Best economic & economic-theory Quotes

“My job was to teach the whole corpus of economic theory, but there were two subjects in which I was especially interested, namely, the economics of mass unemployment and international economics.”

Two Whole Jobs Teach Economic Subjects Theory Mass Economics International Unemployment Economic Theory Corpus

Author:James Meade

“My interest in economics has always been in the whole corpus of economic theory, the interrelationships between the various fields of theory and their relevance for the formulation of economic policy.”

Whole Interest Economic Policy Fields Theory Economics Various Relevance Economic Policy Economic Theory Corpus

Author:James Meade

“The notion that a society could be regulated entirely by market forces is a utopian fantasy: an impossible dream generated by imagining what the world would be like if everyone's behavior was utterly consistent with some abstract moral ideal-in this case, economic theories that assume all human action is based on calculating, systematic, (but scrupulously law-abiding), greed.”

“Economic theory is the most prestigious subject of instruction and study. Agricultural economics, labor economics and marketing are lower caste fields of study.”

Study Economic Subjects Fields Theory Economics Labor Marketing Instruction Castes Economic Theory Prestigious

Book:the new industrial state

Source: the new industrial state

“I imagine you already know that I am much more socialistic in my economic theory than capitalistic. And yet I am not so opposed to capitalism that I have failed to see its relative merits. It started out with a noble and high motive, to block the trade monopolies of nobles, but like most human systems it falls victim to the very thing it was revolting against. So today capitalism has outlived its usefulness. It has brought about a system that takes necessities from the masses to give luxuries to the classes.”

Knows Giving Humans Today Fall Class Imagine Economic Theory Mass Capitalism Victim Trade Noble Block Luxury Merit Motive Relative Monopoly Usefulness Economic Theory

Author:Martin Luther King, Jr.

“If, of course, one builds into the concept of an 'individual' all that Professor Hayek does in his Road To Serfdom, Individualism and Economic Order and many other works, which is, to put it briefly, the whole of laisser-faire economic theory, then plainly man as such a programmed predator has very little interest in being fraternal, or very little chance.”

Source: In Defense of Politics

“Positivism eliminates any kind of natural law principle - for example, that there are economic laws which can be transgressed only at your peril. With positivism, there is a tendency to leap into ad hoc economic theory.”

Kind Law Natural Principles Economic Example Theory Tendencies Leap Ads Peril Natural Law Economic Theory Positivism

Author:Murray Rothbard

“One of the big take-aways from a lot of economic theory is that people should engage in consumption smoothing.”

People Should Bigs Economic Theory Consumption Economic Theory

Author:Emily Oster

“For Marx, 'pure' economic theory, that is economic theory which abstracts from a specific social structure, is impossible.”

Social Impossible Economic Theory Pure Structure Social Structure Economic Theory

Author:Ernest Mandel

“It is not a struggle merely of economic theories, or forms of government or of military power. At issue is the true nature of man. Either man is the creature whom the psalmist described as a little lower than the angels ... or man is a soulless, animated machine to be enslaved, used and consumed by the state for its own glorification. It is, therefore, a struggle which goes to the roots of the human spirit, and its shadow falls across the long sweep of man's destiny.”

“People tend to be clueless about prices. Contrary to economic theory, we don't really decide between A and B by consulting our invisible price tags and purchasing the one that yields the higher utility, he says. We make do with guesstimates and a vague recollection of what things are “supposed to cost.””

People Economic Theory Higher Cost Contrary Invisible Yield Vague Utility Recollection Tag Consulting Clueless Purchasing Price Tag Economic Theory

Author:William Poundstone

“In view of the importance of philanthropy in our society, it is surprising that so little attention has been given to it by economic or social theorists. In economic theory, especially, the subject is almost completely ignored. This is not, I think, because economists regard mankind as basically selfish or even because economic man is supposed to act only in his self-interest; it is rather because economics has essentially grown up around the phenomenon of exchange and its theoretical structure rests heavily on this process.”

