--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The wider the spread between the wealthy…" description: "\"“The wider the spread between the wealthy few and the impoverished many, the worse the social problems: a statement which appears to be true for rich a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/tony-judt-1730_money_the-wider-the-spread-between-the-wealthy_3168318.png" --- # The wider the spread between the wealthy few and the… ![“The wider the spread between the wealthy few and the impoverished many, the worse the social problems: a statement which appears to be true for rich and poor countries alike.” quote by Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/tony-judt-1730_money_the-wider-the-spread-between-the-wealthy_3168318.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/tony-judt-1730_money_the-wider-the-spread-between-the-wealthy_3168318.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/tony-judt-1730_money_the-wider-the-spread-between-the-wealthy_3168318.png) > ““The wider the spread between the wealthy few and the impoverished many, the worse the social problems: a statement which appears to be true for rich and poor countries alike.”” [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Economic inequality fuels social unrest and worsens societal issues across nations. **In simple terms:** Rich-poor gaps cause social problems. Key Takeaway Address inequality to improve society. Themes economics social justice inequality Mood concerned serious Type analytical policy When to use this quote - policy reform - community programs - education access - tax reform Key Concepts wealth distribution social stability Questions to Reflect On - How does wealth disparity affect community health? - What policies can narrow the gap? A Different Perspective Economic growth alone may not reduce inequality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Poor countries](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poor-countries/) [Rich and poor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rich-and-poor/) [Social problems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-problems/) ## Related quotes > [The shock caused by the September 11 events has also lead to a thorough reflection on the existing disparity between rich and poor countries,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omar-bongo/the-shock-caused-by-the-september-11-events-has-also-lead-to-a/) [Omar Bongo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omar-bongo/) > [“The basic reason why poor countries are poor is that they lack the technological capital that rich countries have, which makes output per worker…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-r-kroeber/the-basic-reason-why-poor-countries-are-poor-is-that-they-lack-the/) [Arthur R. Kroeber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-r-kroeber/) > [The result of neo-colonialism is that foreign capital is used for the exploitation rather than for the development of the less developed parts of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kwame-nkrumah/the-result-of-neo-colonialism-is-that-foreign-capital-is-used-for-the/) [Kwame Nkrumah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kwame-nkrumah/) > [The great question for our time is, how to make sure that the continuing scientific revolution brings benefits to everybody rather than widening the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/the-great-question-for-our-time-is-how-to-make-sure-that-the/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [Extreme weather events continue to grow more frequent and intense in rich and poor countries alike, not only devastating lives, but also infrastructure, institutions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/extreme-weather-events-continue-to-grow-more-frequent-and-intense-in/) [Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/) > [“The geography hypothesis claims that the great divide between rich and poor countries is created by geographical differences. Many poor countries, such as those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daron-acemo-lu/the-geography-hypothesis-claims-that-the-great-divide-between-rich/) [Daron Acemoğlu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daron-acemo-lu/) > [Freedom is partial to no race. Freedom has no religion. Freedom favors no ethnicity. Freedom discriminates not between rich and poor countries. Inevitably freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eskinder-nega/freedom-is-partial-to-no-race-freedom-has-no-religion-freedom-favors/) [Eskinder Nega](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eskinder-nega/) > [GDP excludes care work and other unpaid work, most of which falls to women and girls in rich and in poor countries alike.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winnie-byanyima/gdp-excludes-care-work-and-other-unpaid-work-most-of-which-falls-to/) [Winnie Byanyima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winnie-byanyima/) > [In a system of free trade and free markets poor countries - and poor people - are not poor because others are rich. Indeed,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-thatcher/in-a-system-of-free-trade-and-free-markets-poor-countries-and-poor/) [Margaret Thatcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-thatcher/) > [“It was indeed the transcendent force of modernization that accounts for the unparalleled strength of Know-Nothingism in Massachusetts. The political fallout from the pressures…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-r-mulkern/it-was-indeed-the-transcendent-force-of-modernization-that-accounts/) John R. Mulkern > [I don't want there to be this separation between the rich and poor. I may be part of the three percent because I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marlon-wayans/i-don-t-want-there-to-be-this-separation-between-the-rich-and-poor-i/) [Marlon Wayans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marlon-wayans/) > [Italy is divided between us and them, rich and poor, north and south, young and old, employed and unemployed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/romano-prodi/italy-is-divided-between-us-and-them-rich-and-poor-north-and-south/) [Romano Prodi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/romano-prodi/) > [The wealthy class often looks down on the poor as "those people." And deprived people view the rich as cold and heartless. The way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/the-wealthy-class-often-looks-down-on-the-poor-as-those-people-and/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [Both to the rich and poor, wine is the happy antidote for sorrow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/euripides/both-to-the-rich-and-poor-wine-is-the-happy-antidote-for-sorrow/) [Euripides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/euripides/) > [Excuses cost a dime and that's why the poor could afford a lot of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-kiyosaki/excuses-cost-a-dime-and-that-s-why-the-poor-could-afford-a-lot-of-it/) [Robert Kiyosaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-kiyosaki/) ## More by Tony Judt > [I don't believe in an afterlife. I don't believe in a single or multiple godhead. I respect people who do, but I don't believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/i-don-t-believe-in-an-afterlife-i-don-t-believe-in-a-single-or/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“Markets do not automatically generate trust, cooperation or collective action for the common good. Quite the contrary: it is in the nature of economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/markets-do-not-automatically-generate-trust-cooperation-or-collective/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“ Lieux de memoire . . . 