WIST Quotations

Russell, Bertrand -- Lecture (1949-01-30), “Individual and Social Ethics,” Reith Lecture, “Authority and the Individual” No. 6, BBC Radio

Dave — Wed, 27 May 2026 17:49:30 +0000

People do not always remember that politics, economics, and social organisation generally, belong in the realm of means, not ends. Our political and social thinking is prone to what may be called the “administrator’s fallacy,” by which I mean the habit of looking upon a society as a systematic whole, of a sort that is thought good if it is pleasant to contemplate as a model of order, a planned organism with parts neatly dove-tailed into each other. But a society does not, or at least should not, exist to satisfy an external survey, but to bring a good life to the individuals who compose it. It is in the individuals, not in the whole, that ultimate value is to be sought. A good society is a means to a good life for those who compose it, not something having a separate kind of excellence on its own account.

Bertrand Russell (1872–1970) English mathematician and philosopher
Lecture (1949-01-30), “Individual and Social Ethics,” Reith Lecture, “Authority and the Individual” No. 6, BBC Radio

Transcript. As collected, with edits, in Authority and the Individual (1949).

Chamfort, Nicolas -- Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 7, ¶ 457 (1795) [tr. Dusinberre (1992)]

Dave — Mon, 20 Nov 2023 03:03:42 +0000

Economists are surgeons who have an excellent scalpel but a jagged lancet — they operate exquisitely on the dead but torture the living.

[Les économistes sont des chirugiens qui on un excellent scalpel et un bistouri ébréché, opérant à merveille sur le mort et martyrisant le vif.]

Nicolas Chamfort (1741–1794) French writer, epigrammist (b. Nicolas-Sébastien Roch)
Products of Perfected Civilization [Produits de la Civilisation Perfectionée], Part 1 “Maxims and Thoughts [Maximes et Pensées],” ch. 7, ¶ 457 (1795) [tr. Dusinberre (1992)]

(Source (French)). Other translations:

Political Economists are surgeons with excellent scalpels and blunted bistouries; they work on the dead to a marvel and torture the living.
[tr. Mathers (1926)]

An economist is a surgeon with an excellent scalpel and a rough-edged lancet, who operates beautifully on the dead and tortures the living.
[tr. Merwin (1969)]

Economists are surgeons who wield an excellent scalpel and a chipped bistoury, and operate wonderfully on the dead flesh and agonize the living.
[tr. Pearson (1973)]

Economists are surgeons who have an excellent scalpel and chipped scissors, who operate marvelously on the dead and who make martyrs of the living.
[tr. Siniscalchi (1994)]

Rogers, Will -- Radio broadcast (1935-05-26)

Dave — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 16:08:58 +0000

An economist is a man that can tell you anything about — he’ll tell you what can happen under any given conditions, and his guess is liable to be just as good as anybody else’s, too.

Will Rogers (1879–1935) American humorist
Radio broadcast (1935-05-26)

Krugman, Paul -- “The Legacy of Destructive Austerity,” New York Times (20 Dec 2019)

Dave — Mon, 19 Jul 2021 22:23:56 +0000

Why is austerity in a depressed economy a bad idea? Because an economy is not like a household, whose income and spending are separate things. In the economy as a whole, my spending is your income and your spending is my income. What happens if everyone tries to cut spending at the same time, as was the case in the aftermath of the financial crisis? Everyone’s income falls.

Paul Krugman (b. 1953) American economist, author
“The Legacy of Destructive Austerity,” New York Times (20 Dec 2019)

Bell, Daniel -- The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism (1976)

Dave — Mon, 22 Mar 2021 14:28:49 +0000

Economics is the art of allocating scarce goods among competing demands. The conceit of Marxism was the thought that in Communism, economics would be “abolished”; this was why one did not have to think about the questions of relative privilege and social justice. But the point is that we still have to think about economics, and probably always will. The question, then, is whether we can arrive at a set of normative rules which seek to protect liberty, reward achievement and enhance the social good, within the constraints of “economics”.

Daniel Bell (1919–2011) American sociologist, writer, editor, academic
The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism (1976)

Bell, Daniel -- The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism (1976)

Dave — Mon, 08 Mar 2021 15:58:11 +0000

But no moral philosopher, from Aristotle to Aquinas, to John Locke and Adam Smith, divorced economics from a set of moral ends or held the production of wealth to be an end in itself; rather it was seen as a means to the realization of virtue, a means of leading a civilized life.

