I've got a living to make, to put it plainly; there's more money in shocking and terrifying than in edifying.

I've got a living to make, to put it plainly; there's more money in shocking and terrifying than in edifying.

Many of the products which create a modern standard of living are only the physical incorporations of ideas- not only read more

Many of the products which create a modern standard of living are only the physical incorporations of ideas- not only the ideas of an Edison or a Ford but the ideas of innumerable anonymous people who figure out the design of supermarkets, the location of gasoline stations, and the million mundane things on which our material well-being depends. Societies which have more people carrying out physical acts and fewer people supplying ideas do not have higher standards of living. Quite the contrary.

...we see that there are two different kinds of...societies: (a) parasitic societies and (b) producing societies. The former are those read more

...we see that there are two different kinds of...societies: (a) parasitic societies and (b) producing societies. The former are those which live from hunting, fishing, or merely gleaning. By their economic activities they do not increase, but rather decrease, the amount of wealth in the world. The second kind of societies, producing societies, live by agricultural and pastoral activities. By these activities they seek to increase the amount of wealth in the world.

It is time that financial types developed a greater tolerance for imprecision, because that’s the way the world is.

It is time that financial types developed a greater tolerance for imprecision, because that’s the way the world is.

If your desires be endless, your cares and fears will be so too.

If your desires be endless, your cares and fears will be so too.

To kill a relative of whom you are tired is something. But to inherit his property afterwards, that is genuine read more

To kill a relative of whom you are tired is something. But to inherit his property afterwards, that is genuine pleasure.

The trouble with being poor is that it takes up all your time.

The trouble with being poor is that it takes up all your time.

Gifts, believe me, captivate both men and Gods, Jupiter himself was won over and appeased by gifts.

Gifts, believe me, captivate both men and Gods, Jupiter himself was won over and appeased by gifts.

The growing complexity of science, technology, and organization does not imply either a growing knowledge or a growing need for read more

The growing complexity of science, technology, and organization does not imply either a growing knowledge or a growing need for knowledge in the general population. On the contrary, the increasingly complex processes tend to lead to increasingly simple and easily understood products. The genius of mass production is precisely in its making more products more accessible, both economically and intellectually to more people.