No intelligence system can predict what a government will do if it doesn't know itself. John Kenneth Galbraith More Quotes by John Kenneth Galbraith More Quotes From John Kenneth Galbraith The sense of responsibility in the financial community for the community as a whole is not small. It is nearly nil. John Kenneth Galbraith financialcommunityresponsibility It was not hard to persuade people that the market was sound; as always in such times they asked only that the dispiriting voices of doubt be muted and that there should be tolerably frequent expressions of confidence. John Kenneth Galbraith voiceexpressionpeople Meetings are held because men seek companionship or, at a minimum, wish to escape the tedium of solitary duties. They yearn for the prestige which accrues to the man who presides over meetings, and this leads them to convoke assemblages over which they can preside. Finally, there is the meeting which is called not because there is business to be done, but because it is necessary to create the impression that business is being done. Such meetings are more than a substitute for action. They are widely regarded as action. John Kenneth Galbraith donewishmen In the United States all business not transacted over the telephone is accomplished in conjunction with alcohol or food, often under conditions of advanced intoxication. This is a fact of the utmost importance for the visitor of limited funds... for it means that the most expensive restaurants are, with rare exceptions, the worst. John Kenneth Galbraith alcoholfoodmean In the affluent society, no useful distinction can be made between luxuries and necessities. John Kenneth Galbraith luxurywealthmade Washington is a place where men praise courage and act on elaborate personal cost-benefit calculations. John Kenneth Galbraith costcouragemen The modern corporation must manufacture not only goods but the desire for the goods it manufactures. John Kenneth Galbraith corporationsbusinessdesire Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future. John Kenneth Galbraith oppositionexistenceguarantees The complaints of the privileged are too often confused with the voice of the masses. John Kenneth Galbraith confusedmassvoice Economics is a subject profoundly conducive to cliche, resonant with boredom. On few topics is an American audience so practiced in turning off its ears and minds. And none can say that the response is ill advised. John Kenneth Galbraith boredomblessingmind I predict, not because I know, but because I'm asked. John Kenneth Galbraith knows I react to what is necessary. I would like to eschew any formula. John Kenneth Galbraith formulas There are few ironclad rules of diplomacy but to one there is no exception. When an official reports that talks were useful, it can safely be concluded that nothing was accomplished. John Kenneth Galbraith accomplishedpoliticspolitical Talk of revolution is one of avoiding reality. John Kenneth Galbraith avoidingrevolutionreality I feel very angry when I think of brilliant, or even interesting, women whose minds are wasted on a home. Better have an affair. It isn't permanent and you keep your job. John Kenneth Galbraith homejobsthinking Only foolish people are completely secure. John Kenneth Galbraith securefoolishpeople Smoking dope and hanging up Che's picture is no more a commitment than drinking milk and collecting postage stamps. A revolution in consciousness is an empty high without a revolution in the distribution of power. John Kenneth Galbraith dopedrinkingcommitment The stock market is but a mirror which provides an image of the underlying or fundamental economic situation. Cause and effect run from the economy to the stock market, never the reverse. In 1929 the economy was headed for trouble. Eventually that trouble was violently reflected in Wall Street. John Kenneth Galbraith wallmirrorsrunning Technology means the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks. John Kenneth Galbraith wisdommeanknowledge Unemployment is rarely considered desirable except by those who have not experienced it. John Kenneth Galbraith desirableunemploymentwork
