It is my guiding confession that I believe the greatest error in economics is in seeing the economy as a stable, immutable structure.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Galbraith argues economics often mistakenly treats the economy as fixed. He believes seeing it as mutable is crucial for correct analysis.
- In plain terms
- The economy is not fixed; it changes and adapts.
- What can you take from it?
- Avoid treating economic systems as permanent or unchangeable.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Can economics predict change?
- How flexible is the system?
Another view
Some economic trends do show long-term stability.
More from John Kenneth Galbraith
I write with two things in mind. I want to be right with my fellow economists. After all, I've made my life as a professional economist, so I'm careful that my…
Permalink to quote #61 Modesty is a vastly overrated virtue.
Permalink to quote #63 I react to what is necessary. I would like to eschew any formula. There are some things where the government is absolutely inevitable, which we cannot get alon…
Permalink to quote #60
Related quotes
The world is facing a historic turning point because the system of materialistic liberalism has come to a deadlock.
Kingoro HashimotoKingoro Hashimoto quote #2 These are not sentimental considerations; they constitute the mechanism of productioon and therefore of power. Personal liberty is the pre-condition of the rel…
Isabel PatersonIsabel Paterson quote #4 'But I make a profit of three and a quarter cents an egg by selling them for four and a quarter cents an egg to the people in Malta I buy them from for seven c…
Joseph HellerJoseph Heller quote #18