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A sound banker, alas, is not one who foresees danger and avoids it, but one who, when he is ruined, is ruined in a conventional way along with his fellows, so that no one can really blame him.

John Maynard Keynes

The forces of the nineteenth century have run their course and are exhausted.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Course Exhaust Focus Run
The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but in escaping the old ones, which ramify, for those brought up as most of us have been, into every corner of our minds.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Difficult Escape Ideas Lying Mindset Ourselves
Once we allow ourselves to be disobedient to the test of an accountant’s profit, we have begun to change our civilization.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Allow Beginning Change Civilization Disobedient Profit
When the capital development of a country becomes a by-product of the activities of a casino, the job is likely to be ill-done.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Activity Country Development Job
But whilst there may be intrinsic reasons for the scarcity of land, there are no intrinsic reasons for the scarcity of capital.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Land Reason Scarcity
It’s not bringing in the new ideas that’s so hard; it’s getting rid of the old ones.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Hard Ideas Old Oneself
The Economic Problem, the problem of want and poverty and the economic struggle between classes and nations, is nothing but a frightful muddle, a transitory and unnecessary muddle.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Economics Nation Necessary Poverty Problem Struggle
Gold is a relic from a time when government’s were less trustworthy in these matters (currency debasement) than they are now.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Currency Gold Government Time Trust
The importance of money flows from it being a link between the present and the future.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Future Importance Money Present
It is investment, i.e. the increased production of material wealth in the shape of capital goods, which alone increases national wealth.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Capital Investment National Production Wealth
If we consistently act on the optimistic hypothesis, this hypothesis will tend to be realised; whilst by acting on the pessimistic hypothesis we can keep ourselves for ever in the pit of want.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Act Consistent Optimism Realize
I work for a Government I despise for ends I think criminal.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Crime End Government Myself Work
Investment based on genuine long-term expectations is so difficult today as to be scarcely practicable.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Difficult Expectation Investment Scarce
When I find new information I change my mind; What do you do?
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Change Finding Information Mindset
The considerations upon which expectations of prospective yields are based are partly existing facts which we can assume to be known more or less for certain, and partly future events which can only be forecasted with more or less confidence.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Confidence Existence Expectation Forecast Known Prediction
Chess is a cure for headaches.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Chess Game Head Pain
The idea behind stamped money is sound.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Ideas Money Sound Stamp
When somebody persuades me I am wrong, I change my mind.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Change Mindset Myself Persuade Wrong
To our generation Einstein has been made to become a double symbol – a symbol of the mind travelling in the cold regions of space, and a symbol of the brave and generous outcast, pure in heart and cheerful of spirit.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Brave Cheerful Generation Heart Mindset Symbol Traveling
The engine which drives enterprise is not thrift, but profit.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Drive Profit Thrift
The social object of skilled investment should be to defeat the dark forces of time and ignorance which envelope our future.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Envelope Future Ignorance Object Ourselves Skills Social
We will not have any more crashes in our time.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Crash Ourselves Time
The central principle of investment is to go contrary to the general opinion, on the grounds that if everyone agreed about its merits, the investment is inevitably too dear and therefore unattractive.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Attractive General Ground Investment Opinion Principle
Obstinacy can bring only a penalty and no reward.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Obstinate Penalty Reward
The important thing for Government is not to do things which individuals are doing already, and to do them a little better or a little worse; but to do those things which at present are not done at all.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Better Government Important Individual Present Worst
There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Currency Existence Subtle Sure
Conservatism leads nowhere; it satisfies no ideal.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Conservatism Ideal Satisfaction

A sound banker, alas, is not one who foresees danger and avoids it, but one who, when he is ruined, is ruined in a conventional way along with his fellows, so that no one can really blame him.

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A sound banker, alas, is not one who foresees danger and avoids it, but one who, when he is ruined, is ruined in a conventional way along with his fellows, so that no one can really blame him.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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