The private control of credit is the modern form of slavery.
Upton SinclairRead
Into this wild-beast tangle these men had been born without their consent, they had taken part in it because they could not help it; that they were in jail was no disgrace to them, for the game had never been fair, the dice were loaded. They were swindlers and thieves of pennies and dimes, and they had been trapped and put out of the way by the swindlers and thieves of millions of dollars.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the injustice of societal conditions that trap individuals into a life of crime without their choice, emphasizing a rigged system.
Upton Sinclair's quote reflects on the fundamental inequalities present in society, where individuals born into adverse conditions are often forced into a life of crime. The metaphor of loaded dice illustrates how the system is stacked against them, making it nearly impossible for them to succeed without resorting to theft or deceit, while those who exploit the system on a larger scale remain unpunished.
Themes
InjusticeSocietyInequalityCrimeSystem
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a speech discussing criminal justice reform.
More from Upton Sinclair
All quotes →Human beings suffer agonies, and their sad fates become legends; poets write verses about them and playwrights compose dramas, and the remembrance of past grief becomes a source of present pleasure - such is the strange alchemy of the spirit.
Upton SinclairRead
I aimed at the public's heart, and by accident I hit it in the stomach.
Upton SinclairRead
And as for other men, who worked in tank-rooms full of steam, and in some of which there were open vats near the level of the floor, their peculiar trouble was that they fell into the vats; and when they were fished out, there was never enough of them left to be worth exhibiting,-sometimes they would be overlooked for days, till all but the bones of them had gone out into the world as Durham's Pure Leaf Lard! This contributed to the passing of the Pure Food Act of 1906.
Upton SinclairRead
Fascism is capitalism plus murder.
Upton SinclairRead
The old wanderlust had gotten into his blood, the joy of the unbound life, the joy of seeking, of hoping without limit.
Upton SinclairRead
Similar quotes
Prostitution, although hounded, imprisoned, and chained, is nevertheless the greatest triumph of Puritanism.
Emma GoldmanRead
All things must come to the soul from its roots, from where it is planted.
Teresa Of AvilaRead
The frustrating part of being tagged 'controversial' is people go looking for trouble where there isn't any to look for.
Salman RushdieRead
Life is not about finding our limitations, it's about finding our infinity.
Herbie HancockRead
In the name of what - except perhaps the coefficient of rarity - does man adorn himself with necklaces of shells and not spider's webs, with fox fur and not fox innards? In the name of what I don't know. Don't dirt, trash and filth, which are man's companions during his whole lifetime, deserve to be dearer to him and isn't it serving him well to remind him of their beauty?
Jean DubuffetRead
Beauty, like ice, our footing does betray; Who can tread sure on the smooth, slippery way: Pleased with the surface, we glide swiftly on, And see the dangers that we cannot shun.
John DrydenRead