What William Graham Sumner thinks about happiness
American sociologist (1840 to 1910); author of What Social Classes Owe to Each Other.
William Graham Sumner did not write this page.
We collected these quotes from things they published elsewhere, and every quote links to where it was said. They have no account here and have not endorsed this site. Quotes are word for word; the short line under each one is our own restatement, not their wording. Their own site. Is this you? Claim it or ask us to remove it. Or tell us what is wrong here.
Filter happiness · Newest first
Only William Graham Sumner on happiness. See everyone on happiness
2 dated positions, c. 1883, in their own words. Our reading of what William Graham Sumner has said — not written or endorsed by them.
-
Their wordsIf we have been all wrong for the last three hundred years in aiming at a fuller realization of individual liberty, as a condition of general and widely-diffused happiness, then we must turn back to paternalism, discipline, and authority; but to have a combination of liberty and dependence is impossible.
↗What Social Classes Owe to Each Other (1883)gutenberg.org All 20 from this book
-
Our readingRights concern equal chances, not results
Their wordsRights do not pertain to results, but only to chances. They pertain to the conditions of the struggle for existence, not to any of the results of it; to the pursuit of happiness, not to the possession of happiness.
↗What Social Classes Owe to Each Other (1883)gutenberg.org All 20 from this book