--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A drunkard in the gutter is just where he…" description: "\"A drunkard in the gutter is just where he ought to be, according to the fitness and tendency of things. Nature has set upon him the process of decline ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/william-graham-sumner-5011_decline_a-drunkard-in-the-gutter-is-just-where-h_1953656.png" --- # A drunkard in the gutter is just where he ought to be… ![“A drunkard in the gutter is just where he ought to be, according to the fitness and tendency of things. Nature has set upon him the process of decline and dissolution by which she removes things which have survived their usefulness.” quote by William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/william-graham-sumner-5011_decline_a-drunkard-in-the-gutter-is-just-where-h_1953656.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/william-graham-sumner-5011_decline_a-drunkard-in-the-gutter-is-just-where-h_1953656.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/525/william-graham-sumner-5011_decline_a-drunkard-in-the-gutter-is-just-where-h_1953656.png) > “A drunkard in the gutter is just where he ought to be, according to the fitness and tendency of things. Nature has set upon him the process of decline and dissolution by which she removes things which have survived their usefulness.” [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nature naturally discards what has outlived its usefulness, leading to decline and dissolution. **In simple terms:** Nature removes things that are no longer useful. Key Takeaway Accept natural cycles of decay. Themes impermanence natural order decline Mood philosophical analytical Type sociology naturalistic When to use this quote - business product lifecycles - career transitions - environmental decay Key Concepts entropy evolution obsolescence Questions to Reflect On - How do you respond when you feel obsolete? - What can you do to remain useful? A Different Perspective May overlook human agency in change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Decline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/decline/) [Dissolution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dissolution/) [Fitness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fitness/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Process](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/process/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) ## Related quotes > [A drunkard in the gutter is just where he ought to be...The law of survival of the fittest was not made by man, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/a-drunkard-in-the-gutter-is-just-where-he-ought-to-be-the-law-of/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [“What did she say? Just what she ought, of course. A lady always does”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-austen/what-did-she-say-just-what-she-ought-of-course-a-lady-always-does/) [Jane Austen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-austen/) > [Many people tell me what I ought to do and just how I ought to do it, but Few have made me want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-parker-follett/many-people-tell-me-what-i-ought-to-do-and-just-how-i-ought-to-do-it/) [Mary Parker Follett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-parker-follett/) > [It seems like topsy-turvyland to make reason serve the irrational. Yet that is just what it has always done, and ought always to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-lippmann/it-seems-like-topsy-turvyland-to-make-reason-serve-the-irrational-yet/) [Walter Lippmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-lippmann/) > [“How can you give up the world? Just do what you ought to do, and it will give you up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-hyles/how-can-you-give-up-the-world-just-do-what-you-ought-to-do-and-it/) [Jack Hyles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-hyles/) > [I don't believe in gutter politics. I don't believe in gutter journalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-shriver/i-don-t-believe-in-gutter-politics-i-don-t-believe-in-gutter/) [Maria Shriver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-shriver/) > [“Pursuing a dream without God’s approval is as dangerous as walking on a rope bridge over a big gutter? Guess the end….!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/israelmore-ayivor/pursuing-a-dream-without-god-s-approval-is-as-dangerous-as-walking-on/) [Israelmore Ayivor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/israelmore-ayivor/) > [I surprise myself that I'm not dead in the gutter somewhere, surprised that I haven't given up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-syjuco/i-surprise-myself-that-i-m-not-dead-in-the-gutter-somewhere-surprised/) [Miguel Syjuco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-syjuco/) > [I feel that I had been rescued from the gutter by America. One day I was under the gutter, chased by police, thinking dogs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-foreman/i-feel-that-i-had-been-rescued-from-the-gutter-by-america-one-day-i/) [George Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-foreman/) > [You won't see a picture of me rolling around in a gutter, but I sometimes have a photo taken when I'm leaving a club…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pixie-lott/you-won-t-see-a-picture-of-me-rolling-around-in-a-gutter-but-i/) [Pixie Lott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pixie-lott/) > [I'm not going to get down in the gutter with DeSantis and Trump - there's enough of that going on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-gillum/i-m-not-going-to-get-down-in-the-gutter-with-desantis-and-trump-there/) [Andrew Gillum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-gillum/) > [“Where the fuck was her phone? Probably in the gutter, right alongside her dignity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-wright/where-the-fuck-was-her-phone-probably-in-the-gutter-right-alongside/) [Suzanne Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-wright/) > [We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/we-are-all-in-the-gutter-but-some-of-us-are-looking-at-the-stars/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [I should've left you in the gutter where I found you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambri-bright/i-should-ve-left-you-in-the-gutter-where-i-found-you/) [Ambri Bright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambri-bright/) > [Drama is not great when it's a roll off the curb into the gutter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agnes-moorehead/drama-is-not-great-when-it-s-a-roll-off-the-curb-into-the-gutter/) [Agnes Moorehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agnes-moorehead/) ## More by William Graham Sumner > [The great force for forging a society into a solid mass has always been war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-great-force-for-forging-a-society-into-a-solid-mass-has-always/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [One thing must be granted to the rich: they are goodnatured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/one-thing-must-be-granted-to-the-rich-they-are-goodnatured/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [“Can anyone imagine that the masterfulness, the