“The rich are the scum of the earth in every country.”

— G. K. Chesterton , book The Flying Inn

The Flying Inn (1914)

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G. K. Chesterton 229

English mystery novelist and Christian apologist 1874–1936

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“The French system of conscription brings together a fair sample of all classes; ours is composed of the scum of the earth — the mere scum of the earth. It is only wonderful that we should be able to make so much out of them afterwards.”

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A French army is composed very differently from ours. The conscription calls out a share of every class — no matter whether your son or my son — all must march; but our friends — I may say it in this room — are the very scum of the earth. People talk of their enlisting from their fine military feeling — all stuff — no such thing. Some of our men enlist from having got bastard children — some for minor offences — many more for drink; but you can hardly conceive such a set brought together, and it really is wonderful that we should have made them the fine fellows they are.
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“Only a complete moral idiot can believe for an instant that we are fighting against the wretched of the earth. We are fighting, as I said before, against the scum of the earth”

Christopher Hitchens (1949–2011) British American author and journalist

"A View from the Patriotic Left" http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=F01E41CB-A584-4597-B9BE-86BBD9B3F7A1, Boston Globe (2002-09-09)]: On the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan
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“Foreign aid goes from poor people in rich countries to rich people in poor countries.”

Rand Paul (1963) American politician, ophthalmologist, and United States Senator from Kentucky

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“What if a small group of world leaders were to conclude that the principal risk to the Earth comes from the actions of the rich countries? And if the world is to survive, those rich countries would have to sign an agreement reducing their impact on the environment. Will they do it? The group's conclusion is 'no'. The rich countries won't do it. They won't change. So, in order to save the planet, the group decides: Isn't the only hope for the planet that the industrialized civilizations collapse? Isn't it our responsibility to bring that about?”

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Ha-Joon Chang book Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism

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Leonid Kuchma (1938) Second president of Ukraine

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“The rich are the scum of the earth in every country.”

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