Joan Robinson Quotes About Economics

Quotes about: Economics

• The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.

  Joan Robinson

  Learning, Answers, Deceit

  "Marx, Marshall and Keynes" (1955)

• The only thing worse than being exploited by capitalism is not being exploited by capitalism.

  Joan Robinson

  Economics, Capitalism

• owning capital is not a productive activity.

  Joan Robinson

  Money, Economics, Activity

  Joan Robinson (1967). “Essay on Marxian Economics”, p.18, Springer

• One of the main effects (I will not say purposes) of orthodox traditional economics was ... a plan for explaining to the privileged class that their position was morally right and was necessary for the welfare of society.

  Joan Robinson

  Class, Purpose, Welfare

  Essays in the Theory of Employment "An Economist's Sermon" (1937)

• Utility is a metaphysical concept of impregnable circularity; utility is the quality in commodities that makes individuals want to buy them, and the fact that individuals want to buy commodities shows that they have utility.

  Joan Robinson

  Quality, Circularity, Want

  Joan Robinson (1962). “Economic philosophy”, p.47, Transaction Publishers

• Capitalism with near-full employment was an impressive spectacle. But a growth in wealth is not at all the same thing as reducing poverty. A universal paean was raised in praise of growth. Growth was going to solve all problems. No need to bother about poverty. Growth will lift up the bottom and poverty will disappear without any need to pay attention to it. The economists, who should have known better, fell in with the same cry.

  Joan Robinson

  Should Have, Growth, Needs

  Joan Robinson (2014). “Contributions to Modern Economics”, p.9, Academic Press

• The fundamental differences between Marxian and traditional orthodox economics are, first, that the orthodox economists accept the capitalist system as part of the eternal order of Nature, while Marx regards it as a passing phase in the transition from the feudal economy of the past to the socialist economy of the future.

  Joan Robinson

  Nature, Money, Work

  Joan Robinson (1967). “Essay on Marxian Economics”, p.1, Springer

• economics limps along with one foot in untested hypotheses and the other in untestable slogans.

  Joan Robinson

  Feet, Economics, Hypothesis

  "Metaphysics, Morals and Science" (1962)

• The point of studying economics is so as not to be fooled by economists.

  Joan Robinson

  Study, Economics, Economist

• Marx, however imperfectly he worked out the details, set himself the task of discovering the law of motion of capitalism, and if there is any hope of progress in economics at all, it must be in using academic methods to solve the problems posed by Marx.

  Joan Robinson

  Law, Progress, Details

  Joan Robinson (1967). “Essay on Marxian Economics”, p.95, Springer

• Unequal distribution of income is an excessively uneconomic method of getting the necessary saving done.

  Joan Robinson

  Income, Done, Saving

  Joan Robinson (1967). “Essay on Marxian Economics”, p.65, Springer

• The orthodox doctrines of economics which were dominant in the last quarter of the nineteenth century had a clear message. They supported laisser faire, free trade, the gold standard, and the universally advantageous effects of the pursuit of profit by competitive private enterprise.

  Joan Robinson

  Gold, Lasts, Messages

  Joan Robinson (1973). “Economic heresies: some old-fashioned questions in economic theory”

• A depression is a situation of self-fulfilling pessimism.

  Joan Robinson

  Self, Pessimism, Economics

  Joan Robinson (1973). “Economic heresies: some old-fashioned questions in economic theory”

• When I came up to Cambridge (in October 1921) to read economics, I did not have much idea of what it was about.

  Joan Robinson

  Ideas, October, Economics

  Joan Robinson (2014). “Contributions to Modern Economics”, p.9, Academic Press

• A sure sign of a crisis is the prevalence of cranks. It is characteristic of a crisis in theory that cranks get a hearing from the public which orthodoxy is failing to satisfy.

  Joan Robinson

  Complaining, Hearing, Orthodoxy

  Joan Robinson (2014). “Contributions to Modern Economics”, p.10, Academic Press

• The first essential for economists ... is to ... combat, not foster, the ideology which pretends that values which can be measured in terms of money are the only ones that ought to count.

  Joan Robinson

  Essentials, Firsts, Economics

  Joan Robinson (2017). “Economic Philosophy”, p.95, Routledge

• Where is the pricing system that offers the consumer a fair choice between air to breathe and motor cars to drive about in?

  Joan Robinson

  Air, Car, Choices

  Joan Robinson (2014). “Contributions to Modern Economics”, p.10, Academic Press

• The very nature of economics is rooted in nationalism. ... It [was] developed ... in the hope of throwing light upon questions of policy. But policy means nothing unless there is an authority to carry it out, and authorities are national.

  Joan Robinson

  Mean, Light, Economics

  Joan Robinson (1962). “Economic philosophy”, p.124, Transaction Publishers

• Not only subjective poverty is never overcome by growth, but absolute poverty is increased by it. ... Absolute misery grows while wealth increases.

  Joan Robinson

  Growth, Overcoming, Poverty

  American Economic Association, Joan Robinson (1972). “The Second Crisis of Economic Theory: And Other Selected Papers from the American Economic Meeting, December 27-29, 1971”

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