《管子·八观》
国家奢侈则开支浪费，开支浪费则人民贫困，人民贫困则产生奸恶思想，产生奸恶思想则出现邪巧行为。所以，奸恶和邪巧的产生，由于贫困；贫困的产生，由于奢侈；奢侈的产生，由于没有制度。所以说，明确制度和标准，节约服饰，俭省财用，禁止奢侈，是治国的急务。
国侈则用费，用费则民贫，民贫则奸智生，奸智生则邪巧作；故奸邪之所生，生于匮不足；匮不足之所生，生于侈；侈之所生，生于毋度；故曰： 审度量，节衣服，俭财用，禁侈泰，为国之急也。 
When a country is extravagant, expenditure is wasteful, when expenditure is wasteful, the people are impoverished, when the people are impoverished, wicked thoughts are engendered, and when wicked thoughts are engendered deviant behavior emerges. Thus, wickedness and deviance have poverty as their origin, poverty has extravagance as its origin, and extravagance has the absence of regulations as its origin. Thus, it is said that to establish clear regulations and standards, to limit clothing and expenditure, to proscribe extravagance, these are the urgent concerns of governing a country.