We have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society

Hear the resonant words of Lyndon B. Johnson, spoken in 1964 at the University of Michigan: “We have the opportunity to move not only toward the rich society and the powerful society, but upward to the Great Society.” In this declaration, Johnson set before his nation a vision not of wealth alone, nor of power alone, but of a higher calling—the creation of a Great Society, one rooted in justice, education, equality, and human dignity. He warned that prosperity and might, though desirable, are not ends in themselves. They are tools, stepping-stones on the path toward something greater: a civilization that uplifts all its people.

The origin of this quote lies in the tumult of the 1960s, an era of abundance for America, yet also of deep inequality, racial strife, and moral questioning. The nation was rich, its industries booming, its military unmatched. Yet Johnson saw that richness without fairness, and power without compassion, would leave the people hollow. Thus, he called for an ascent—an upward striving—to the Great Society, where the measure of success would not be how much a few possessed, but how broadly opportunity and dignity were shared.

The ancients, too, wrestled with this vision. Plato in his Republic warned that a city obsessed with wealth becomes corrupt, and a city obsessed with strength becomes tyrannical. The true greatness of a society, he argued, lies in its justice, in the harmony of its parts, in the education of its citizens. Johnson’s Great Society was in many ways a modern echo of this ancient wisdom, calling for schools to enlighten, hospitals to heal, and laws to uplift those long cast down.

History gives us vivid testimony to this truth. Consider the grandeur of Rome: it became rich, it became powerful, conquering nations and amassing treasure. Yet in its hunger for wealth and its lust for dominance, it neglected the well-being of its citizens, letting inequality fester, bread and circuses substitute for true care, and corruption rot its core. Its collapse reminds us that richness and power are fragile foundations; only societies that pursue greatness in justice and compassion endure. Johnson, with prophetic clarity, sought to spare his own nation from such a fate.

The meaning of this quote, then, is not merely political—it is moral. Johnson teaches that the true measure of a nation, and of any people, is not found in its riches or its armies, but in how it tends to its poor, its sick, its children, and its oppressed. To be great is to rise above the narrow pursuit of wealth and strength, and to build a society where every human being can live in dignity. Richness and power may dazzle the eyes, but the Great Society stirs the soul.

What lesson shall we take from this? That each of us must ask whether we seek only the rich society, chasing possessions, or the powerful society, grasping for influence, or whether we strive upward to something nobler. In our homes, our schools, our workplaces, and our politics, we must labor not merely to prosper, but to build justice, fairness, and compassion. The Great Society begins not with decrees alone, but with the daily choices of citizens who refuse to let wealth and power blind them to the higher good.

Therefore, children of the future, engrave this wisdom upon your hearts: richness without justice is poverty, power without compassion is weakness. Do not stop at wealth or strength, but climb higher. Build with your hands and your hearts a society where every voice is heard, every child is taught, every wound is cared for. For only then will your nation not merely be rich or powerful, but truly great—a society worthy of remembrance through the ages.