Arthur Helps: Riches Great Luxury
on Wednesday, January 22, 2020Arthur Helps Money Quote saying the wealthy are always giving advice to the poor but somehow don’t get any advice from the poor. Arthur Helps said:
“The greatest luxury of riches is that they enable you to escape so much good advice. The rich are always advising the poor; but the poor seldom return the compliment” — Arthur Helps
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In this quote, Arthur Helps seems to be commenting on an asymmetry in how unsolicited advice is distributed between social classes. By stating that “the greatest luxury of riches is that they enable you to escape so much good advice,” and that “the rich are always advising the poor; but the poor seldom return the compliment,” Helps implies the affluent feel entitled to counsel those with fewer means, while the poor do not reciprocate with advice for the wealthy.
The quote conveys Helps’ perspective that the wealthy see themselves as benefactors by advising the less fortunate, but are shielded from similar advice by their status and resources. Overall, Helps appears to be arguing that the privileged tend to patronize the disadvantaged with advice, while facing less unsolicited guidance themselves due to their relative freedom from want that buffers them from such counsel, whether wanted or not.
Birthday: July 10, 1813 – Death: March 7, 1875