World Poverty Quotes:

Anyone who has ever struggled with poverty knows how extremely expensive it is to be poor.

- James A. Baldwin

topic: Inspirational, Black, Poverty, World Poverty, Ending Poverty

Live simply so that others may simply live.

- Mahatma Gandhi

topic: Spiritual, Diversity, Christian Inspirational, Simple Things, Living A Simple Life

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron.

- Dwight D. Eisenhower

source: Speech in Washington, 16 Apr. 1953, in Public Papers of Presidents 1953 (1960) p. 182

topic: Peace, Children, Military, Hunger And Poverty, Make Love Not War

It would be nice if the poor were to get even half of the money that is spent in studying them.

- Bill Vaughan

topic: Nice, Would Be, Half, World Poverty, Ending Poverty

We think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. The poverty of being unwanted, unloved and uncared for is the greatest poverty. We must start in our own homes to remedy this kind of poverty.

- Mother Teresa

topic: Motivational, Wise, Peace, Unloved, Poor Family

The world is very different now. For man holds in his mortal hands the power to abolish all forms of human poverty, and all forms of human life.

- John F. Kennedy

topic: Science, Men, Technology, Inaugural, Inaugural Address

Poverty is the worst form of violence.

- Mahatma Gandhi

topic: Inspirational, Peace, Poverty, Hunger And Poverty, Hunger Poverty

The poverty of our century is unlike that of any other. It is not, as poverty was before, the result of natural scarcity, but of a set of priorities imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich.

- John Berger

source: John Berger (2011). “Keeping a Rendezvous”, p.234, Vintage

topic: Priorities, Poverty, Scarcity, World Poverty

Where justice is denied, where poverty is enforced, . . . neither persons nor property will be safe.

- Frederick Douglass

source: Speech on the twenty-fourth anniversary of emancipation in the District of Columbia,Washington, D.C., Apr. 1886

topic: Justice, Safe, Poverty, Justice And Mercy, Justice Denied

In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of. In a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.

- Confucius

topic: Country, Liberty, Politics, Rulership, Wealth And Poverty

Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice. It is the protection of a fundamental human right, the right to dignity and a decent life . . .

- Nelson Mandela

source: Twitter post from Jan 21, 2016

topic: Justice, Fundamentals, Charity, Hunger And Poverty, Hunger Poverty

The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much it is whether we provide enough for those who have little.

- Franklin D. Roosevelt

source: Second Inaugural Address, 20 Jan. 1937

topic: Money, History, Presidential, Social Progress, Presidents Day

An imbalance between rich and poor is the oldest and most fatal ailment of all republics.

- Plutarch

source: "When Inequality Isn't" by John Mauldin, www.forbes.com. March 29, 2014.

topic: Freedom, Tyrants, Political, Rich And Poor, World Poverty

There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.

- Mahatma Gandhi

topic: Witty, Humorous, Food, Hunger And Poverty, Hunger For Food

Poverty is the parent of revolution and crime.

- Aristotle

topic: Inspiration, Parent, Poverty, Help The Poor, Causes Of Poverty

Security, the chief pretense of civilization, cannot exist where the worst of dangers, the danger of poverty, hangs over everyone's head.

- George Bernard Shaw

source: George Bernard Shaw (2012). “Major Barbara”, p.12, Courier Corporation

topic: Civilization, Poverty, Danger, Hang Over, World Poverty

Because there is global insecurity, nations are engaged in a mad arms race, spending billions of dollars wastefully on instruments of destruction, when millions are starving. And yet, just a fraction of what is expended so obscenely on defense budgets would make the difference in enabling God's children to fill their stomachs, be educated, and given the chance to lead fulfilled and happy lives.

- Desmond Tutu

source: Desmond Tutu's Nobel Lecture in Oslo, Norway, www.nobelprize.org. December 11, 1984.

topic: Children, Real, Educational, Hunger And Poverty, Hunger Poverty

The greatest of evils and the worst of crimes is poverty.

- George Bernard Shaw

source: Major Barbara (1907) preface

topic: Evil, Poverty, Crime, World Poverty

Wars are bred by poverty and oppression. Continued peace is possible only in a relatively free and prosperous world.

- George C. Marshall

topic: War, World, Poverty, War On Poverty, World Poverty

Most of the poverty and misery in the world is due to bad government, lack of democracy, weak states, internal strife, and so on.

- George Soros

topic: Government, Democracy, Poverty, World Poverty, Bad Government

Let us work in partnerships between rich and poor to improve the opportunities of all human beings to build better lives.

- Kofi Annan

topic: Opportunity, Rich Poor, Poverty, World Poverty, Ending Poverty

This is not about charity, it's about justice... The war against terror is bound up in the war against poverty - I didn't say that, Colin Powell said that . . . In these disturbing and distressing times, surely it's cheaper, and smarter, to make friends out of potential enemies than it is to defend yourself against them..Justice is the surest way to get peace.

- Edward de Bono

topic: War, Justice, Enemy, War On Poverty, World Poverty

Peace does not fare well where poverty and deprivation reign. It does not flourish where there is ignorance and a lack of education and information.

