About this quote

In The Birth of a New Nation (1957), King uses a focused ethical claim to examine economic justice, with attention to inordinate, superfluous, wealth. The practical center is the relationship between wisdom and deadening and poverty, giving readers a specific lens for judgment and action.

When to use it

• A community organizer builds a meeting around inordinate before participants choose one measurable action related to economic justice.
• A teacher pairs the passage from The Birth of a New Nation (1957) with a primary-source exercise about wisdom and public responsibility.
• A team leader uses the tension between superfluous and poverty to discuss conduct under pressure.