"In America everybody is of the opinion that he has no social superiors, since all men are equal, but he does not admit that he has no social inferiors, for, from the time of Jefferson onward, the doctrine that all men are equal applies only upwards, not downwards.“


-Bertrand Russell

posted in equality


In America everybody is of the opinion that he has no social superiors, since all men are equal, but he does not admit that he has no social inferiors, for, from the time of Jefferson onward, the doctrine that all men are equal applies only upwards, not downwards.

Other Quotes You Might Like

Discover more inspiring quotes from our collection

"A sense of duty is useful in work but offensive in personal relations. People wish to be liked, not to be endured with patient resignation."

-Bertrand Russell

workView Quote
"One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important."

-Bertrand Russell

workView Quote
"Work is of two kinds: first, altering the position of matter at or near the earth's surface relative to other matter second, telling other people to do so."

-Bertrand Russell

workView Quote
"Aristotle could have avoided the mistake of thinking that women have fewer teeth than men, by the simple device of asking Mrs. Aristotle to keep her mouth open while he counted."

-Bertrand Russell

womenView Quote
"Aristotle maintained that women have fewer teeth than men although he was twice married, it never occurred to him to verify this statement by examining his wives' mouths."

-Bertrand Russell

womenView Quote
"Marriage is for women the commonest mode of livelihood, and the total amount of undesired sex endured by women is probably greater in marriage than in prostitution."

-Bertrand Russell

womenView Quote

More Quotes About equality

Explore other inspiring quotes in this category

"Yugoslavia is a multinational community and it can survive only under the conditions of full equality for all nations that live in it."

-Slobodan Milosevic

equalityView Quote
"Equality means nothing unless incorporated into the institutions."

-Slobodan Milosevic

equalityView Quote
"Demands for equality for women are threats to men's self-esteem and sense of sexual turf."

-Alice S. Rossi

equalityView Quote
"The bill neither confers nor abridges the rights of anyone but simply declares that in civil rights there shall be equality among all classes of citizens and that all alike shall be subject to the same punishment."

-Lyman Trumbull

equalityView Quote
"Distinctions between citizens solely because of their ancestry are by their very nature odious to a free people whose institutions are founded upon the doctrine of equality."

-Harlan Stone

equalityView Quote
"If money, education, and honesty will not bring to me as much privilege, as much equality as they bring to any American citizen, then they are to me a curse, and not a blessing."

-John Hope

equalityView Quote