Politics Quotes

"The personal is always political."

"National income figures reveal much about what a country makes, but nothing about what it stands for."

"The pursuit of perfect data is the enemy of good policy."

"We have become so focused on measuring growth that we have forgotten to ask: growth for whom?"

"The pursuit of perfect measurement often prevents the practice of good governance."

"The relationship between income distribution and social stability is one economics cannot ignore."

"Interdependence is the fundamental reality of the modern world."

"Social choice theory reveals that no perfect voting system exists - we must accept inevitable trade-offs."

"Politics is the art of the possible - but possible is far broader than politicians admit."

"Politics is the art of managing conflicting visions of the good life."

"Politics at its best is the pursuit of shared values and common good."

"Government intervention in markets is not an aberration; it is necessary to prevent systemic collapse."

"The financial sector has captured policy-making, turning regulators into defenders of their clients' interests."

"Financial regulations are eroded not through debate but through the quiet work of industry lawyers."

"Trade is a positive sum game. When nations trade freely, all benefit."

"Democracy without economic literacy is incomplete."

"Politics without economic understanding leads to policies that harm the poor."

"Economic systems are never purely economic; they are always moral systems."

"The American creed and American practice have always been in tension."

"Systems of oppression are maintained through law, custom, and habit."

"The most effective propaganda appears to be objective fact."

"The color line remains the central problem of the modern world."

"Every social arrangement reflects choices about who matters and who doesn't."

"Democracy dies not with a bang but with the normalization of injustice."

"The role of the state is to correct market failures."

"The distribution of income is not determined by justice, but by power."

"Markets are servants of society, not masters."

"The distribution of wealth reflects the distribution of power."

"What might be called the American idea is that we try to maintain a system of checks and balances."

"Democracy requires that we hold our opinions lightly."