"The ideas of economists and political philosophers, both when they are right and when they are wrong, are more powerful than is commonly understood. Indeed the world is ruled by little else. Practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influence, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist. Madmen in authority, who hear voices in the air, are distilling their frenzy from some academic scribbler of a few years back. I am sure that the power of vested interests is vastly exaggerated compared with the gradual encroachment of ideas. Not, indeed, immediately, but after a certain interval; for in the field of economic and political philosophy there are not many who are influenced by new theories after they are twenty-five or thirty years of age, so that the ideas which civil servants and politicians and even agitators apply to current events are not likely to be the newest. But, soon or late, it is ideas, not vested interests, which are dangerous for good or evil."
Quote Details
Added by wikiquote-import-bot
Unverified quote
0 likes
Original Language: English
Available Languages (1)
Sources
John Maynard Keynes, The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money (1936), Ch. 24 "Concluding Notes" p. 383-384
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Economics
Revision History
No revisions have been submitted for this quote.
Categories
Economics
109 quotes on TrueQuotesView all quotes by Economics →
Related Quotes
"Any author who uses mathematics should always express in ordinary language the meaning of the assumptions he admits, …"
"A planet full of people meant nothing against the dictates of economic necessity!"
"Economics is on the side of humanity now."
"“That voter, in my judgment,” he claims, “will be more likely to vote his economic interests than he will anything el…"
"Most of the presidential candidates' economic packages involve 'tax breaks,' which is when the government, amid great…"
"See, when the Government spends money, it creates jobs; whereas when the money is left in the hands of Taxpayers, God…"
"Life, liberty, and property do not exist because men have made laws. On the contrary, it was the fact that life, libe…"
"Our broken economies are lining the pockets of billionaires and big business at the expense of ordinary men and women…"
"How is property given? By restraining liberty; that is, by taking it away so far as necessary for the purpose. How is…"
"In fact, without any exaggeration, the current mechanism of money creation through credit is certainly the "cancer" t…"