end of the week, if I'm still alive, I get to write whatever I want about it all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-musto/by-the-end-of-the-week-if-i-m-still-alive-i-get-to-write-whatever-i/)

[Michael Musto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-musto/)

> [By the way, my name's Malik, the five-foot freak. Let's say we get together by the end of the week.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-tribe-called-quest/by-the-way-my-name-s-malik-the-five-foot-freak-let-s-say-we-get/)

[A Tribe Called Quest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-tribe-called-quest/)

> [I had this mentality that I had to go out to everyone's show so everyone at the end of the week would come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margo-price/i-had-this-mentality-that-i-had-to-go-out-to-everyone-s-show-so/)

[Margo Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margo-price/)

## More by Sir John Richard Hicks

> [Investment is a flighty bird which needs to be controlled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-john-richard-hicks/investment-is-a-flighty-bird-which-needs-to-be-controlled/)

[Sir John Richard Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-john-richard-hicks/)

> [The theory of the determination of wages in a free market is simply a special case of the general theory of value. Wages are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-john-richard-hicks/the-theory-of-the-determination-of-wages-in-a-free-market-is-simply-a/)

[Sir John Richard Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-john-richard-hicks/)

> [Some of the most serious fallacies of traditional economics have been due to confusion between optimum and equilibrium conditions; the apparent influence of Dr.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-john-richard-hicks/some-of-the-most-serious-fallacies-of-traditional-economics-have-been/)

[Sir John Richard Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-john-richard-hicks/)

> [The best of all monopoly profits is a quiet life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-john-richard-hicks/the-best-of-all-monopoly-profits-is-a-quiet-life/)

[Sir John Richard Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-john-richard-hicks/)

> [There is much of economic theory which is pursued for no better reason than its intellectual attraction; it is a good game. We have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-john-richard-hicks/there-is-much-of-economic-theory-which-is-pursued-for-no-better/)

[Sir John Richard Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-john-richard-hicks/)

[Explore all 6 Sir John Richard Hicks quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-john-richard-hicks/)

## More Ends 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/)

> [The end is nothing; the road is all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/the-end-is-nothing-the-road-is-all/)

[Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/)

> [Well, The Day the Earth Caught Fire was a story... I don't if anybody knows what it is but it was about... in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/val-guest/well-the-day-the-earth-caught-fire-was-a-story-i-don-t-if-anybody/)

[Val Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/val-guest/)

> [Bush reiterated his stand to conservatives opposing his decision on stem cell research. He said today he believes life begins at conception and ends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/bush-reiterated-his-stand-to-conservatives-opposing-his-decision-on/)

[Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/)

> [Dating someone on the opposite end of the happy spectrum teaches you an incredible amount of patience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-pine/dating-someone-on-the-opposite-end-of-the-happy-spectrum-teaches-you/)

[Chris Pine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-pine/)

> [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/)

[Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/)

> [Sometimes it's just enough for me to have the idea. I don't need to see it through to the end. When it actually happens,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-sedaris/sometimes-it-s-just-enough-for-me-to-have-the-idea-i-don-t-need-to/)

[Amy Sedaris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-sedaris/)

> [In the fight between biology and morality, biology has commonly won in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/semir-zeki/in-the-fight-between-biology-and-morality-biology-has-commonly-won-in/)

[Semir Zeki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/semir-zeki/)

> [At the end of night, before you close your eyes, be content with what you've done and be proud of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-almond/at-the-end-of-night-before-you-close-your-eyes-be-content-with-what/)

[Steve Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-almond/)

> [it is the brevity of life which makes it tolerable; its experiences have value because they have an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winifred-holtby/it-is-the-brevity-of-life-which-makes-it-tolerable-its-experiences/)

[Winifred Holtby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winifred-holtby/)

> [I hope that the Palestinians don't make the mistake of unleashing a new intifada. They've tried it twice before, and the consequences were bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-segev/i-hope-that-the-palestinians-don-t-make-the-mistake-of-unleashing-a/)

[Tom Segev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-segev/)

> [Believe to the end, even if all men went astray and you were left the only one faithful; bring your offering even then and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/believe-to-the-end-even-if-all-men-went-astray-and-you-were-left-the/)

[Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/)

> [When the amount of change externally exceeds the amount of change internally, the end is in sight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-welch/when-the-amount-of-change-externally-exceeds-the-amount-of-change/)

[Jack Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-welch/)

> [A man cannot speak but he judges himself. With his will or against his will he draws his portrait to the eye of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/a-man-cannot-speak-but-he-judges-himself-with-his-will-or-against-his/)

[Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/)

> [The beginning of love is all about the butterflies, but the end of it is when you can't get out of bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-beginning-of-love-is-all-about-the-butterflies-but-the-end-of-it/)

[Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/)

[Browse all 20,790 Ends quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "We ought to define a man's income as the maximum value which he can consume during a week, and still expect to be as well off at the end of the week as he was at the beginning.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Sir John Richard Hicks"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-john-richard-hicks/we-ought-to-define-a-man-s-income-as-the-maximum-value-which-he-can/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Ends"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-john-richard-hicks/we-ought-to-define-a-man-s-income-as-the-maximum-value-which-he-can/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/sir-john-richard-hicks-54693_ends_we-ought-to-define-a-man-s-income-as-the_1462509.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/sir-john-richard-hicks-54693_ends_we-ought-to-define-a-man-s-income-as-the_1462509.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/95c/sir-john-richard-hicks-54693_ends_we-ought-to-define-a-man-s-income-as-the_1462509.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“We ought to define a man's income as the maximum value which he can consume during a week, and still expect…” — Sir John Richard Hicks",
                "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": "Sir John Richard Hicks",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-john-richard-hicks/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "We ought to define a man's...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-john-richard-hicks/we-ought-to-define-a-man-s-income-as-the-maximum-value-which-he-can/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-john-richard-hicks/we-ought-to-define-a-man-s-income-as-the-maximum-value-which-he-can/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