“Even philosophies who have denounced pseudosciences like psychoanalysis, have condoned pseudoscientific economic theories like neoclassical microeconomics. It is far safer and easier to criticize Freud and Jung than to criticize Milton Friedman and Friedrich Hayek, because the latter are backed by political movements whereas the former are not.”

Philosophy Political Economic Movement Theory Easier Former Latter Criticize Psychoanalysis Pseudoscience Milton Jung Political Movements Hayek Economic Theory Friedrich Hayek Microeconomics

Author:Mario Bunge

“For the individual, as I can testify, a brief grounding in semantics, besides making philosophy unreadable, makes unreadable most political speeches, classical economic theory, after-dinner oratory, diplomatic notes, newspaper editorials, treatises on pedagogics and education, expert financial comment, dissertations on money and credit, accounts of debates, and Great Thoughts from Great Thinkers in general. You would be surprised at the amount of time this saves.”

Source: Tyranny of Words

“Everybody thinks of economics whether he is aware of it or not. In joining a political party or in casting his ballot, the citizen implicitly takes a stand upon essential economic theories.”

Thinking Political Party Economic Theory Citizens Essentials Economics Political Parties Casting Joining Ballots Economic Theory

Author:Ludwig von Mises

“The metal of economic theory is in Marx's pages immersed in such a wealth of steaming phrases as to acquire a temperature not naturally its own.”

Wealth Economic Theory Pages Phrases Acquire Metals Temperature Economic Theory

Book:Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy

Source: Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy

“Two factors explain our success. One, MIT's renaissance after World War II as a federally supported research resource. Two, the mathematical revolution in macro- and micro-economic theory and statistics. This was overdue and inevitable, MIT was the logical place for it to flourish.”

“The modern history of economic theory is a tale of evasions of reality.”

Reality Economic Modern Theory Tales Evasion Economic Theory Modern History

Author:Thomas Balogh, Baron Balogh

“The seminar in economic theory conducted by Hayek at the L.S.E. in the 1930s was attended, it came to seem, by all of the economists of my generation - Nicky Kaldor , Thomas Balogh, L. K. Jah, Paul Rosenstein-Rodan, the list could be indefinitely extended. The urge to participate (and correct Hayek) was ruthlessly competitive.”

Seems Generations Economic Theory Lists Urges Economist My Generation 1930s Seminars Hayek Economic Theory

Author:John Kenneth Galbraith

“It is thus hardly surprising that so many of the great minds in recent history have concerned themselves with economic matters. Indeed, they have come to regard economic theory in precisely the same way the ancient philosophers viewed the heavens - as the key to understanding and controlling our fate.”

Way Mind Matter Heaven Understanding Fate Economic Theory Keys Concerned Regard Ancient Philosopher Surprising Great Minds Economic Theory

Book:Unlimited Wealth: The Theory and Practice of Economic Alchemy

Source: Unlimited Wealth: The Theory and Practice of Economic Alchemy

“The IMF economists were doubtless shaken by the extreme failures of their prescriptions over many years, and by the collapse of the intellectual edifice of economic theory on which they were relying.”

Years Economic Theory Intellectual Extremes Collapse Economist Prescriptions Edifice Economic Theory Imf

Author:Noam Chomsky

“The United State has a net worth against which our debt is a joke ... we wrote in 2008 the United States is going to come out of this recession fast. The Europeans are going to fragment. The Chinese are going to be cremated. Why could we come out of it? Why has all economic theory been proven wrong? Because we're rich and we could afford it.”

States United United States Rich Economic Theory Jokes Debt Chinese Proven Fragments Recessions Net Worth Economic Theory Proven Wrong

Author:George Friedman

“The purpose of economic theory is to make those who are comfortable FEEL comfortable.”

Feels Purpose Economic Theory Comfortable Economic Theory

Author:Thomas Balogh, Baron Balogh

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