The truth is that as soon as we are no longer obliged to earn our living, we no longer know what to do with our life and recklessly squander it. Journals

My hope in writing this book has been that enough people will choose to profit from that opportunity to make a difference. Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed

In no social institution is the codified ritual of behavior more rigid than in funerals. Imagine the indignation if the minister altered his sermon or experimented with facial expression. Consider the shock if, at the funeral parlors, any chairs were used but those little folding yellow torture chairs with the hard seats. No, dying, a man may be loved, hated, mourned, missed; but once dead he becomes the chief ornament of a complicated and formal social celebration. Tortilla Flat

Great works of art are only great because they are accessible and comprehensible to everyone. What is art?