--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There had never been a shortage of fools…" description: "\"There had never been a shortage of fools in the world\" — Stephen King" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/stephen-king-13_fool_there-had-never-been-a-shortage-of-fools_1942593.jpg" --- # There had never been a shortage of fools in the world ![“There had never been a shortage of fools in the world” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/stephen-king-13_fool_there-had-never-been-a-shortage-of-fools_1942593.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/stephen-king-13_fool_there-had-never-been-a-shortage-of-fools_1942593.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/stephen-king-13_fool_there-had-never-been-a-shortage-of-fools_1942593.jpg) > “There had never been a shortage of fools in the world” [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Foolishness is abundant throughout history and society. **In simple terms:** Fools are everywhere. Key Takeaway Recognize and mitigate foolish behavior. Themes human folly societal critique wisdom Mood critical reflective Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - education - policy making - media literacy Key Concepts psychology of error social dynamics Questions to Reflect On - What drives people to act foolishly? - How can societies reduce collective folly? A Different Perspective Foolishness can be a symptom of deeper issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Fools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fools/) [Fools World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fools-world-1254464/) [Shortage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shortage/) [Shortage Fools](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shortage-fools-3104672/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [There are so many fools in the world for the devil to operate upon, it gives him the advantage oftentimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-smith-jr/there-are-so-many-fools-in-the-world-for-the-devil-to-operate-upon-it/) [Joseph Smith, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-smith-jr/) > [The fools in this world make about as much trouble as the wicked do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/the-fools-in-this-world-make-about-as-much-trouble-as-the-wicked-do/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [There are more fools in the world than there are people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heinrich-heine/there-are-more-fools-in-the-world-than-there-are-people/) [Heinrich Heine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heinrich-heine/) > [Take all the fools out of this world and there wouldn't be any fun living in it, or profit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/take-all-the-fools-out-of-this-world-and-there-wouldn-t-be-any-fun/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [The fools of the world have been those who have established religions, ceremonies, laws, faith, rule of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giordano-bruno/the-fools-of-the-world-have-been-those-who-have-established-religions/) [Giordano Bruno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giordano-bruno/) > [There are two kinds of fools in the world like me, who writes quotes, the second he who do not understand why - what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/there-are-two-kinds-of-fools-in-the-world-like-me-who-writes-quotes/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [“You can't argue with the fools in the world. It's better to let them have their way, then trick them when they're not paying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-goodkind/you-can-t-argue-with-the-fools-in-the-world-it-s-better-to-let-them/) [Terry Goodkind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-goodkind/) > [Because you can't argue with all the fools in the world. It's easier to let them have their way, then trick them when they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/because-you-can-t-argue-with-all-the-fools-in-the-world-it-s-easier/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [Silence is said to be golden, but the best fools the world has ever produced had nothing to say on the subject](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/silence-is-said-to-be-golden-but-the-best-fools-the-world-has-ever/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [“There’s a crying shortage of pretty things in the slam, and the real pity of it is that a lot of men don’t even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/there-s-a-crying-shortage-of-pretty-things-in-the-slam-and-the-real/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Fools are the only folk on the earth who can absolutely count on getting what they deserve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/fools-are-the-only-folk-on-the-earth-who-can-absolutely-count-on/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The majority is never right. Never, I tell you! That's one of these lies in society that no free and intelligent man can help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/the-majority-is-never-right-never-i-tell-you-that-s-one-of-these-lies/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prefer-to-be-defeated-in-the-presence-of-the-wise-than-to-excel-among/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [There are different kinds of fire; there is false fire. No one knows this better than we do, but we are not such fools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-booth/there-are-different-kinds-of-fire-there-is-false-fire-no-one-knows/) [William Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-booth/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. Albert Einstein as a child, not quite struck by a run-away milk-wagon as he crossed a street.