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Economics Quotes

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Economics Quotes

“Enforced by genetics, sexual reproduction, perspective, and experience, the most manifest characteristic of human beings is their diversity. The freer an economy is, the more this human diversity of knowledge will be manifested. By contrast, political power originates in top-down processes-governments, monopolies, regulators, and elite institutions- all attempting to quell human diversity and impose order. Thus power always seeks centralization.”

“An American economist of two generations ago, H. J. Davenport, who was the best friend Thorstein Veblen ever had (Veblen actually lived for a time in Davenport's coal cellar) once said: "There is no reason why theoretical economics should be a monopoly of the reactionaries." All my life I have tried to take this warning to heart, and I dare call it to your favorable attention.”

Should Heart Said Two Reason Attention Generations Economics Dare Reason Why No Reason Warning Coal Economist Monopoly Theoretical Reactionaries Cellars

Book:The Collected Scientific Papers of Paul Samuelson, Volume 3

Source: The Collected Scientific Papers of Paul Samuelson, Volume 3

“Some people think the Federal Reserve Banks are US government institutions. They are not... they are private credit monopolies which prey upon the people of the US for the benefit of themselves and their foreign and domestic swindlers, and rich and predatory money lenders. The sack of the United States by the Fed is the greatest crime in history. Every effort has been made by the Fed to conceal its powers, but the truth is the Fed has usurped the government. It controls everything here and it controls all our foreign relations. It makes and breaks governments at will.”

“We legislate against forestalling and monopoly; we would have a common granary for the poor; but the selfishness which hoards thecorn for high prices, is the preventative of famine; and the law of self-preservation is surer policy than any legislation can be.”

Self Law Poor Common Policy Economics Selfishness Legislation Preservation Monopoly Famine Self Preservation High Prices

Book:Essays, Orations and Lectures

Source: Essays, Orations and Lectures

“Manufacturing and commercial monopolies owe their origin not to a tendency imminent in a capitalist economy but to governmental interventionist policy directed against free trade and laissez faire.”

Liberty Economy Economic Policy Economics Trade Libertarian Tendencies Capitalist Libertarianism Monopoly Manufacturing Free Trade Laissez Faire Capitalist Economy

Author:Ludwig von Mises

“They will come to learn in the end, at their own expense, that it is better to endure competition for rich customers than to be invested with monopoly over impoverished customers.”

Ends Economy Rich Economics Competition Endure Customers Expenses Monopoly

Author:Frederic Bastiat

“People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.”

“The problems that exist on Wall Street today go to the center of a debate in this country about wealth and democracy. We cannot keep our democracy if those who are in charge of handling the engines of our economy are not honest with their shareholders. That's why there is a role for government regulation here. That role for government is breaking up the monopolies, insisting on public disclosure, insisting on public audits, insisting on restitution whenever someone has been cheated.”

“The great danger to the consumer is the monopoly -whether private or governmental. His most effective protection is free competition at home and free trade throughout the world. The consumer is protected from being exploited by one seller by the existence of another seller from whom he can buy and who is eager to sell to him. Alternative sources of supply protect the consumer far more effectively than all the Ralph Naders of the world.”

World Home Existence Danger Source Protect Economics Trade Sells Competition Protection Alternatives Consumers Protected Monopoly Free Trade Sellers

Author:Milton Friedman

“The danger of tautological propositions is considerable in discussions of the concept of normal profits. Because supernormal profits seem to invite newcomers to an industry and sub-normal profits seem to drive away those who are in an industry, some writers are inclined to define normal profits as the earnings of the fixed resources in an industry which neither grows nor declines in size or number of firms. It should be clear that such a definition is useless: it muddles together attractiveness and actual afflux, desirbility of entry and ease of entry, zero profits and monopoly rents.”

“Even as a young man, Vito Corleone became known as a "man of reasonableness." He never uttered a threat. He always used logic that proved to be irresistible. He always made certain that the other fellow got his share of profit. Nobody lost. He did this, of course, by obvious means. Like many businessmen of genius he learned that free competition was wasteful, monopoly efficient. And so he simply set about achieving that efficient monopoly.”

“The best of all monopoly profits is a quiet life.”

Quiet Economics Profit Monopoly Quiet Life Monopoly Power

Author:Sir John Richard Hicks

“Freedom requires that government keep the channels of competition and opportunity open, prevent monopolies, economic abuse and domination.”

Government Opportunity Economic Economics Abuse Competition Presidential Domination Monopoly

Book:Addresses Upon the American Road

Source: Addresses Upon the American Road

“A favorite Wired icon for the information feedback loop, a dragon curling in a circle to swallow its own tail, could become more apt as a symbol of the timeless libertarian paradox: Monopoly verging on feudalism emerges from unregulated competition to bite libertarianism in the posterior.”