- Frederik Willem de Klerk

topic: Educational, Ignorance, Reign, World Poverty, Ending Poverty

...let us recognize that extreme poverty anywhere is a threat to human security everywhere. Let us recall that poverty is a denial of human rights. For the first time in history, in this age of unprecedented wealth and technical prowess, we have the power to save humanity from this shameful scourge. Let us summon the will to do it.

- Kofi Annan

topic: Rights, Humanity, Age, Wealth And Poverty, Prowess

We, who have so much, must do more to help those in need. And most of all, we must live simply, so that others may simply live.

- Ed Begley, Jr.

topic: Needs, May, Poverty, Live Simply, World Poverty

Poverty is not natural; it is man-made

- Nelson Mandela

source: Nelson Mandela (2012). “Notes to the Future: Words of Wisdom”, p.141, Simon and Schuster

topic: Love, Life, Family, Apartheid, World Poverty

Poverty devastates families, communities and nations. It causes instability and political unrest and fuels conflict.

- Kofi Annan

topic: Family, Political, Community, Instability, Causes Of Poverty

Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural. It is man-made and it can be overcome and eradicated by the actions of human beings.

- Nelson Mandela

source: Nelson Mandela (2012). “Notes to the Future: Words of Wisdom”, p.141, Simon and Schuster

topic: Men, Justice, Slavery, Long Walk To Freedom, Apartheid

There was never a war on poverty. Maybe there was a skirmish on poverty

- Andrew Cuomo

topic: War, Poverty, War On Poverty, World Poverty

There's enough on this planet for everyone's needs but not for everyone's greed.

- Mahatma Gandhi

topic: Power, Hunger And Poverty, Hunger Poverty, Hunger Awareness, Global Economy

The hungry world cannot be fed until and unless the growth of its resources and the growth of its population come into balance. Each man and woman-and each nation-must make decisions of conscience and policy in the face of this great problem.

- Lyndon B. Johnson

source: Johnson, Lyndon B. (1967). “Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: Lyndon B. Johnson, 1966”, p.42, Best Books on

topic: Men, Population Problem, Decision, Overpopulation, World Population

She lived almost fifty years of her life completely dedicated to the care of the poor and the marginalized. Astonishingly, for those nearly fifty years she identified completely with the poor she served by her own experience of being seemingly unwanted and unloved by God. In a mystical way — through this painful interior "darkness" — she tasted their greatest poverty of being "unwanted, unloved, and uncared for."

- Mother Teresa

source: "A Call to Mercy: Hearts to Love, Hands to Serve".

topic: Catholic, Poverty, Naked, Unloved, Poor Family

These days there is a lot of poverty in the world, and that's a scandal when we have so many riches and resources to give to everyone. We all have to think about how we can become a little poorer.

- Pope Francis

topic: Thinking, Giving, World, Wealth And Poverty, World Poverty

It turns out that advancing equal opportunity and economic empowerment is both morally right and good economics. Why? Because discrimination, poverty and ignorance restrict growth. We know that investments in education, infrastructure and scientific and technological research increase growth. They increase good jobs, and they create new wealth for all of us.

- William J. Clinton

source: "Transcript of Bill Clinton's Speech to the Democratic National Convention". www.nytimes.com. September 5, 2012.

topic: Jobs, Ignorance, Opportunity, Investment In Education, Equal Opportunity

When you have a spiritual foundation, you look at poverty differently then.

- Dennis Banks

topic: Spiritual, Foundation, Looks, World Poverty

I believe that, as long as there is plenty, poverty is evil. Government belongs wherever evil needs an adversary and there are people in distress.

- Robert Kennedy

topic: Believe, Government, Evil, World Poverty, Ending Poverty

The issue of poverty is not a statistical issue. It is a human issue.

- James Wolfensohn

topic: Issues, Poverty, Humans, World Poverty, Ending Poverty

It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.

- Mother Teresa

topic: Life, Happiness, Success, Mother And Child, Mother Child

Poverty is everyone's problem. It cuts across any line you can name: age, race, social, geographic or religious. Whether you are black or white; rich, middle-class or poor, we are ALL touched by poverty

- Kathleen Blanco

topic: Religious, Cutting, Class, World Poverty, Ending Poverty

True compassion is more than flinging a coin to a beggar; it comes to see that an edifice which produces beggars needs restructuring.

- Martin Luther King, Jr.

topic: Inspirational, Life, Compassion, Samaritans, World Poverty

I don't think people understand that being poor means you have to work from dawn until dusk just to survive through the day. I think there's some notion that poor people lie about all day not doing anything.

- Emma Thompson

topic: Lying, Mean, Thinking, Dawn And Dusk, People Lie

We will not overcome world poverty unless we manage climate change successfully. I've spent my life as a development economist, and it's crystal clear that we succeed or fail on winning the battle against world poverty and managing climate change together. If we fail on one, we fail on the other.

- Nicholas Stern

topic: Winning, Battle, Together, World Poverty

If our life is not a course of humility, self-denial, renunciation of the world, poverty of spirit, and heavenly affection, we do not live the lives of Christians.

- William Law

source: William Law, P. G. Stanwood (1978). “A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life ; The Spirit of Love”, p.52, Paulist Press

topic: Christian, Religious, Humility, World Poverty, Self-denial