John Maynard Keynes
Most influential economist of the 20th century
Most quoted
"The master-economist must possess a rare combination of gifts. He must be mathematician, historian, statesman, philosopher—in some degree. He must understand symbols and speak in words. He must contemplate the particular in terms of the general, and touch the abstract and the concrete in the same flight of thought. He must study the present in the light of the past for the purposes of the future. No part of man's nature or his institutions must lie entirely outside his regard. He must be purposeful and disinterested in a simultaneous mood; as aloof and incorruptible as an artist, yet sometimes as near the earth as a politician."
— from Alfred Marshall, 1842-1924
"The master-economist must possess a rare combination of gifts. He must be mathematician, historian, statesman, philosopher—in some degree. He must understand symbols and speak in words. He must contemplate the particular in terms of the general, and touch abstract and concrete in the same flight of thought. He must study the present in the light of the past for the purposes of the future. No part of man's nature or his institutions must lie entirely outside his regard. He must be purposeful and disinterested in a simultaneous mood; as aloof and incorruptible as an artist, yet sometimes as near the earth as a politician."
— from Alfred Marshall, 1842-1924, 1933
"The master-economist must possess a rare combination of gifts. He must be a mathematician, historian, statesman, philosopher—in some degree. He must understand symbols and speak in words. He must contemplate the particular in terms of the general, and touch abstract and concrete in the same flight of thought. He must study the present in the light of the past for the purposes of the future. No part of man's nature or his institutions must lie entirely outside his regard. He must be purposeful and disinterested in a single mood; as aloof and incorruptible as an artist, yet sometimes as near the earth as a politician."
— from Alfred Marshall, 1842-1924, 1924
All quotes by John Maynard Keynes (300)
The State should be the guardian of the public interest, not the servant of private interests.
I am not afraid of death, but I am afraid of not living.
The economic problem is not a problem of scarcity, but a problem of distribution.
I believe that beauty is an essential part of life.
The ultimate aim of the State is to promote the general welfare of its citizens.
I have always been a seeker of truth.
The future is not something we enter. The future is something we create.
The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that still carries any reward.
The decadent international but individualistic capitalism, in the hands of which we found ourselves after the war, is not a success. It is not intelligent, it is not beautiful, it is not just, it is not virtuous—and it doesn't deliver the goods.
I am not an economist, but I play one on TV.
Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the best of things for the greatest good of everyone.
The engine of the world is the individual.
Ideas, knowledge, science, hospitality, travel—these are the things which should of their nature be international. But let goods be homespun whenever it is reasonably and conveniently possible, and, above all, let finance be primarily national.
The forces of the old world are still strong.
The problem of unemployment is not a problem of the lack of effective demand, but of the lack of effective supply.
The true remedy for unemployment is to be found in the expansion of demand, not in the reduction of wages.
The study of economics is a great cleanser of the mind.
The economic problem is not a problem of scarcity, but of abundance.
We are suffering from a bad attack of economic pessimism.
The object of our study is to discover what determines the volume of employment at any time.
Contemporaries of John Maynard Keynes
Other Economicss born within 50 years of John Maynard Keynes (1883–1946).