One of the little-celebrated powers of Presidents (and other high government officials) is to listen to their critics with just enough sympathy to ensure their silence.
John Kenneth GalbraithRead
The study of money, above all other fields in economics, is one in which complexity is used to disguise truth or to evade truth, not to reveal it. The process by which banks create money is so simple the mind is repelled.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote emphasizes that the complexities surrounding money are often used to obscure the truth about its creation and function.
John Kenneth Galbraith highlights the idea that the subject of money within economics is intentionally complex to prevent clear understanding of its true nature. He suggests that while the process by which banks create money is fundamentally simple, the intricacies involved serve to mislead rather than clarify, showing how complexity can act as a barrier to transparency.
Themes
MoneyEconomicsTruthComplexityBanks
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a financial literacy workshop to address the misconceptions about how money works.
More from John Kenneth Galbraith
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The modern conservative is engaged in one of man's oldest exercises in moral philosophy; that is, the search for a superior moral justification for selfishness.
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All successful revolutions are the kicking in of a rotten door.
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Money differs from an automobile or mistress in being equally important to those who have it and those who do not.
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People of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage.
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