William Graham Sumner Quotes

A collection of quotes by William Graham Sumner.

William Graham Sumner was a prominent American social scientist and influential economist. Born on October 30, 1840, in Paterson, New Jersey, Sumner became a professor of political and social science at Yale University and is best known for his work in sociology and classical liberalism. He wrote extensively on topics such as social inequality, individualism, and the role of the state in society. Sumner’s ideas and theories continue to have a significant impact on the fields of economics, sociology, and political science. He passed away on April 12, 1910, leaving behind a profound intellectual legacy.

Men never cling to their dreams with such tenacity as at the

Men never cling to their dreams with such tenacity as at the moment when they are losing faith in them, and know it, but do not dare yet to confess it to themselves.

William Graham Sumner


Any one who believes that any great enterprise of an industr

Any one who believes that any great enterprise of an industrial character can be started without labor must have little experience of life.

William Graham Sumner

Experience Life Character Labor

A drunkard in the gutter is just where he ought to be, accor

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

Fitness

It is remarkable that jealousy of individual property in lan

It is remarkable that jealousy of individual property in land often goes along with very exaggerated doctrines of tribal or national property in land.

William Graham Sumner

Jealousy

The waste of capital, in proportion to the total capital, in

The waste of capital, in proportion to the total capital, in this country between 1800 and 1850, in the attempts which were made to establish means of communication and transportation, was enormous.

William Graham Sumner

Communication

The forgotten man... He works, he votes, generally he prays,

The forgotten man... He works, he votes, generally he prays, but his chief business in life is to pay.

William Graham Sumner

Business