Daniel Bell (1919–2011) American sociologist, writer, editor, academic
The Cultural Contradictions of Capitalism (1976)

Sowell, Thomas -- “Student Loans,” Is Reality Optional? (1993)

Dave — Mon, 16 Nov 2020 22:47:29 +0000

The first lesson of economics is scarcity: there is never enough of anything to fully satisfy all those who want it. The first lesson of politics is to disregard the first lesson of economics.

Thomas Sowell (b. 1930) American economist, economic historian, social theorist, political commentator
“Student Loans,” Is Reality Optional? (1993)

Keynes, John Maynard -- (Attributed)

Dave — Tue, 11 Apr 2017 20:23:10 +0000

Markets can remain irrational a lot longer than you and I can remain solvent.

John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) English economist
(Attributed)

Generally credited to Keynes, but the earliest reference found is by financial analyst A. Gary Shilling, "Scoreboard," Forbes (15 Feb 1993). More discussion here.

Sometimes given as "Markets can remain irrational longer than you can remain solvent" or "Markets can stay irrational longer than you can stay solvent."

Tawney, R. H. -- The Acquisitive Century, ch. 5 “The Functional Society” (1920)

Dave — Thu, 16 Mar 2017 17:09:57 +0000

It is not private ownership, but private ownership divorced from work, which is corrupting to the principle of industry; and the idea of some socialists that private property in land or capital is necessarily mischievous is a piece of scholastic pedantry as absurd as that of those conservatives who would invest all property with some kind of mysterious sanctity.

R. H. Tawney (1880–1962) English writer, economist, historian, social critic [Richard Henry Tawney]
The Acquisitive Century, ch. 5 “The Functional Society” (1920)

Keynes, John Maynard -- “The End of Laissez-faire,” sec. 5 (1926)

Dave — Tue, 31 Jan 2017 15:54:20 +0000

For my part I think that capitalism, wisely managed, can probably be made more efficient for attaining economic ends than any alternative system yet in sight, but that in itself it is in many ways extremely objectionable.

John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) English economist
“The End of Laissez-faire,” sec. 5 (1926)

Adams, Douglas -- Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Phase 1, “Fit the 2nd” (BBC Radio) (1978-03-15)

Dave — Mon, 08 Aug 2016 23:47:14 +0000

NARRATOR: This planet has, or had, a problem which was this: most of the people living on it were unhappy for pretty much of the time. Many solutions were suggested for this problem, but most of these were largely concerned with the movements of small green pieces of paper, which is odd because on the whole it wasn’t the small green pieces of paper that were unhappy.

Douglas Adams (1952–2001) English author, humorist, screenwriter
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Phase 1, “Fit the 2nd” (BBC Radio) (1978-03-15)

Though in the second episode of the radio play, this material was moved in the book, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (1979), into an introduction. The text was left unchanged, except that the first line reads "This planet has -- or rather had -- a problem ...."

Mill, John Stuart -- “The Consumer Theory of Prosperity” (1830)

Dave — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 13:49:28 +0000

What a country wants to make it richer is never consumption, but production. Where there is the latter, we may be sure that there is no want of the former. To produce, implies that the producer desires to consume; why else should he give himself useless labor? He may not wish to consume what he himself produces, but his motive for producing and selling is the desire to buy. Therefore, if the producers generally produce and sell more and more, they certainly also buy more and more.

John Stuart Mill (1806–1873) English philosopher and economist
“The Consumer Theory of Prosperity” (1830)

Coase, Ronald -- (Attributed)

Dave — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 14:15:47 +0000

If you torture the data long enough, Nature will confess.

Ronald Coase (1910–2013) British economist, academic, author
(Attributed)

Criticizing econometricians. Cited as early as 1977. Variants:

"If you torture data long enough, it will confess to anything you'd like."
"If you torture the data long enough, it will confess to anything."

Huxley, Aldous -- The Island, “Notes on What’s What” (1962)

Dave — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 12:15:32 +0000

‘Patriotism is not enough.’ But neither is anything else. Science is not enough, religion is not enough, art is not enough, politics and economics are not enough, nor is love, nor is duty, nor is action however disinterested, nor, however sublime, is contemplation. Nothing short of everything will really do.

Aldous Huxley (1894–1963) English novelist, essayist and critic
The Island, “Notes on What’s What” (1962)

Boulding, Kenneth Ewart -- “Experts,” Notes from Woods Hole [unpublished] (1976)

Dave — Mon, 06 Jan 2014 17:51:35 +0000

We cannot walk before we toddle,
Though we may toddle far too long,
If we embrace a lovely Model
That is consistent, clear, and wrong.