overbearing disposition, the greed of gain, and the ruthlessness in methods, which are the faults of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/can-anyone-imagine-that-the-masterfulness-the-overbearing-disposition/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [The waste of capital, in proportion to the total capital, in this country between 1800 and 1850, in the attempts which were made to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-waste-of-capital-in-proportion-to-the-total-capital-in-this/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [We shall find that every effort to realize equality necessitates a sacrifice of liberty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/we-shall-find-that-every-effort-to-realize-equality-necessitates-a/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [Who is the Forgotten Man? He is the clean, quiet, virtuous, domestic citizen, who pays his debts and his taxes and is never heard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/who-is-the-forgotten-man-he-is-the-clean-quiet-virtuous-domestic/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [The men who start out with the notion that the world owes them a living generally find that the world pays its 'debt' in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-men-who-start-out-with-the-notion-that-the-world-owes-them-a/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [The taxing power is especially something after which the reformer's finger always itches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-taxing-power-is-especially-something-after-which-the-reformer-s/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [Great captains of industry are as rare as great generals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/great-captains-of-industry-are-as-rare-as-great-generals/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [Whatever capital you divert to the support of a shiftless and good-for-nothing person is so much diverted from some other employment, and that means…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/whatever-capital-you-divert-to-the-support-of-a-shiftless-and-good/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [ The yearning after equality \[in economic outcome\] is the offspring of envy and covetousness, and there is no possible plan for satisfying that yearning… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-yearning-after-equality-in-economic-outcome-is-the-offspring-of/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [I never have known a man of ordinary common-sense who did not urge upon his sons, from earliest childhood, doctrines of economy and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/i-never-have-known-a-man-of-ordinary-common-sense-who-did-not-urge/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [Before the tribunal of nature, a man has no more right to life than a rattlesnake; he has no more right to liberty than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/before-the-tribunal-of-nature-a-man-has-no-more-right-to-life-than-a/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [The millionaires are a product of natural selection ... the naturally selected agents of society for certain work. They get high wages and live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/the-millionaires-are-a-product-of-natural-selection-the-naturally/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) > [Perhaps they do not recognize themselves, for a rich man is even harder to define than a poor one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-graham-sumner/perhaps-they-do-not-recognize-themselves-for-a-rich-man-is-even/) [William Graham Sumner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) [Explore all 104 William Graham Sumner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-graham-sumner/) ## More Decline quotes > [Among the many factors that make a return to halcyon days of the first decades of the postwar era virtually impossible is the decline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gilpin/among-the-many-factors-that-make-a-return-to-halcyon-days-of-the/) [Robert Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gilpin/) > [When a man imagines, even after years of striving, that he has attained perfection, his decline begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodore-martin/when-a-man-imagines-even-after-years-of-striving-that-he-has-attained/) Theodore Martin > [Low levels of vitamin D in the population as a whole suggest that most people need to take a vitamin D supplement. This may…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/low-levels-of-vitamin-d-in-the-population-as-a-whole-suggest-that/) [Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/) > [The challenge is either to build an economy that is sustainable or to stay with our unsustainable economy until it declines. It is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-r-brown/the-challenge-is-either-to-build-an-economy-that-is-sustainable-or-to/) [Lester R. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-r-brown/) > [In my humble opinion, the PC as we have known it is in a continuous decline and being relegated to a utility device for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hector-ruiz/in-my-humble-opinion-the-pc-as-we-have-known-it-is-in-a-continuous/) [Hector Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hector-ruiz/) > [“There is a great deal of ruin in a nation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/there-is-a-great-deal-of-ruin-in-a-nation/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [I think the rise of quantitative econometrics and a highly mathematical approach to risk management was the obverse of a decline in interest in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-ferguson/i-think-the-rise-of-quantitative-econometrics-and-a-highly/) [Niall Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-ferguson/) > [To my way of thinking, the American family started to decline when parents began to communicate with their children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erma-bombeck/to-my-way-of-thinking-the-american-family-started-to-decline-when/) [Erma Bombeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erma-bombeck/) > [Deflation means a slowdown of income growth. Markets shrink, new capital investment and employment also taper off, so wages decline. That is what's happening…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/deflation-means-a-slowdown-of-income-growth-markets-shrink-new/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [Prominent exploration experts have recently predicted that total world production of liquid oil will peak by about the end of this decade-or a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amory-lovins/prominent-exploration-experts-have-recently-predicted-that-total/) [Amory Lovins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amory-lovins/) > [In the 1970s, British food was beginning to get good, whereas in France it was just starting its long, sad decline. My most memorable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-faulks/in-the-1970s-british-food-was-beginning-to-get-good-whereas-in-france/) [Sebastian Faulks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-faulks/) > [In all our academies we attempt far too much. ... 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