--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The distance between capital and labor is…" description: "\"The distance between capital and labor is not a great gulf over which is swung a Niagara suspension bridge; it is only a step, and the laborers here wi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/thomas-de-witt-talmage-21956_bridges_the-distance-between-capital-and-labor-i_2092954.jpg" --- # The distance between capital and labor is not a great gulf… ![“The distance between capital and labor is not a great gulf over which is swung a Niagara suspension bridge; it is only a step, and the laborers here will cross over and become capitalists and the capitalists will cross over and become laborers. Would to God they would shake hands while they are…” quote by Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/thomas-de-witt-talmage-21956_bridges_the-distance-between-capital-and-labor-i_2092954.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/thomas-de-witt-talmage-21956_bridges_the-distance-between-capital-and-labor-i_2092954.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/thomas-de-witt-talmage-21956_bridges_the-distance-between-capital-and-labor-i_2092954.jpg) > “The distance between capital and labor is not a great gulf over which is swung a Niagara suspension bridge; it is only a step, and the laborers here will cross over and become capitalists and the capitalists will cross over and become laborers. Would to God they would shake hands while they are crossing, these from one side, and those from the other side.” [Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The gap between owners and workers is small; people can move between roles, and mutual understanding would help. **In simple terms:** Capital and labor are interchangeable; cooperation is possible. Key Takeaway Encourage empathy and dialogue across economic lines. Themes economy class cooperation mobility empathy Mood reflective hopeful Type sociopolitical inspirational When to use this quote - labor negotiations - union meetings - business leadership retreats - community forums Key Concepts social dynamics class fluidity economic transition Questions to Reflect On - How can societies create real pathways for class mobility? - What barriers prevent workers from becoming capitalists? A Different Perspective Assumes equal opportunity for transition, ignoring structural barriers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bridges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bridges/) [Capital Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capital-labor-783064/) [Capitalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalist/) [Capitalists Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalists-cross-4145626/) [Cross Capitalists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cross-capitalists-4145629/) [Cross Laborers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cross-laborers-4145627/) [Crosses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crosses/) [Crossings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crossings/) [Distance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distance/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Labor day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor-day/) [Laborers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laborers/) [Laborers Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laborers-cross-4145628/) [Niagara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/niagara/) [Shakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shakes/) [Sides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sides/) [Steps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/steps/) [Suspension](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suspension/) ## Related quotes > [“Capitalism is marked by a division between classes, with one class holding private ownership of the means of production, and another class forced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-torres/capitalism-is-marked-by-a-division-between-classes-with-one-class/) [Bob Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-torres/) > [Moreover, there is an unearned increment on capital and on labor, due to the presence, around the capitalist and the laborer, of a great,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/moreover-there-is-an-unearned-increment-on-capital-and-on-labor-due/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [Tax laws favor capital over labor, giving capital gains a lower rate than ordinary income. The rich get humongous mortgage interest deductions while renters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-reich/tax-laws-favor-capital-over-labor-giving-capital-gains-a-lower-rate/) [Robert Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-reich/) > [In the struggle between capital and labor, more often than not capital has won, because the real source of value for most companies has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-surowiecki/in-the-struggle-between-capital-and-labor-more-often-than-not-capital/) [James Surowiecki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-surowiecki/) > [It is no longer simply the merchant prince, or the aristocratic monopoly, or even the employing class, that is exploiting the world: it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/it-is-no-longer-simply-the-merchant-prince-or-the-aristocratic/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [Each needs the other: capital cannot do without labor, nor labor without capital.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-leo-i/each-needs-the-other-capital-cannot-do-without-labor-nor-labor/) [Pope Leo I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-leo-i/) > [The great dialectic in our time is not, as anciently and by some still supposed, between capital and labor; it is between economic enterprise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/the-great-dialectic-in-our-time-is-not-as-anciently-and-by-some-still/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Industry has operated against the artisan in favor of the idler, and also in favor of capital and against labor. Any mechanical invention whatsoever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/remy-de-gourmont/industry-has-operated-against-the-artisan-in-favor-of-the-idler-and/) [Remy de Gourmont](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/remy-de-gourmont/) > [The National League was born the following year, as an attempt to exert the control of capital over labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-thorn/the-national-league-was-born-the-following-year-as-an-attempt-to/) [John Thorn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-thorn/) > [I don't see the minimum wage as a fight between capital and labor, between persistent small businesses and diligent employees. I think offering New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-lujan-grisham/i-don-t-see-the-minimum-wage-as-a-fight-between-capital-and-labor/) [Michelle Lujan Grisham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-lujan-grisham/) > [There is a good deal of solemn cant about the common interests of capital and labor. As matters stand, their only common interest is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brooks-atkinson/there-is-a-good-deal-of-solemn-cant-about-the-common-interests-of/) [Brooks Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brooks-atkinson/) > [Information is a substitute for time, space, capital, and labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvin-toffler/information-is-a-substitute-for-time-space-capital-and-labor/) [Alvin Toffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvin-toffler/) > [The seeming antagonism between capital and labor is the result of deceptive appearance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leland-stanford/the-seeming-antagonism-between-capital-and-labor-is-the-result-of/) [Leland Stanford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leland-stanford/) > [The pendulum of economic power might well begin to shift from capital back to labor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-s-roach/the-pendulum-of-economic-power-might-well-begin-to-shift-from-capital/) [Stephen S. Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-s-roach/) > [It is time that capital and labor realized that their interests are really comutual, as interdependent as the brain and the body; time they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cowper-brann/it-is-time-that-capital-and-labor-realized-that-their-interests-are/) [William Cowper Brann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cowper-brann/) ## More by Thomas De Witt Talmage > [Logic has its use and metaphysics has its use, but neither of them is of much help in the making of a creed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/logic-has-its-use-and-metaphysics-has-its-use-but-neither-of-them-is/) [Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) > [One good, hearty laugh is a bombshell exploding in the right place, while spleen and discontent are a gun that kicks over the man…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/one-good-hearty-laugh-is-a-bombshell-exploding-in-the-right-place/) [Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) > [Social dissipation, as witnessed in the ball-room, is the abettor of pride, the instigator of jealousy, it is the sacrificial altar of health, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/social-dissipation-as-witnessed-in-the-ball-room-is-the-abettor-of/) [Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) > [I move for a creed for all our denominations made out of Scripture quotations, pure and simple. That would be impregnable against infidelity and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/i-move-for-a-creed-for-all-our-denominations-made-out-of-scripture/) [Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) > [Oh! if you could only hear Intemperance with drunkards' bones drumming on the top of the wine cask the Dead March of immortal souls,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/oh-if-you-could-only-hear-intemperance-with-drunkards-bones-drumming/) [Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) > [You are a free man, and let no organization come between you and your best interests. Do not let any man, or any body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/you-are-a-free-man-and-let-no-organization-come-between-you-and-your/) [Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) > [A lawyer is sometimes required to search titles, and the client who thinks he has good right to an estate, puts the papers in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/a-lawyer-is-sometimes-required-to-search-titles-and-the-client-who/) [Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) > [The mob that hounded Christ from Jerusalem to "the place of a skull" has never been dispersed, but is augmenting yet, as many of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/the-mob-that-hounded-christ-from-jerusalem-to-the-place-of-a-skull/) [Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) > [If the bones of all those who have fallen as a prey to intemperance could be piled up it would make a vast pyramid.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/if-the-bones-of-all-those-who-have-fallen-as-a-prey-to-intemperance/) [Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) > [In the lottery of life there are more prizes drawn than blanks, and to one misfortune there are fifty advantages. Despondency is the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/in-the-lottery-of-life-there-are-more-prizes-drawn-than-blanks-and-to/) [Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) > [A mother is a bank where I deposit all my worries and hurts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/a-mother-is-a-bank-where-i-deposit-all-my-worries-and-hurts/) [Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) > [If your path had been smooth, you would have depended upon your own surefootedness; but God roughened the path, so you have to take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/if-your-path-had-been-smooth-you-would-have-depended-upon-your-own/) [Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) > [I wish that I could marshall all the young to an appreciation of the fact that you have an earnest work in life and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/i-wish-that-i-could-marshall-all-the-young-to-an-appreciation-of-the/) [Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) > [You can graduate a man's progress in religion by the amount of prayer, not by the number of hours perhaps, but by the earnest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/you-can-graduate-a-man-s-progress-in-religion-by-the-amount-of-prayer/) [Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) > [What may we expect of people who work all day and dance all night? After a while they will be thrown on society nervous,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/what-may-we-expect-of-people-who-work-all-day-and-dance-all-night/) [Thomas