"No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable."
"Among civilized and thriving nations, on the contrary, though a great number of people do no labor at all, many of whom consume the produce of ten times, frequently of a hundred times more labour than the greater part of those who work; yet the produce of the whole labour of the society is so great, that all are often abundantly supplied, and a workman, even of the lowest and poorest order, if he is frugal and industrious, may enjoy a greater share of the necessaries and conveniencies of life than it is possible for any savage to acquire."
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Source: The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith, (Introduction and Plan of the Work, p. 2), 1776.
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