In all life one should comfort the afflicted, but verily, also, one should afflict the comfortable, and especially when they are comfortably, contentedly, even happily wrong.

Quote by John Kenneth Galbraith

Topics: John Kenneth Galbraith Quotes

There is something wonderful in seeing a wrong-headed majority assailed by truth.

There is something wonderful in seeing a wrong-headed majority assailed by truth.

The enemy of the conventional wisdom is not ideas but the march of events.

The enemy of the conventional wisdom is not ideas but the march of events.

It would be foolish to suggest that government is a good custodian of aesthetic goals....

It would be foolish to suggest that government is a good custodian of aesthetic goals....

The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.

The only function of economic forecasting is to make astrology look respectable.

Money differs from an automobile or mistress in being equally important to those who have...

Money differs from an automobile or mistress in being equally important to those who have...

There is an insistent tendency among serious social scientists to think of any institution which...

There is an insistent tendency among serious social scientists to think of any institution which...

Humor is richly rewarding to the person who employs it. It has some value in...

Humor is richly rewarding to the person who employs it. It has some value in...

Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need...

Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need...

Commencement oratory must eschew anything that smacks of partisan politics, political preference, sex, religion or...

Commencement oratory must eschew anything that smacks of partisan politics, political preference, sex, religion or...

There's a certain part of the contented majority who love anybody who is worth a...

There's a certain part of the contented majority who love anybody who is worth a...

The commencement speech is not, I think, a wholly satisfactory manifestation of our culture.

The commencement speech is not, I think, a wholly satisfactory manifestation of our culture.

It is a commonplace of modern technology that problems have solutions before there is knowledge...

It is a commonplace of modern technology that problems have solutions before there is knowledge...

If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the...

If wrinkles must be written upon our brows, let them not be written upon the...

The great dialectic in our time is not, as anciently and by some still supposed,...

The great dialectic in our time is not, as anciently and by some still supposed,...

The salary of the chief executive of a large corporation is not a market award...

The salary of the chief executive of a large corporation is not a market award...

If it is dangerous to suppose that government is always right, it will sooner or...

If it is dangerous to suppose that government is always right, it will sooner or...

Few can believe that suffering, especially by others, is in vain. Anything that is disagreeable...

Few can believe that suffering, especially by others, is in vain. Anything that is disagreeable...

Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite.

Under capitalism, man exploits man. Under communism, it's just the opposite.

Meetings are a great trap. Soon you find yourself trying to get agreement and then...

Meetings are a great trap. Soon you find yourself trying to get agreement and then...

We all agree that pessimism is a mark of superior intellect.

We all agree that pessimism is a mark of superior intellect.