“You’ll Get Nothing and Like It!” vs. “You Will Own Nothing and Be Happy.”

May 24, 2026

Was Judge Smails a member of the World Economic Forum, or was he just a local prick with a little bit of money?

People my age laugh a lot at the movie Caddyshack, but I don’t know if the humor carries over to the younger generations. When Ted Knight’s character Judge Smails says, “You’ll get nothing and like it!” to his obnoxious grandson, everybody my age laughs because we relate to it. All of us heard our parents say something similar, and they said it with straight faces.

Dads didn’t necessarily say, “You’ll get nothing…” It usually started off with something like, “Yer gonna clean yer plate, and yer gonna like it!” or “Yer gonna keep yer mouth shut, and yer gonna like it!” or “Yer gonna do what I tell you, and yer gonna like it!”

I’ve never heard a mom finish her admonitions with “… and you’ll like it!” It might have happened in someone else’s life, but not in mine. “You’ll (insert demand), and you’ll like it!” is a dad thing. And no matter who said it, whether it was Judge Smails in the country club or my dad at the dinner table, kids knew that “You’ll (insert action), and you’ll like it” was about control. The parents were telling us what to do AND how we were going to feel about it.

Nowadays, the same people who laugh at “You’ll get nothing and like it!” will get suspicious of anybody who defends the quote “You’ll own nothing and be happy.” Supposedly, the quote came from a Danish politician whose essay about technology leading to a utopia was published by the World Economic Forum, and she has since claimed that the quote was taken out of context.

Yeah, the quote was probably taken out of context, but who cares? Everything is taken out of context today. Even though I’m a huge fan of context, I dislike utopias and if anybody can overcome lack of context, it’s a member of the WEF who probably has so much money that he/she doesn’t need to care what the average person who’s not going to own anything thinks.

Plus, if the WEF wants to claim that the quote has been taken out of context, then maybe the WEF should do better at making sure that the world economies aren’t crushing the average person. At least, a lot of average people perceive the economy as oppressive to the average person. Even though I don’t like the phrase “perception is reality,” people’s perceptions do influence their behavior, and consumer behavior affects the economy a lot. If too many people believe that the economy is weak, then important parts of the economy get hurt.

World Economic Forum headquarters? Or the compound for next James Bond movie villain?

To me, it seems weird that somebody in the WEF (not to be confused with the Wrestling Entertainment Federation) would try imagining a utopia. Why would rich people try imagining utopias? Is that really what they do? I guess it’s better than eating babies (I might be mixing up conspiracy theories). From the elite’s point of view, we average people are going to complain about the elite no matter what they do. Eat babies? We complain. Write about utopias? We complain. No wonder they’re (allegedly) trying to destroy us. All we do is gripe!

As I mentioned earlier, I’m not a fan of utopias (just so you know, I’m not a fan of eating babies either) because utopia would only work if everybody had good intentions and if there were no greed, lust. jealousy, or violence. The idea of a utopia ignores human nature, unfortunately, and I’m guessing that a member of the WEF probably has to be a bit consumed with greed and wouldn’t be satisfied with owning nothing. It’s just an impression, not a judgement. I admit that I could be wrong.

If it sounds like I’m judging, I know that I really should focus on my own life and how I choose to live it. That’s why the “You will own nothing and be happy” quote doesn’t bother me as much as it bothers other people. The idea of not being ruled by your possessions is almost Biblical, so the idea of not owning much doesn’t bother me.

Reading the entire Holy Bible might feel like a slog, but The Sermon on the Mount takes only a few minutes.

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and consuming insectdestroy and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor consuming insect destroy and where thieves do not break in or steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Matthew 6:19-21

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That’s pretty solid advice, no matter what your spiritual leanings are. I know some readers might automatically tune out when I mention anything religious (Hey! I’ve been there), but even if you don’t believe in God or if you dislike Christianity (or elements of it), you can still recognize that there might be some wisdom in The Sermon on the Mount. Or maybe you can’t.

Either way, the point is that if you don’t really care about the stuff you own, then you might not feel as threatened by the “you will own nothing” quote. Even so, that WEF attitude seems kind of tone deaf. “Own nothing” is way out there. I think we are fine with owning stuff. We’re just not supposed to love our possessions or even care about them that much.

At least with Jesus’s advice, you have a choice. You can decide to overvalue your possessions, or you can see them merely as temporary tools to get you through the day and help you to enjoy your life. If you choose to treasure your possessions, the consequence is being ruled by your possessions. But if your possessions run your life, it was your choice. It wasn’t the WEF’s. It was yours, and you’ve been warned about it.

Wealth inequity/inequality has always been around throughout history. Getting mad at that is almost like getting mad at biology or the weather (I know there’s a segment of people fighting biology right now, and I shake my fist at the clouds at least once a week). There are only a few aspects of my life that I fully control. I can’t control the WEF, but I can control whether or not I watch Caddyshack today. And since it’s my choice, I’d rather laugh at “You’ll get nothing and like it!” than get mad at “You’ll own nothing and be happy.”

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I can’t believe that I didn’t use the line “You’ll get nothing and like it!” in my ONE novel. What a wasted opportunity!

It’s the oldest story in the world, 1990s style!

Man meets woman; man falls in “luuuvvv” with woman; man gets blindsided by reality!