--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The question is not what anybody…" description: "\"The question is not what anybody deserves. The question is who is to take on the God-like role of deciding what everybody else deserves. You can talk a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/thomas-sowell-247_death_the-question-is-not-what-anybody-deserve_942023.jpg" --- # The question is not what anybody deserves. The question is… ![“The question is not what anybody deserves. The question is who is to take on the God-like role of deciding what everybody else deserves. You can talk about 'social justice' all you want. But what death taxes boil down to is letting politicians take money from widows and orphans to pay for goodies…” quote by Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/thomas-sowell-247_death_the-question-is-not-what-anybody-deserve_942023.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/thomas-sowell-247_death_the-question-is-not-what-anybody-deserve_942023.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ffe/thomas-sowell-247_death_the-question-is-not-what-anybody-deserve_942023.jpg) > “The question is not what anybody deserves. The question is who is to take on the God-like role of deciding what everybody else deserves. You can talk about 'social justice' all you want. But what death taxes boil down to is letting politicians take money from widows and orphans to pay for goodies that they will hand out to others, in order to buy votes to get re-elected. That is not social justice or any other kind of justice.” [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Justice is a power, not a right; politicians misuse it for votes, not fairness. **In simple terms:** Justice is a power misused by politicians. Key Takeaway Question authority and demand transparent policies. Themes politics justice power ethics Mood critical skeptical Type analytical political When to use this quote - voting - policy reform - public advocacy - tax debates - social welfare Key Concepts social contract political economy moral philosophy Questions to Reflect On - Who decides fairness in society? - How can citizens hold leaders accountable? A Different Perspective Political motives can corrupt genuine justice efforts. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Anybody Deserves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/anybody-deserves-273963/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Death Taxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death-taxes/) [Deserve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deserve/) [Deserves Question](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deserves-question-1617629/) [Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic/) [Everybody Deserves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everybody-deserves-260258/) [Hands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hands/) [Justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justice/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Liberty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberty/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Orphan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/orphan/) [Pay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/pay/) [Politician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politician/) [Roles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/roles/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social justice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-justice/) [Taxes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/taxes/) [Vote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vote/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Widows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/widows/) ## Related quotes > [“If anybody deserves a happily ever after, Matt, it’s you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammy-falkner/if-anybody-deserves-a-happily-ever-after-matt-it-s-you/) [Tammy Falkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammy-falkner/) > [I don't think anybody deserves to be defined totally by his enemies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-kroft/i-don-t-think-anybody-deserves-to-be-defined-totally-by-his-enemies/) [Steve Kroft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-kroft/) > [Oh, man. I think if anybody deserves to be inducted into the Hall of Pain, it's Donald Trump.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-henry/oh-man-i-think-if-anybody-deserves-to-be-inducted-into-the-hall-of/) [Mark Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-henry/) > [I don't think anybody deserves anything than what they already have because I believe everyone gets what they deserve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-owens/i-don-t-think-anybody-deserves-anything-than-what-they-already-have/) [Kevin Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-owens/) > [It is now possible to live a "christian life" without doing the things that Jesus commanded us to do. We have hired people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-thomas/it-is-now-possible-to-live-a-christian-life-without-doing-the-things/) [Cal Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-thomas/) > [I cherish my own freedom dearly, but I care even more for your freedom. Too many have died since I went to prison. 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All of our religious teachings have similar rules, such as a commitment to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leymah-gbowee/religion-by-itself-was-not-meant-to-be-a-divisive-tool-all-of-our/) [Leymah Gbowee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leymah-gbowee/) > [Debt, grinding debt, whose iron face the widow, the orphan, and the sons of genius fear and hate; debt, which consumes so much time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/debt-grinding-debt-whose-iron-face-the-widow-the-orphan-and-the-sons/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Just love the one in front of you. Take in the orphan, take in the widow. Just love the one in front of you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-baker/just-love-the-one-in-front-of-you-take-in-the-orphan-take-in-the/) [Heidi Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-baker/) > [A person may rightfully be happy if in this life he could do a great favor for widows and orphans, could assist support than,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/islom-karimov/a-person-may-rightfully-be-happy-if-in-this-life-he-could-do-a-great/) [Islom Karimov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/islom-karimov/) > [These esoteric, intellectual debates-I want them to come to New Jersey and sit across from the widows and the orphans and have that conversation,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-christie/these-esoteric-intellectual-debates-i-want-them-to-come-to-new-jersey/) [Chris Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-christie/) ## More by Thomas Sowell > [The vision of the left, full of envy and resentment, takes its worst toll on those at the bottom - whether black or white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/the-vision-of-the-left-full-of-envy-and-resentment-takes-its-worst/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [There is no bigger waste of time than doing 90% of what is necessary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/there-is-no-bigger-waste-of-time-than-doing-90-of-what-is-necessary/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [If you have always believed that everyone should play by the same rules and be judged by the same standards, that would have gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/if-you-have-always-believed-that-everyone-should-play-by-the-same/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“In 1962, Democratic President John F. Kennedy, like both Democratic and Republican Presidents and Secretaries of the Treasury in earlier years, pointed out that “it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/in-1962-democratic-president-john-f-kennedy-like-both-democratic-and/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Ideological bigotry has become the norm on even our most prestigious campuses, where students can go for years without reading or hearing anything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/ideological-bigotry-has-become-the-norm-on-even-our-most-prestigious/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Bailing out people who made ill-advised mortgages makes no more sense that bailing out people who lost their life savings in Las Vegas casinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/bailing-out-people-who-made-ill-advised-mortgages-makes-no-more-sense/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [“One third of all Scots in the mid-nineteenth century moved from one county to another”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/one-third-of-all-scots-in-the-mid-nineteenth-century-moved-from-one/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The difference is that we have the hardest and most painful evidence that there was a Holocaust. 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