Economics is a theoretical science and as such abstains from any judgement of value. It is not its task to tell people what ends they should aim at. It is a science of the means to be applied for attainment of ends chosen, not, to be sure, a science of the choosing of ends. Ultimate decisions, the valuations and the choosing of ends, are beyond the scope of any science. Science never tells a man how he should act; it merely shows how a man must act if he wants to attain definite ends.
You May Also Like / View all maxioms
Our job is not to set things right but to see them right.
Our job is not to set things right but to see them right.
If patriotism is, as Dr. Johnson used to remark, the last refuge of the scoundrel, wrapping outdated industry in the read more
If patriotism is, as Dr. Johnson used to remark, the last refuge of the scoundrel, wrapping outdated industry in the mantle of national interest is the last refuge of the economically dispossessed. In economic terms, pleading national interest is the declining cottage industry of those who have been bypassed by the global economy.
Most people...find a disorientating mismatch between the long-term nature of their liabilities and the increasingly short-term nature of their assets.
Most people...find a disorientating mismatch between the long-term nature of their liabilities and the increasingly short-term nature of their assets.
The City's reluctance to take a stand on an issue like the British Gas pay row makes a mockery of read more
The City's reluctance to take a stand on an issue like the British Gas pay row makes a mockery of corporate governance and shareholders' ability to influence annual general meetings. Institutions should be obliged to make public how they vote at such events. They should be obliged to provide customers with a record of how they vote on every kind of issue.
Price fixing does not represent simply windfall gains and losses to particular groups according to whether the price happens to read more
Price fixing does not represent simply windfall gains and losses to particular groups according to whether the price happens to be set higher or lower than it would be otherwise. It represents a net lose to the economy as a whole to the extent that many transactions do not take place at all, because the mutually acceptable possibilities have been reduced.
You don't want to get the same kind of advice from everyone on your board.
You don't want to get the same kind of advice from everyone on your board.
This is a test. It is only a test. Had it been an actual job, you would have received raises, read more
This is a test. It is only a test. Had it been an actual job, you would have received raises, promotions, and other signs of appreciation.
If you love your customer to death, you can't go wrong.
If you love your customer to death, you can't go wrong.
...the only means to well-being is to increase the quantity of products. This is what business aims at.
...the only means to well-being is to increase the quantity of products. This is what business aims at.