Kenneth Ewart Boulding (1910–1993) American economist, educator, poet, philosopher
“Experts,” Notes from Woods Hole [unpublished] (1976)

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Letter (1930-05-12) to John A. Kingsbury

Dave — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 13:10:27 +0000

There is no question in my mind that it is time for the country to become fairly radical for a generation. History shows that where this occurs occasionally, nations are saved from revolution.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman; US President (1933–45)
Letter (1930-05-12) to John A. Kingsbury

Rogers, Will -- Column (1932-11-25), “Weekly Article: And Here’s How It All Happened” [No. 518]

Dave — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 14:00:45 +0000

The money was all appropriated for the top in the hopes that it would trickle down to the needy. Mr. Hoover was an engineer. He knew that water trickled down. Put it uphill and let it go and it will reach the dryest little spot. But he didn’t know that money trickled up. Give it to the people at the bottom and the people at the top will have it before night, anyhow. But it will at least have passed through the poor fellow’s hands.

Will Rogers (1879–1935) American humorist
Column (1932-11-25), “Weekly Article: And Here’s How It All Happened” [No. 518]

An abbreviated form, used in memes, omits sentences 2-4, but is often presented in text as the full quotation.

Johnson, Lyndon -- Comment (1965 c.) to John Kenneth Galbraith

Dave — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 13:47:19 +0000

Did you ever think that making a speech on economics is a lot like pissin’ down your leg? It seems hot to you, but it never does to anyone else.

Lyndon B. Johnson (1908–1973) American politician, educator, US President (1963–69)
Comment (1965 c.) to John Kenneth Galbraith

Quoted in Galbraith, Name-Dropping, ch. 11 (1999).

Galbraith, John Kenneth -- “Recession Economics,” New York Review of Books (1982-02-04)

Dave — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 13:59:51 +0000

Mr. David Stockman has said that supply-side economics was merely a cover for the trickle-down approach to economic policy — what an older and less elegant generation called the horse-and-sparrow theory: If you feed the horse enough oats, some will pass through to the road for the sparrows.

John Kenneth Galbraith (1908–2006) Canadian-American economist, diplomat, author
“Recession Economics,” New York Review of Books (1982-02-04)

Galbraith, John Kenneth -- A Life in Our Times, ch. 11 “The Dynamics of Error” (1981)

Dave — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 17:46:54 +0000

The experience of being disastrously wrong is salutary; no economist should be denied it, and not many are. The best, most elegant and most applauded designs can fail, and greatly to your surprise if, in persuading others of their excellence, you have persuaded yourself.

John Kenneth Galbraith (1908–2006) Canadian-American economist, diplomat, author
A Life in Our Times, ch. 11 “The Dynamics of Error” (1981)

Roosevelt, Franklin Delano -- Speech (1937-01-20), Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.

Dave — Tue, 16 Oct 2007 13:57:00 +0000

We have always known that heedless self-interest was bad morals; we know now that it is bad economics.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) American lawyer, politician, statesman; US President (1933–45)
Speech (1937-01-20), Inaugural Address, Washington, D.C.

(Source (Audio)). Regarding the Stock Market Crash and ensuing Great Depression.

Keynes, John Maynard -- A Tract on Monetary Reform, ch. 3 (1923)

Dave — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 14:36:23 +0000

But this long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead. Economists set themselves too easy, too useless a task, if in tempestuous seasons they can only tell us, that when the storm is long past, the ocean is flat again.

John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946) English economist
A Tract on Monetary Reform, ch. 3 (1923)

Peter, Lawrence J. -- (Attributed)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 19:00:00 +0000

An economist is an expert who will know tomorrow why the things he predicted yesterday didn’t happen today.

Lawrence J. Peter (1919–1990) American educator, management theorist
(Attributed)

Stein, Herb -- Stein’s Law (1980s)

Dave — Sun, 01 Feb 2004 16:00:00 +0000

If something cannot go on forever, it will stop.

Herb Stein (1916–1999) American economist
Stein’s Law (1980s)

This was a frequent statement by Stein. He explained it so:

This proposition, arising first in a discussion of the balance-of-payments deficit, is a response to those who think that if something cannot go on forever, steps must be taken to stop it -- even to stop it at once.

Variants:

"If something can’t go on forever, it won’t."
Anything that can’t go on, won’t.
Trends that can't continue won't.