Reality is never a golden age. Joan Robinson More Quotes by Joan Robinson More Quotes From Joan Robinson The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists. Joan Robinson deceitlearninganswers The only thing worse than being exploited by capitalism is not being exploited by capitalism. Joan Robinson capitalismeconomics Ideology is like breath: you never smell your own. Joan Robinson breathssmellideology The first essential for economists ... is to ... combat, not foster, the ideology which pretends that values which can be measured in terms of money are the only ones that ought to count. Joan Robinson economicsessentialsfirsts One of the main effects (I will not say purposes) of orthodox traditional economics was ... a plan for explaining to the privileged class that their position was morally right and was necessary for the welfare of society. Joan Robinson welfarepurposeclass The point of studying economics is so as not to be fooled by economists. Joan Robinson economisteconomicsstudy It is the business of economists, not to tell us what to do, but show why what we are doing anyway is in accord with proper principles. Joan Robinson economistprinciplesbusiness There is no such thing as a normal period of history. Normality is a fiction of economic textbooks. Joan Robinson normaltextbooksfiction It is a popular error that bureaucracy is less flexible than private enterprise. It may be so in detail, but when large scale adaptations have to be made, central control is far more flexible. It may take two months to get an answer to a letter from a government department, but it takes twenty years for an industry under private enterprise to readjust itself to a fall in demand. Joan Robinson twoyearsfall Economic theorists should not make such a production about taking a rabbit out of a hat after having put the rabbit into the hat in full view of the audience. Joan Robinson hatsviewsrabbits I do not regard the Keynesian revolution as a great intellectual triumph. On the contrary, it was a tragedy because it came so late. Hitler had already found out how to cure unemployment before Keynes had finished explaining why it occured. Joan Robinson revolutiontragedyintellectual Marxism is the opium of the Marxists. Joan Robinson marxismmarxisteconomy It's a terrible thing to be a worker exploited in the capitalist system. The only worse thing is to be a worker unable to find anyone to exploit you. Joan Robinson economicterriblegrowth Capitalism with near-full employment was an impressive spectacle. But a growth in wealth is not at all the same thing as reducing poverty. A universal paean was raised in praise of growth. Growth was going to solve all problems. No need to bother about poverty. Growth will lift up the bottom and poverty will disappear without any need to pay attention to it. The economists, who should have known better, fell in with the same cry. Joan Robinson growthshould-haveneeds Unequal distribution of income is an excessively uneconomic method of getting the necessary saving done. Joan Robinson incomesavingdone Whatever you can rightly say about India, the opposite is also true. Joan Robinson indiaopposites In all the talk in the Principles (as opposed to the formal analysis) it is not the saving of rentiers but the energy of entrepreneurs which governs accumulation. Joan Robinson entrepreneurenergyprinciples The nature of technology depends very much upon what the public can be induced to put up with. Joan Robinson dependstechnology It seems that neither the Keynesian nor the Marxian prognosis of the future of capitalism is being fulfilled and we are left without any particular theory as to what will happen next. Joan Robinson prognosisnexttheory A sure sign of a crisis is the prevalence of cranks. It is characteristic of a crisis in theory that cranks get a hearing from the public which orthodoxy is failing to satisfy. Joan Robinson orthodoxyhearingcomplaining
