--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hunger is not the worst feature of…" description: "\"Hunger is not the worst feature of unemployment; idleness is.\" — William Barrett" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/william-barrett-14440_features_hunger-is-not-the-worst-feature-of-unemp_762798.png" --- # Hunger is not the worst feature of unemployment; idleness… ![“Hunger is not the worst feature of unemployment; idleness is.” quote by William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/william-barrett-14440_features_hunger-is-not-the-worst-feature-of-unemp_762798.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/william-barrett-14440_features_hunger-is-not-the-worst-feature-of-unemp_762798.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/william-barrett-14440_features_hunger-is-not-the-worst-feature-of-unemp_762798.png) > “Hunger is not the worst feature of unemployment; idleness is.” [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Unemployment’s worst aspect isn’t lack of work but the idleness that follows, which can erode purpose and self‑esteem. **In simple terms:** Idleness is the real problem of unemployment. Key Takeaway Stay productive despite job loss. Themes unemployment idleness purpose self‑worth productivity Mood thoughtful encouraging Type advice philosophical When to use this quote - job search - volunteering - skill building - mental health care Key Concepts economics psychology social commentary Questions to Reflect On - What productive habits can you maintain while unemployed? - How does purpose affect your well‑being? A Different Perspective Finding meaningful activity can be challenging without income. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Feature Unemployment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feature-unemployment-5912989/) [Features](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/features/) [Hunger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hunger/) [Idleness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idleness/) [Jobless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jobless/) [Unemployment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unemployment/) [Unemployment Idleness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unemployment-idleness-5912988/) [Worst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worst/) ## Related quotes > [“A ‘discouraged worker’ is someone of legal employment age who has stopped actively seeking employment because he or she has simply given up looking,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-wiggins/a-discouraged-worker-is-someone-of-legal-employment-age-who-has/) [Karl Wiggins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-wiggins/) > [“Eric, you need to look at the whole picture," the PM said. "You look at the jobless as a huge pile of scrap and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-cantrell/eric-you-need-to-look-at-the-whole-picture-the-pm-said-you-look-at/) [Mark Cantrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-cantrell/) > [“When you took a man's job away from him, his ability to feed and clothe his family, that man was going to get angry.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darrin-grimwood/when-you-took-a-man-s-job-away-from-him-his-ability-to-feed-and/) [Darrin Grimwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darrin-grimwood/) > [As a kid who failed out of high school as a freshman, I know firsthand and personally that sense of hopelessness and just being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-scott/as-a-kid-who-failed-out-of-high-school-as-a-freshman-i-know-firsthand/) [Tim Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-scott/) > [In the long run, the right answer to unemployment is to create more jobs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/in-the-long-run-the-right-answer-to-unemployment-is-to-create-more/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [“One of the worst outcomes of unemployment is finance; it is really tough for a jobless person to manage their basic need in such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bardnulla/one-of-the-worst-outcomes-of-unemployment-is-finance-it-is-really/) [Bardnulla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bardnulla/) > [In the capitalist society there is a place and bread for all. Its ability to expand provides sustenance for every worker. Permanent unemployment is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/in-the-capitalist-society-there-is-a-place-and-bread-for-all-its/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [Idleness is paralysis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roswell-dwight-hitchcock/idleness-is-paralysis/) [Roswell Dwight Hitchcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roswell-dwight-hitchcock/) > [“Liza had a finely developed sense of sin Idleness was a sin, and card playing, which was a kind of idleness to her. She…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-steinbeck/liza-had-a-finely-developed-sense-of-sin-idleness-was-a-sin-and-card/) [John Steinbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-steinbeck/) > [Inactivity and deprivation of all accustomed stimulus is not rest; it is a preparation for the tomb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robertson-davies/inactivity-and-deprivation-of-all-accustomed-stimulus-is-not-rest-it/) [Robertson Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robertson-davies/) > [“Doing nothing is the hardest torture that a person can put himself through. For he is always brought face to face with his own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iwan-goll/doing-nothing-is-the-hardest-torture-that-a-person-can-put-himself/) [Iwan Goll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iwan-goll/) > [We are more heavily taxed by our idleness, pride and folly than we are taxed by government.