Joan Robinson

Economics British 1903 – 1983 99 quotes

A prominent Post-Keynesian economist who contributed to theories of imperfect competition and capital accumulation.

Quotes by Joan Robinson

The purpose of economic theory is to clarify, not to confuse.

Economic Philosophy 1962

The most important thing in economics is to be willing to change your mind.

Economic Philosophy 1962

The only way to make economics rigorous is to make it empirical.

Economic Philosophy 1962

The purpose of economics is to improve human welfare.

Economic Philosophy 1962

The most important thing in economics is to be aware of your own biases.

Economic Philosophy 1962

The only way to make economics ethical is to make it concerned with justice.

Economic Philosophy 1962

The purpose of economics is to understand the causes of poverty and prosperity.

Economic Philosophy 1962

The most important thing in economics is to be skeptical of grand theories.

Economic Philosophy 1962

The only way to make economics humane is to make it about people.

Economic Philosophy 1962

The purpose of economics is to help us make better decisions.

Economic Philosophy 1962

The most important thing in economics is to be aware of the limitations of our knowledge.

Economic Philosophy 1962

Whatever you can rightly say about anything, you can say it in economics.

Book 1962

Economics has never been a science - and it is even less now than it ever was. In Economics we should be forever learning and unlearning.

Book 1978

The main enemies of the open society, I thought, were those who tried to impose their own will on the rest of us.

Book 1966

One of the chief reasons for the fruitlessness of our economic debates is that we are all talking about different things.

Book 1933

The paradox of the modern world is that we are richer than ever before, but less happy.

Interview 1979

Capitalism is not a system of economic organization; it is a system of social organization.

Book 1956

The theory of value is the cornerstone of economic thought.

Book 1942

In economics, we pretend to honor the past but in fact we are enslaved by it.

Speech 1972

The greatest danger to liberty is not revolution, but the slow encroachment of bureaucracy.

Letter 1960