The enemy of the conventional wisdom is not ideas but the march of events. John Kenneth Galbraith More Quotes by John Kenneth Galbraith More Quotes From John Kenneth Galbraith Among all the world's races, some obscure Bedouin tribes possibly apart, Americans are the most prone to misinformation. This is not the consequence of any special preference for mendacity, although at the higher levels of their public administration that tendency is impressive. It is rather that so much of what they themselves believe is wrong. John Kenneth Galbraith racespecialbelieve Those who yearn for the end of capitalism should pray for government by men who believe that all positive action is inimical to what they call thoughtfully the fundamental principles of free enterprise. John Kenneth Galbraith principlesmenbelieve Economists, on the whole, think well of what they do themselves and much less well of what their professional colleagues do. John Kenneth Galbraith economistscholarshipthinking Authorship of any sort is a fantastic indulgence of the ego. John Kenneth Galbraith fantasticegowriting While it will be desirable to achieve planned results, it will be even more important to avoid unplanned disasters. John Kenneth Galbraith disasterachieveimportant Oligopoly is an imperfect monopoly. Like the despotism of the Dual Monarchy, it is saved only by its incompetence. John Kenneth Galbraith oligopolyincompetenceimperfect In recent times no problem has been more puzzling to thoughtful people than why, in a troubled world, we make such poor use of our affluence. John Kenneth Galbraith thoughtfulusepeople Of all the weapons in the Federal Reserve arsenal, words were the the most unpredictable in their consequences. John Kenneth Galbraith unpredictablefederal-reserveweapons All, the intelligent and stupid, diligent and idle, have been swept along on a current of increased output that, in the usual case, owed nothing whatever to their efforts. John Kenneth Galbraith effortintelligentstupid It takes a certain brashness to attack the accepted economic legendsbut noneat all toperpetuatethem. So theyare perpetuated. John Kenneth Galbraith economicacceptedcertain Because of his compassion Owen was always in trouble with his partners. They would have much preferred a tough, down-to-earth manager who would get a days work out of the little bastards. John Kenneth Galbraith work-outcompassionearth Why is anything intrinsically so valueless so obviously desirable? John Kenneth Galbraith valuelessdesirable In dealing with Mr. Nixon, it is not easy to be unfair. He invites and justifies all available criticism. John Kenneth Galbraith unfaircriticismeasy With the American failure came world failure. John Kenneth Galbraith world Economics is not an exact science. John Kenneth Galbraith exact-scienceseconomics There was something superficial in attributing anything so awful as the Great Depression to anything so insubstantial as speculation in common stocks. John Kenneth Galbraith great-depressionawfulcommon When people put their ballots in the boxes, they are, by that act, inoculated against the feeling that the government is not theirs. They then accept, in some measure, that its errors are their errors, its aberrations their aberrations, that any revolt will be against them. It's a remarkably shrewd and rather conservative arrangement when one thinks of it. John Kenneth Galbraith democracies-haveerrorsthinking If there must be madness, something may be said for having it on a heroic scale John Kenneth Galbraith heroicmadnessmay The accepted ideas of any period are singularly those that serve the dominant economic interest...What economists believe and teach, whether in the United States or in the Soviet Union, is rarely hostile to the institutions - the private business enterprise, the Communist Party - that reflect the dominant economic power. Not to notice this takes effort, although many succeed. John Kenneth Galbraith partybelieveideas In numerous years following the war, the Federal Government ran a heavy surplus. It could not (however) pay off its debt, retire its securities, because to do so meant there would be no bonds to back the national bank notes. To pay off the debt was to destroy the money supply. John Kenneth Galbraith governmentmoneywar
