Quote by Terry Pratchett

The reason that the rich were so rich, Vimes reasoned, was because they managed to spend less money.Take boots, for example. He earned thirty-eight dollars a month plus allowances. A really good pair of leather boots cost fifty dollars. But an affordable pair of boots, which were sort of OK for a season or two and then leaked like hell when the cardboard gave out, cost about ten dollars. Those were the kind of boots Vimes always bought, and wore until the soles were so thin that he could tell where he was in Ankh-Morpork on a foggy night by the feel of the cobbles.But the thing was that good boots lasted for years and years. A man who could afford fifty dollars had a pair of boots that'd still be keeping his feet dry in ten years' time, while the poor man who could only afford cheap boots would have spent a hundred dollars on boots in the same time and would still have wet feet.This was the Captain Samuel Vimes 'Boots' theory of socioeconomic unfairness.

Summary

In this quote, Terry Pratchett highlights the concept of socioeconomic unfairness through Captain Samuel Vimes' "Boots" theory. Vimes reflects on why the rich are wealthy by comparing his own experience with buying boots. He explains that although he can only afford cheap, low-quality boots that wear out quickly, a rich person could buy expensive, high-quality boots that would remain durable for many years. This theory showcases how the poor end up spending more money in the long run due to their inability to afford quality items, reinforcing the idea that the rich stay rich by minimizing their expenses.