'exist because there are no longer any milieux de memoire , settings in which memory is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/lieux-de-memoire-exist-because-there-are-no-longer-any-milieux-de/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“Keynes died in 1946, exhausted by his wartime efforts. But he had long since demonstrated that neither capitalism nor liberalism would survive very long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/keynes-died-in-1946-exhausted-by-his-wartime-efforts-but-he-had-long/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [The Second World War had a precipitating effect in that it discredited the empires, as well as bankrupting them. Not only could you no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/the-second-world-war-had-a-precipitating-effect-in-that-it/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“That the state might exceed its remit and damage the market by distorting its operations was not taken very seriously in these years.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/that-the-state-might-exceed-its-remit-and-damage-the-market-by/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“Whatever their other differences, French Gaullists, Christian Democrats and Socialists shared a common faith in the activist state, economic planning and large-scale public investment.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/whatever-their-other-differences-french-gaullists-christian-democrats/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [I think if I'm controversial it's not because I set out to be. It's because I've never felt comfortable being part of someone else's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/i-think-if-i-m-controversial-it-s-not-because-i-set-out-to-be-it-s/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“This reduction of 'society' to a thin membrane of interactions between private individuals is presented today as the ambition of libertarians and free marketeers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/this-reduction-of-society-to-a-thin-membrane-of-interactions-between/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“Something is profoundly wrong with the way we live today. For thirty years we have made a virtue out of the pursuit of material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/something-is-profoundly-wrong-with-the-way-we-live-today-for-thirty/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“Today, neither Left nor Right can find their footing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/today-neither-left-nor-right-can-find-their-footing/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [We have responsibilities for others, not just across space but across time. We have responsibilities to people who came before us. They left us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/we-have-responsibilities-for-others-not-just-across-space-but-across/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“What did trust, cooperation, progressive taxation and the interventionist state bequeath to western societies in the decades following 1945? The short answer is, in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/what-did-trust-cooperation-progressive-taxation-and-the/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [Healthcare reform is a paradigmatic case. It is self-evidently necessary and inevitable and has been on the agenda for 35 years, and the political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/healthcare-reform-is-a-paradigmatic-case-it-is-self-evidently/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“Inequality is corrosive. It rots societies from within.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/inequality-is-corrosive-it-rots-societies-from-within/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) [Explore all 211 Tony Judt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) ## More Money quotes > [You've got to tell your money what to do or it will leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/you-ve-got-to-tell-your-money-what-to-do-or-it-will-leave/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [Don't let's lose sight of what creates wealth. It is open markets, it is capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/don-t-let-s-lose-sight-of-what-creates-wealth-it-is-open-markets-it/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Money is the kind of instrument which is very speedily produced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-chubais/money-is-the-kind-of-instrument-which-is-very-speedily-produced/) [Anatoly Chubais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-chubais/) > [I would borrow money all day long, if the cost of borrowing is less than the expected return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-schneider/i-would-borrow-money-all-day-long-if-the-cost-of-borrowing-is-less/) [Brad Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-schneider/) > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Maybe you can,t buy a big house.. A new car.. A huge diamond ring.. But if you have just one true friend who loves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy/maybe-you-can-t-buy-a-big-house-a-new-car-a-huge-diamond-ring-but-if/) Cathy > [“Don't allow money to become the yardstick by which you measure the worth of the world around you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-james-pritchard/don-t-allow-money-to-become-the-yardstick-by-which-you-measure-the/) [Andrew James Pritchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-james-pritchard/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. My biggest dream was to have a coffee shop, but I had no idea how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-espinosa/academically-i-was-never-that-interested-i-skipped-classes-my-biggest/) [Daniel Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-espinosa/) > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [I doubt that we Americans can come to terms with our money neuroses without understanding the more florid pathology of the very rich for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-slater/i-doubt-that-we-americans-can-come-to-terms-with-our-money-neuroses/) [Philip Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-slater/) > [“The writer must earn money in order to be able to live and to write, but he must by no means live and write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goins/the-writer-must-earn-money-in-order-to-be-able-to-live-and-to-write/) [Jeff Goins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goins/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [The man who works for the gold in the job rather than for the money in the pay envelope, is the fellow who gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-french-johnson/the-man-who-works-for-the-gold-in-the-job-rather-than-for-the-money/) Joseph French Johnson [Browse all 45,172 Money quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The wider the spread between the wealthy few and the impoverished many, the worse the social problems: a statement which appears to be true for rich and poor countries alike.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tony Judt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/the-wider-the-spread-between-the-wealthy-few-and-the-impoverished/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Money" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/the-wider-the-spread-between-the-wealthy-few-and-the-impoverished/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/tony-judt-1730_money_the-wider-the-spread-between-the-wealthy_3168318.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/tony-judt-1730_money_the-wider-the-spread-between-the-wealthy_3168318.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/tony-judt-1730_money_the-wider-the-spread-between-the-wealthy_3168318.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The wider the spread between the wealthy few and the impoverished many, the worse the social problems: a…” — Tony Judt", "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": "Tony Judt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“The wider the spread between the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/the-wider-the-spread-between-the-wealthy-few-and-the-impoverished/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/the-wider-the-spread-between-the-wealthy-few-and-the-impoverished/#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 } } ] } ```