De Witt Talmage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) [Explore all 28 Thomas De Witt Talmage quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/) ## More Bridges quotes > [Poetry has, in a way, been my bridge to my acting career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omari-hardwick/poetry-has-in-a-way-been-my-bridge-to-my-acting-career/) [Omari Hardwick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omari-hardwick/) > [Nothing teaches great writing like the very best books do. Yet, good teachers often help students cross that bridge, and I have to say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-glass/nothing-teaches-great-writing-like-the-very-best-books-do-yet-good/) [Julia Glass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-glass/) > [In my rear view mirror the sun is going down sinking behind bridges in the road and I think of all the good things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-waters/in-my-rear-view-mirror-the-sun-is-going-down-sinking-behind-bridges/) [Roger Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-waters/) > [My first big mistake was made when, in a moment of weakness, I consented to learn the game; for a man who can frankly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-benchley/my-first-big-mistake-was-made-when-in-a-moment-of-weakness-i/) [Robert Benchley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-benchley/) > [The WPA was one of the most productive elements of FDR's alphabet soup of agencies because it put people to work building roads, bridges,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/the-wpa-was-one-of-the-most-productive-elements-of-fdr-s-alphabet/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [The sense that in this universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, to bridge some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sense-that-in-this-universe-we-are-treated-as-strangers-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you walk, try to think nothing! You can then obtain the silence of a streetlight or a bridge; stop thinking; after that, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/when-you-walk-try-to-think-nothing-you-can-then-obtain-the-silence-of/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/) [Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/) > [Al Pacino and Jeff Bridges do it for me in a big way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-scanlon/al-pacino-and-jeff-bridges-do-it-for-me-in-a-big-way/) [Angela Scanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-scanlon/) > [Instead of building castles against your enemies, build bridges for them to come to you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/instead-of-building-castles-against-your-enemies-build-bridges-for/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [Instead of finding himself in nerd heaven—where every nerd gets fifty-eight virgins to role-play with—he woke up in Robert Wood Johnson with two broken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/junot-diaz/instead-of-finding-himself-in-nerd-heaven-where-every-nerd-gets-fifty/) [Junot Diaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/junot-diaz/) > [Each person is an island unto himself, in a very real sense; and he can only build bridges to other islands if he is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-rogers/each-person-is-an-island-unto-himself-in-a-very-real-sense-and-he-can/) [Carl Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-rogers/) > [The real test of a bridge player isn’t in keeping out of trouble, but in escaping once he’s in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-sheinwold/the-real-test-of-a-bridge-player-isn-t-in-keeping-out-of-trouble-but/) [Alfred Sheinwold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-sheinwold/) > [The law ... allows rich as well as poor to sleep under bridges.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-france/the-law-allows-rich-as-well-as-poor-to-sleep-under-bridges/) [Anatole France](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-france/) > [Guys like Todd Bridges never overcame being a child star. You can't have any big failures. I've always felt regular. I played organized ball…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bow-wow/guys-like-todd-bridges-never-overcame-being-a-child-star-you-can-t/) [Bow Wow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bow-wow/) [Browse all 1,521 Bridges quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bridges/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The distance between capital and labor is not a great gulf over which is swung a Niagara suspension bridge; it is only a step, and the laborers here will cross over and become capitalists and the capitalists will cross over and become laborers. Would to God they would shake hands while they are crossing, these from one side, and those from the other side.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Thomas De Witt Talmage" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/the-distance-between-capital-and-labor-is-not-a-great-gulf-over-which/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bridges" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/the-distance-between-capital-and-labor-is-not-a-great-gulf-over-which/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/thomas-de-witt-talmage-21956_bridges_the-distance-between-capital-and-labor-i_2092954.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/thomas-de-witt-talmage-21956_bridges_the-distance-between-capital-and-labor-i_2092954.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/184/thomas-de-witt-talmage-21956_bridges_the-distance-between-capital-and-labor-i_2092954.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The distance between capital and labor is not a great gulf over which is swung a Niagara suspension bridge…” — Thomas De Witt Talmage", "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": "Thomas De Witt Talmage", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-de-witt-talmage/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The distance between capital and labor...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/the-distance-between-capital-and-labor-is-not-a-great-gulf-over-which/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-de-witt-talmage/the-distance-between-capital-and-labor-is-not-a-great-gulf-over-which/#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 } } ] } ```