"The poverty of our century is unlike that of any other. It is not, as poverty was before, the result of natural scarcity, but of a set of priorities imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich"
About this Quote
The phrase "unlike that of any other" isn’t just historical bragging; it’s an indictment of modern self-congratulation. He targets the century’s favorite alibi: scarcity. By calling poverty "a set of priorities", Berger drags the discussion from charity to power. Priorities aren’t weather; they’re choices made in boardrooms, ministries, and markets, then naturalized as inevitability. The subtext is anti-innocence: if poverty is imposed, then the rich aren’t merely adjacent to suffering, they’re implicated in its architecture.
As an artist and critic, Berger’s intent is also aesthetic: to break the spell of what looks normal. He’s writing against the polished images capitalism exports about itself - abundance as proof of virtue, consumption as freedom. "Imposed upon the rest of the world" signals a global frame: colonial afterlives, structural adjustment, extractive supply chains. The sentence works because it narrows blame without moralizing; it names a mechanism. Berger isn’t asking you to feel bad. He’s asking you to see clearly - and then to stop calling the result fate.
Quote Details
| Topic | Equality |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Berger, John. (2026, January 14). The poverty of our century is unlike that of any other. It is not, as poverty was before, the result of natural scarcity, but of a set of priorities imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-poverty-of-our-century-is-unlike-that-of-any-56575/
Chicago Style
Berger, John. "The poverty of our century is unlike that of any other. It is not, as poverty was before, the result of natural scarcity, but of a set of priorities imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich." FixQuotes. January 14, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-poverty-of-our-century-is-unlike-that-of-any-56575/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The poverty of our century is unlike that of any other. It is not, as poverty was before, the result of natural scarcity, but of a set of priorities imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich." FixQuotes, 14 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-poverty-of-our-century-is-unlike-that-of-any-56575/. Accessed 5 Feb. 2026.
