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One blames politicians, not for inconsistency but for obstinacy. They are the interpreters, not the masters, of our fate. It is their job, in fact, to register the fact accomplished.

John Maynard Keynes

Obstinacy can bring only a penalty and no reward.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Obstinate Penalty Reward
But the dreams of designing diplomats do not always prosper, and we must trust the future .
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Design Dream Future Prosper Trust
It has been pointed out already that no knowledge of probabilities, less in degree than certainty, helps us to know what conclusions are true, and that there is no direct relation between the truth of a proposition and its probability. Probability begins and ends with probability.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Direct Knowledge Point Probability True
Canada is a place of infinite promise. We like the people, and if one ever had to emigrate, this would be the destination, not the U.S.A. The hills, lakes and forests make it a place of peace and repose of the mind, such as one never finds in the U.S.A.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Destination Infinite Nature Peace Place Promise
I do not know which makes a man more conservative – to know nothing but the present, or nothing but the past.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Conservatism Known Man Myself Past Present
The introduction of a substantial Government transfer tax on all transactions might prove the most serviceable reform available,with a view to mitigating the predominance of speculation in the United States.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Government Introduction Speculation Transaction
An investor who proposes to ignore near-term market fluctuations needs greater resources for safety and must not operate on so large a scale, if at all, with borrowed money.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Borrow Ignorance Investor Large Money Operate Propose Safety Scale
A speculator is one who runs risks of which he is aware and an investor is one who runs risks of which he is unaware.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Aware Himself Investor Risk Run
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
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
Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Belief Capital Goodness Greatness Man Wicket
Most men love money and security more, and creation and construction less, as they get older.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Construction Love Man Money Old Security
The duty of “saving” became nine-tenths of virtue and the growth of the cake the object of true religion.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Growth Object Religion Save True Virtue
Americans are apt to be unduly interested in discovering what average opinion believes average opinion to be.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Average Believe Discover Interest Opinion
This long run is a misleading guide to current affairs. In the long run we are all dead. Economists set themselves too easy, too useless a task if in tempestuous seasons they can only tell us that when the storm is long past the ocean is flat again.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Affair Current Death Guide Ocean Past Run Storm
When I find new information I change my mind; What do you do?
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Change Finding Information Mindset
The glory of the nation you love is a desirable end, – but generally to be obtained at your neighbor’s expense.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Desire Glory Love Nation Yourself
I’d rather be vaguely right than precisely wrong.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Choice Myself Right Wrong
Men will not always die quietly.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Death Man Quiet
The avoidance of taxes is the only intellectual pursuit that still carries any reward.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Avoid Carry Intellectual Reward Tax
It economics is a method rather than a doctrine, an apparatus of the mind, a technique of thinking which helps its possessor to draw correct conclusions.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Conclusion Drawing Economics Mindset Technique
The key to selecting the winner isn’t choosing the face you think is the most beautiful but rather the face other people will pick
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Face People Selection Thinking Winner
Conservatism leads nowhere; it satisfies no ideal.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Conservatism Ideal Satisfaction
It would be foolish, in forming our expectations, to attach great weight to matters which are very uncertain.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Attachment Certain Expectation Fools
It is generally agreed that casinos should, in the public interest, be inaccessible and expensive. And perhaps the same is true of Stock Exchanges.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Expensive Interest Public Stock Market
Investment based on genuine long-term expectations is so difficult today as to be scarcely practicable.
JOHN MAYNARD KEYNES

Difficult Expectation Investment Scarce
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

One blames politicians, not for inconsistency but for obstinacy. They are the interpreters, not the masters, of our fate. It is their job, in fact, to register the fact accomplished.

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One blames politicians, not for inconsistency but for obstinacy. They are the interpreters, not the masters, of our fate. It is their job, in fact, to register the fact accomplished.

Related Topics

Popular Authors

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