Alfred Marshall Quotes

The Manufactures of the World may be reduced to two sorts; that is, the Necessary, which consist in all that is wrought for Man's Necessities or conveniences; and the Superfluous, which consist in all that is wrought, and serves to gratify his Vanity or Pleasures.

I love nice things - I consider Ralph Lauren sheets to be a necessity, not a luxury - but I've known what it's like to be poor.

Once a person has all the things they need to live, everything else is entertainment.

But you've got to have money for comfort, which obviously doesn't matter as much when you're young, but even so. I always like to bloody eat well and be warm. Have a drink when I want it.

I hope that if you are employed full-time, you are doing it to ensure that basic needs are met and not simply to indulge a taste for an elaborate home, fancy cars, and other luxuries.

The affluent society makes no meaningful distinction between luxury and necessity.

No man can live well, or indeed live at all, unless he be provided with necessaries.

We are not expecting Utopia here on this earth. But God meant things to be much easier than we have made them. A man has a natural right to food, clothing, and shelter. A certain amount of goods is necessary to lead a good life.

Those under your custody shall be treated as befits men of their quality and station; that they shall keep a good table … be provided with a good breakfast, dinner and supper; tea and coffee shall be supplied to them and nothing which might be necessary to their daily subsistence shall be wanting.

It frequently happens that an element of the standard of living which set out with being primarily wasteful, ends with becoming, in the apprehension of the consumer, a necessary of life.

Civilization is a limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessaries.

Regardless of what our national credit rating is, people will always want a roof over their heads, food on their tables, fuel for their cars, and clothes on their backs.

I don't need a lot: I've got a telly, a computer - what else can you get me?

The things that are essential are acquired with little bother; it is the luxuries that call for toil and effort.

Under capitalism the common man enjoys amenities which in ages gone by were unknown and therefore inaccessible even to the richest people. But, of course, these motorcars, television sets and refrigerators do not make a man happy. In the instant in which he acquires them, he may feel happier than he did before. But as soon as some of his wishes are satisfied, new wishes spring up. Such is human nature.

It's often hard for us to imagine going without some of our luxuries like travel, dining out, or Internet, much less our basic necessities like food and water. But try for a minute to imagine how life would be with such deprivations.

The first time I had disposable income, the two things I cared most about were a television and a couch.

Space and light and order. Those are the things that men need just as much as they need bread or a place to sleep.

The first duty of government is to see that people have food, fuel, and clothes. The second, that they have means of moral and intellectual education.

It is the potential for economic growth that provides the basis for the development of countries, for bringing to people essential goods and services, such as water to drink and facilities for healthcare.

The term 'Xiaokang' is used today to refer to a society where people can receive education, get paid through work, have access to medical services and old-age support, have a shelter and more than enough food and clothing, and lead a well-off life.

But we can also take the radical view that the test of an economy has to do with the extent to which it is providing everybody with a decent means of living.

I don't need to have three feather pillows in my trailer. I just don't work that way.

In life, you need a house and a car. After that, you have a choice.

Don't spend money on extravagant things like cars and big vacations. Spend it on things that are really fun.