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/we-are-more-heavily-taxed-by-our-idleness-pride-and-folly-than-we-are/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [The frivolous work of polished idleness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-mackintosh/the-frivolous-work-of-polished-idleness/) [James Mackintosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-mackintosh/) > [“Virtue? A fig! 'Tis in ourselves that we are thus or thus. Our bodies are our gardens, to the which our wills are gardeners.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/virtue-a-fig-tis-in-ourselves-that-we-are-thus-or-thus-our-bodies-are/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“Idleness is seductive. Just relax and do nothing, it says.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innocent-mwatsikesimbe/idleness-is-seductive-just-relax-and-do-nothing-it-says/) [Innocent Mwatsikesimbe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innocent-mwatsikesimbe/) ## More by William Barrett > [“David Hume, in a moment of acute skepticism, felt panicky in the solitude of his study and had to go out and join his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/david-hume-in-a-moment-of-acute-skepticism-felt-panicky-in-the/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [We must be free for the truth; and conversely, to be able to be open toward the truth may be our deepest freedom as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/we-must-be-free-for-the-truth-and-conversely-to-be-able-to-be-open/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [Anxiety is not fear, being afraid of this or that definite object, but the uncanny feeling of being afraid of nothing at all. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/anxiety-is-not-fear-being-afraid-of-this-or-that-definite-object-but/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“When faith is full, it dares to express its anger, for faith is the openness of the whole man toward his God, and therefore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/when-faith-is-full-it-dares-to-express-its-anger-for-faith-is-the/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [Much like tobacco companies want to keep smokers dependent on their deadly product, the oil industry wants to keep California dependent on oil –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/much-like-tobacco-companies-want-to-keep-smokers-dependent-on-their/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“The more severely he struggles to hold on to the primal face-to-face relation with God, the more tenuous this becomes, until in the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/the-more-severely-he-struggles-to-hold-on-to-the-primal-face-to-face/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“If science could comprehend all phenomena so that eventually in a thoroughly rational society human beings became as predictable as cogs in a machine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/if-science-could-comprehend-all-phenomena-so-that-eventually-in-a/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“To be rational is not the same as to be reasonable.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/to-be-rational-is-not-the-same-as-to-be-reasonable/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“Certainly, we can no longer look upon the canon of Western art - Greco-Roman as revived, extended, and graced by the Renaissance - as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/certainly-we-can-no-longer-look-upon-the-canon-of-western-art-greco/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“We cannot define ourselves without negating the alternatives that we do not become.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/we-cannot-define-ourselves-without-negating-the-alternatives-that-we/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“We have to be who we are, however we may seek eventually to transform ourselves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/we-have-to-be-who-we-are-however-we-may-seek-eventually-to-transform/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [The bond that attaches us to the life outside ourselves is the same bond that holds us to our own life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/the-bond-that-attaches-us-to-the-life-outside-ourselves-is-the-same/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“The Greek word for “I know,” oida, is the perfect of the verb “to see” and means “I have seen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/the-greek-word-for-i-know-oida-is-the-perfect-of-the-verb-to-see-and/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“To the other person, who looks at me from the outside, I seem an object, a thing; my subjectivity with its inner freedom escapes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/to-the-other-person-who-looks-at-me-from-the-outside-i-seem-an-object/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“For the thinker, as for the artist, what counts in life is not the number of rare and exciting adventures he encounters, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/for-the-thinker-as-for-the-artist-what-counts-in-life-is-not-the/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) [Explore all 46 William Barrett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) ## More Features quotes > [Your thief looks Exactly like the rest, or rather better; 'Tis only at the bar, and in the dungeon, That wise men know your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-byron/your-thief-looks-exactly-like-the-rest-or-rather-better-tis-only-at/) [Lord Byron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-byron/) > [ Marylata \[ Elton\] introduced me to Hans Zimmer. Hans tapped me \[to\] work on songs for DreamWorks' animated features. I arranged Elton John's opening… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-jacob/marylata-elton-introduced-me-to-hans-zimmer-hans-tapped-me-to-work-on/) [Danny