Seven Deadly Sins Wealth without work Pleasure without conscience Science without humanity Knowledge without character Politics without principle Commerce without morality Worship without sacrifice.

The list frames “sin” not as private vice but as social and ethical failure: forms of power or achievement severed from the moral disciplines that should govern them. Each pairing warns against extracting benefits (wealth, pleasure, knowledge, political authority, commercial gain, religious comfort) while evading the corresponding responsibilities (work, conscience, character, principle, morality, sacrifice). Read as a critique of modernity, it targets systems that reward results without regard to means—an outlook closely associated with Gandhi’s insistence that ends and means are inseparable. The aphorism’s enduring force lies in its portability: it can be applied to personal conduct, institutional culture, and public policy alike.

Commonly circulated as “Seven Social Sins” (or “Seven Deadly Social Sins”) rather than “Seven Deadly Sins.” Often the first item appears as “Wealth without work” or “Riches without work.” The last item is frequently given as “Worship without sacrifice” or “Religion without sacrifice.”