Frank Knight

Economics American 1885 – 1972 101 quotes

A founder of the Chicago School, known for his work on risk, uncertainty, and profit.

Quotes by Frank Knight

The problem of knowledge is the central problem of economics.

Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit 1921

Profit is the reward for uncertainty-bearing.

Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit 1921

Uncertainty must be taken in a sense radically distinct from the familiar notion of Risk, from which it has never been properly separated.

Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit 1921

The true function of leadership is to create more leaders, not more followers.

Competition is a process of selection, not a state of equilibrium.

Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit 1921

The essence of economic activity is the allocation of scarce means among competing ends.

The Ethics of Competition and Other Essays 1940

Economics is a science of choice.

The entrepreneur is the agent of change and innovation.

Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit 1921

The function of the price system is to economize on information.

The problem of social organization is to reconcile individual freedom with social order.

Freedom and Reform 1947

The market is a mechanism for discovering and disseminating knowledge.

The only way to learn economics is to do economics.

The ultimate end of economic activity is human welfare.

The Ethics of Competition and Other Essays 1940

The role of government is to establish and enforce the rules of the game.

Freedom and Reform 1947

The value of a good is not inherent in the good itself, but in its relation to human wants.

Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit 1921

The economic problem is fundamentally a problem of organization.

The Ethics of Competition and Other Essays 1940

The pursuit of profit is a powerful engine of progress.

Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit 1921

The future is inherently uncertain.

Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit 1921

The essence of freedom is responsibility.

Freedom and Reform 1947

The true measure of a society is how it treats its weakest members.