Jacob](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-jacob/) > [But I had never drawn on a tablet before. I've been doing pencil and paper and film for almost 20 years. I wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-hertzfeldt/but-i-had-never-drawn-on-a-tablet-before-i-ve-been-doing-pencil-and/) [Don Hertzfeldt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-hertzfeldt/) > [The only features I've done have been on the lower-budget end, for what they were. It's really all about getting the best people aboard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-garris/the-only-features-i-ve-done-have-been-on-the-lower-budget-end-for/) [Mick Garris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-garris/) > [Developing fewer features allows you to conserve development resources and spend more time refining those features that users really need. Fewer features mean fewer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-nielsen/developing-fewer-features-allows-you-to-conserve-development/) [Jakob Nielsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-nielsen/) > [Don't define the game by the list of the features. Define it by the experience you want to have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-howard/don-t-define-the-game-by-the-list-of-the-features-define-it-by-the/) [Todd Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-howard/) > [It is not like studying German, where you mull along, in a groping, uncertain way, for thirty years; and at last, just as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-not-like-studying-german-where-you-mull-along-in-a-groping/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [When I write, I don't really focus on duets or anything like that, or whether I'm going to feature this or that rapper. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-legend/when-i-write-i-don-t-really-focus-on-duets-or-anything-like-that-or/) [John Legend](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-legend/) > [I love doing features, but it's a very different ballgame. Sometimes I yearn for short films again, working with a small team, getting my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-park/i-love-doing-features-but-it-s-a-very-different-ballgame-sometimes-i/) [Nick Park](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-park/) > [Beauty is the true prerogative of women, and so peculiarly their own, that our sex, though naturally requiring another sort of feature, is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/beauty-is-the-true-prerogative-of-women-and-so-peculiarly-their-own/) [Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/) > [“Innovation is not about saying yes to everything. It's about saying NO to all but the most crucial features.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/innovation-is-not-about-saying-yes-to-everything-it-s-about-saying-no/) [Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/) > [The only way to make software secure, reliable, and fast is to make it small.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-s-tanenbaum/the-only-way-to-make-software-secure-reliable-and-fast-is-to-make-it/) [Andrew S. Tanenbaum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-s-tanenbaum/) > [Our focus in the client group had always been to build products and features that people wanted to use. That we wanted to use.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-zawinski/our-focus-in-the-client-group-had-always-been-to-build-products-and/) [Jamie Zawinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-zawinski/) > [ \[Joseph\] Stalin closes the exposition of these \[Leon Trotsky\] ideas with the words, "Such are in general the characteristic features of \[Vladimir\] Lenin's conception… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-trotsky/joseph-stalin-closes-the-exposition-of-these-leon-trotsky-ideas-with/) [Leon Trotsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-trotsky/) > [Virtually all of Darfur's six million residents are Muslim, and, because of decades of intermarriage, almost everyone has dark skin and African features.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samantha-power/virtually-all-of-darfur-s-six-million-residents-are-muslim-and/) [Samantha Power](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samantha-power/) [Browse all 1,143 Features quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/features/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Hunger is not the worst feature of unemployment; idleness is.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "William Barrett" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/hunger-is-not-the-worst-feature-of-unemployment-idleness-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Features" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/hunger-is-not-the-worst-feature-of-unemployment-idleness-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/william-barrett-14440_features_hunger-is-not-the-worst-feature-of-unemp_762798.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/william-barrett-14440_features_hunger-is-not-the-worst-feature-of-unemp_762798.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/140/william-barrett-14440_features_hunger-is-not-the-worst-feature-of-unemp_762798.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Hunger is not the worst feature of unemployment; idleness is.” — William Barrett", "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": "William Barrett", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Hunger is not the worst feature...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/hunger-is-not-the-worst-feature-of-unemployment-idleness-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/hunger-is-not-the-worst-feature-of-unemployment-idleness-is/#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 } } ] } ```