No one in this world, so far as I know - and I have searched the records for years, and employed agents to help me - has ever lost money by underestimating the intelligence of the great masses of the plain people.
Interpretation
This quote emphasizes that those who underestimate the common people's intelligence do not usually suffer financial loss.
H. L. Mencken suggests that throughout history, many have erroneously believed that they could take advantage of the naivety of the general populace. He argues that, contrary to what some might assume, the masses possess an inherent intelligence and awareness that savvy individuals should respect, leading to the idea that financial missteps often occur when one fails to recognize this reality.
In practice
In a discussion about marketing strategies, this quote can illustrate the importance of respecting consumer intelligence.
I know a good many men of great learning-that is, men born with an extraordinary eagerness and capacity to acquire knowledge. One and all, they tell me that they can't recall learning anything of any value in school. All that schoolmasters managed to accomplish with them was to test and determine the amount of knowledge that they had already acquired independently-and not infrequently the determination was made clumsily and inaccurately.
It takes a long while for a naturally trustful person to reconcile himself to the idea that after all God will not help him
It is the theory of all modern civilized governments that they protect and foster the liberty of the citizen; it is the practice of all of them to limit its exercise, and sometimes very narrowly.
The central belief of every moron is that he is the victim of a mysterious conspiracy against his common rights and true deserts.
The cure for the evils of democracy is more democracy.
It is my conviction that no normal man ever fell in love, within the ordinary meaning of the term, after the age of thirty.
They say geniuses mostly have great mothers. They mostly have sad fates.
Even if the whole world turns their back on you, you will always have yourself.
In the craziness of our world, it takes tremendous effort to find a quiet place. It takes time to quiet your mind and your heart before the Lord.
What we now want is closer contact and better understanding between individuals and communities all over the earth, and the elimination of egoism and pride which is always prone to plunge the world into primeval barbarism and strife... Peace can only come as a natural consequence of universal enlightenment.
With an open mind, seek and listen to all the highest ideals. Consider the most enlightened thoughts. Then choose your path, person by person, each for oneself.
Bitterness: anger that forgot where it came from.
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