#economics

None of this excuses anyone from mastering the basic ideas and terminology of economics. The intelligent layman must expect also to encounter good economists who are difficult writers even though some of the best have been very good writers. He should know, moreover, that at least for a few great men ambiguity of expression has been a positive asset. But with these exceptions he may safely conclude that what is wholly mysterious in economics is not likely to be important. ↗

— John Kenneth Galbraith

#writing #intelligence

Your money myth affects your gain and luck. In economics, illusion of money affects wealth. ↗

— Toba Beta

#gain #illusion #luck #money #myth

My folks are economists and have taught economics and social science so I grew up with those kind of conversations around the dinner table. ↗

— Seth Gordon

#conversations #dinner #dinner table #economics #economists

To summarize, using money to motivate people can be a double-edged sword. For tasks that require cognitive ability, low to moderate performance-based incentives can help. But when the incentive level is very high, it can command too much attention and thereby distract the person’s mind with thoughts about the reward. This can create stress and ultimately reduce the level of performance. ↗

— Dan Ariely

#human #human-behavior #mind #motivation #wok

There is a contradiction between market liberalism and political liberalism. The market liberals (e.g., social conservatives) of today want family values, less government, and maintain the traditions of society (at least in America's case). However, we must face the cultural contradiction of capitalism: the progress of capitalism, which necessitates a consumer culture, undermines the values which render capitalism possible ↗

— Slavoj Žižek

#socialism #family

Whoever claims that economic competition represents 'survival of the fittest' in the sense of the law of the jungle, provides the clearest possible evidence of his lack of knowledge of economics. ↗

— George Reisman

#clearest #competition #economic #economics #evidence

It has been more profitable for us to bind together in the wrong direction than to be alone in the right one. ↗

— Nassim Nicholas Taleb

#economics #herd-behavior #behavior

It appears - because it has been the case for twenty years - that every problem is solvable...that no matter how badly the world economy slumps there is a pain-free way out of it. Once the realization dawns that there is not, and that the pain will be severe, the question is posed that has not really been posed for twenty years: who should feel it? ↗

— Paul Mason

#capitalism #economics #age

Nowadays… deals are transactional rather than personal. Instead of placing your faith in a person, you get lawyers to write safeguards into the contract. This is an historic shift from a trust economy to a risk economy. But trust is not a dispensable luxury. It is the very basis of our social life. Many scholars believe that capitalism had religious roots because people could trust other people who, feeling that they were answerable to God, could be relied on to be honest in business. A world without trust is a lonely and dangerous place. ↗

— Jonathan Sacks

#capitalism #economics #trust #business

The value of money has been settled by general consent to express our wants and our property, as letters were invented to express our ideas; and both these institutions, by giving a more active energy to the powers and passions of human nature, have contributed to multiply the objects they were designed to represent. ↗

— Edward Gibbon

#design