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 Johnson used to remark, the last refuge of the scoundrel, wrapping outdated industry in the mantle of national interest is the last refuge of the economically dispossessed.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.
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Every day is a gift- even if it sucks.
Every day is a gift- even if it sucks.
Stressing output is the key to improving productivity, while looking to increase activity can result in just the opposite.
Stressing output is the key to improving productivity, while looking to increase activity can result in just the opposite.
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.
A man with a surplus can control circumstances, but a man without a surplus is controlled by them, and often read more
A man with a surplus can control circumstances, but a man without a surplus is controlled by them, and often has no opportunity to exercise judgment.
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 rich adopt novelties and become accustomed to their use. This sets a fashion which others imitate. Once the richer read more
The rich adopt novelties and become accustomed to their use. This sets a fashion which others imitate. Once the richer classes have adopted a certain way of living, producers have an incentive to improve the methods of manufacture so that soon it is possible for the poorer classes to follow suit. Thus luxury furthers progress. Innovation "is the whim of an elite before it becomes a need of the public. The luxury today is the necessity of tomorrow." Luxury is the roadmaker of progress: it develops latent needs and makes people discontented. In so far as they think consistently, moralists who condemn luxury must recommend the comparatively desireless existence of the wild life roaming in the woods as the ultimate ideal of civilized life.
To think that the new economy is over is like somebody in London in 1830 saying the entire industrial revolution read more
To think that the new economy is over is like somebody in London in 1830 saying the entire industrial revolution is over because some textile manufacturers in Manchester went broke.
I've been promoted to middle management. I never thought I'd sink so low.
I've been promoted to middle management. I never thought I'd sink so low.
The 1980s are to debt what the 1960s were to sex. The 1960s left a hangover. So will the 1980s.
The 1980s are to debt what the 1960s were to sex. The 1960s left a hangover. So will the 1980s.
