“People would do well to ask themselves how many of their ambitions and aspirations derive from the type of economic system they inhabit and the insecurity and exhaustion it creates, and question the sense and purpose of a society where control of a large portion of life is abdicated under contract in the labour market, and where immense creativity and potential is stifled by the need to do difficult and repetitive tasks in order to earn a wage.” PeopleNeedsWellsLife IsPurposeOrderAsksDifficultCreativityEconomicTypeAmbitionTasksAspirationLabourInsecurityContractsPortionsImmenseExhaustionEconomic SystemsRepetitive Author:Tony Benn
“Overconsumption is a "cancer eating away at our spiritual vitals." It cuts the heart right out of our compassion. It distances us from the great masses of broken bleeding humanity. It converts us into materialists. We become less able to ask moral questions. For example, just because we have the economic muscle to buy up vast amounts of the world's oil, does that give us the right to do so? When the poor farmer of India is unable to buy a gallon of gasoline to run his simple water pump because the world's demand has priced him out of the market, who is to blame?” WorldGivingHeartDoeRunningAbleSpiritualHumanityAsksWaterSimplePoorCompassionMoralCuttingEconomicExampleBrokenAmountDemandEatingMassIndiaBlameDistanceCancerOilMusclesFarmersConsumerismBleedingPumpsOverconsumptionGasolineGallons Author:Richard J. Foster
“When we reject unemployment as an economic instrument as we do and when we reject also superficial remedies, as socialists must, then we must ask ourselves unflinchingly what is the cause of high unemployment. Quite simply and unequivocally, it is caused by paying ourselves more than the value of what we produce. There are no scapegoats.” ValuesAsksCausesEconomicProduceInstrumentsRejectsRemedySuperficialUnemploymentScapegoat Book:Time and chance Source: Time and chance
“When I look out the window at my backyard, I can't think of anything interesting to ask. I mean, it's green, it's growing-but nothing occurs to me that any concentrated effort of thought could possibly enlighten. Whereas in economic, statistical, or mathematical kinds of things, I can think lots of questions.” ThinkingLooksKindMeanI CanAsksInterestingEffortEconomyGrowingEconomicWindowGreenMathematicalEnlighteningBackyards Author:Lawrence Summers
“If workers are more insecure, that's very 'healthy' for the society, because if workers are insecure, they won't ask for wages, they won't go on strike, they won't call for benefits; they'll serve the masters gladly and passively. And that's optimal for corporations' economic health.” IfsAsksEconomicMastersGoes OnHealthyBenefitsWorkersStrikesCorporationsWagesInsecureOptimal Author:Noam Chomsky
“For too long we have placed an irrational burden upon our oceans by demanding only a narrow selection of species, which has led to unsustainable fishing and economic practices. If we instead ask the ocean what it is willing to supply, we engage in an inherently more sustainable relationship.” IfsLongAsksPracticeEconomicWillingOceanSpeciesBurdenFishingIrrationalSelection Author:Barton Seaver
“In an economic recession, naturally, when you ask people to list their priorities, they're going to place a higher priority on the immediate economic situation.” PeopleAsksSituationEconomicHigherListsPrioritiesRecessionsEconomic Recession Author:Al Gore