“We couldn't afford toilet paper, so on the wall next to the seat was a wire hanger with old newspaper on it for you to wipe. The newspaper was uncomfortable, but at least I stayed informed while I handled my business.”
Source: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
“As modestly as we lived at home, I never felt poor because our lives were so rich with experience.”
Source: Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood
“Warum arbeiten wir heute härter als in den achtziger Jahren, obwohl wir reicher sind als je zuvor? Warum leben immer noch Millionen Menschen in Armut, obwohl wir reich genug sind, um der Armut ein für alle Mal ein Ende zu machen? Und warum hängen mehr als 60 Prozent unseres Einkommens davon ab, in welchem Land wir geboren wurden?”
Source: Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World
“Armut wird im Grunde durch einen Mangel and Geld verursacht", erklärt der Ökonom Joseph Hanlon. "Sie hat nichts mit Dummheit zu tun. Ein Mensch, der keine Haare auf dem Kopf hat, kann sich nicht am eigenen Schopf aus dem Sumpf ziehen.”
Source: Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World
“Im Kapitalismus wie im Kommunismus läuft alles (...) auf eine falsche Vorstellung hinaus, die wir vor vierzig Jahren beinahe überwunden hätten: auf den Trugschluss, ein Leben ohne Armut sei kein Recht, auf das alle Menschen Anspruch hätten, sondern ein Privileg, für das man arbeiten müsse.”
Source: Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World
“I will suggest that we do not only teach poor people how to fish but how to farm the fish—aquaculture!”
Source: Average to Abundant: How Ordinary People Build Sustainable Wealth and Enjoy the Process
“There is a magnificent, beautiful, wonderful painting in front of you! It is intricate, detailed, a painstaking labor of devotion and love! The colors are like no other, they swim and leap, they trickle and embellish! And yet you choose to fixate your eyes on the small fly which has landed on it! Why do you do such a thing?”
“Such were the cruel terms upon which their life was possible, that they might never have nor expect a single instant's respite from worry, a single instant in which they were not haunted by the thought of money.”
Source: The Jungle
“Radicalization follows fear and insecurity, and as dissatisfaction grew, fewer and fewer people were interested in my nuanced, chill takes.”
Source: A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor
“Fear, poverty, alcoholism, loneliness are terminal illnesses. Emergencies, in fact.”
Source: A Manual for Cleaning Women: Selected Stories