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/eddie-saw-great-things-and-near-misses-albert-einstein-as-a-child-not/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... Creative people probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The sun had burned through and the day had gone from dull to dazzling, yet in the west blask-satin thunderheads continued to stack up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-sun-had-burned-through-and-the-day-had-gone-from-dull-to-dazzling/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Who gets to be best-liked in any community? Who is the most trusted? Why, the man who does the dirty job, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/who-gets-to-be-best-liked-in-any-community-who-is-the-most-trusted/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“¿Lo ves, tonto? Volvió a regañarse. Tú lo inventaste todo, gato asustado. No fue más que tu imaginación, gato asustado, gato asustado... No te…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lo-ves-tonto-volvi-a-rega-arse-t-lo-inventaste-todo-gato-asustado-no/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Death . . . but not for you. That was what Walter, clever as Satan even at the end, had said. A lawyer’s answer . . . so close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/death-but-not-for-you-that-was-what-walter-clever-as-satan-even-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More Fool quotes > [Do I look like a fool to you](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamika-leeigh/do-i-look-like-a-fool-to-you/) [Tamika-leeigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamika-leeigh/) > [So the fool, as distinct from the scoundrel, is completely self- satisfied; in fact, he can easily become dangerous, as it does not take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/so-the-fool-as-distinct-from-the-scoundrel-is-completely-self/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [“Not wise, perhaps, to be rude to the Pope's favorite son, but my viper tongue still required a fool now and then on which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-quinn/not-wise-perhaps-to-be-rude-to-the-pope-s-favorite-son-but-my-viper/) [Kate Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-quinn/) > [He's a fool that marries; but he's a greater fool that does not marry a fool.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wycherley/he-s-a-fool-that-marries-but-he-s-a-greater-fool-that-does-not-marry/) [William Wycherley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wycherley/) > [It's very easy to fool yourself that you're working, you know, when you're really not working very hard. I mean, I'm very lazy. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-caro/it-s-very-easy-to-fool-yourself-that-you-re-working-you-know-when-you/) [Robert Caro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-caro/) > [A fool and his money get a lot of publicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-bernstein/a-fool-and-his-money-get-a-lot-of-publicity/) [Al Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-bernstein/) > [There are different kinds of fire; there is false fire. No one knows this better than we do, but we are not such fools…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-booth/there-are-different-kinds-of-fire-there-is-false-fire-no-one-knows/) [William Booth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-booth/) > [Every man must wear out at least one pair of fools shoes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-derr-biggers/every-man-must-wear-out-at-least-one-pair-of-fools-shoes/) [Earl Derr Biggers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-derr-biggers/) > [If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Then quit. No use being a damn fool about it](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wc-fields/if-at-first-you-don-t-succeed-try-try-again-then-quit-no-use-being-a/) [WC Fields](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wc-fields/) > [There is nothing that we can properly call our own but our time, and yet everybody fools us out of it who has a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/there-is-nothing-that-we-can-properly-call-our-own-but-our-time-and/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [I'd be a fool to be in this for the money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benny-hinn/i-d-be-a-fool-to-be-in-this-for-the-money/) [Benny Hinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benny-hinn/) > [It is a fool of a shepherd who culls his dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jefferson-smith/it-is-a-fool-of-a-shepherd-who-culls-his-dogs/) [Jefferson Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jefferson-smith/) > [Prefer to be defeated in the presence of the wise than to excel among fools.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/prefer-to-be-defeated-in-the-presence-of-the-wise-than-to-excel-among/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A mistake doesnt make you a fool, but denying it surely makes you one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/a-mistake-doesnt-make-you-a-fool-but-denying-it-surely-makes-you-one/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) [Browse all 5,535 Fool quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There had never been a shortage of fools in the world", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen King" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/there-had-never-been-a-shortage-of-fools-in-the-world/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fool" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/there-had-never-been-a-shortage-of-fools-in-the-world/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/stephen-king-13_fool_there-had-never-been-a-shortage-of-fools_1942593.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/stephen-king-13_fool_there-had-never-been-a-shortage-of-fools_1942593.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/99c/stephen-king-13_fool_there-had-never-been-a-shortage-of-fools_1942593.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There had never been a shortage of fools in the world” — Stephen King", "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": "Stephen King", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There had never been a shortage...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/there-had-never-been-a-shortage-of-fools-in-the-world/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/there-had-never-been-a-shortage-of-fools-in-the-world/#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 } } ] } ```