The most valuable of all capital is that invested in human beings
Alfred MarshallRead
All wealth consists of desirable things; that is, things which satisfy human wants directly or indirectly: but not all desirable things are reckoned as wealth.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Wealth includes desirable items that fulfill human wants, but not all desirable items are considered wealth.
This quote by Alfred Marshall emphasizes the distinction between wealth and desirability. It suggests that while wealth is fundamentally linked to what people find desirable and necessary for their well-being, not everything that is desirable counts as wealth. This perspective encourages a deeper understanding of economic value and the subjective nature of human wants.
Themes
WealthDesirabilityHuman WantsEconomic Value
In practice
Example use cases
During a lecture about the nature of wealth and economics, this quote can illustrate the limitations of defining wealth purely in monetary terms.
More from Alfred Marshall
All quotes βSimilar quotes
While it won't solve all the world's ills - and ideas such as a rent cap and more social housing are necessary in places where housing is scarce - a basic income would work like venture capital for the people.
Rutger BregmanRead
I've never believed protectionism of that kind will lead us anywhere. I think you can have certain specific rules for engaging with India.. for example, not allowing mineral resources to be taken out of the country.. but there is not a shred of doubt in my mind that when you open an economy you should do it in totality. Foreign investment adds a sense of competition; we should see this as a wake-up call to modernise and upgrade. Companies that do not will undoubtedly die.
Ratan TataRead
At the current $5.15 an hour, the federal minimum wage has become a poverty wage. A full-time worker with one child lives below the official poverty line.
Bernie SandersRead
Most of the big banks were shot through with short-termism, deceptive practices and self-dealing. We must institute basic changes in corporate governance and in management practice to restore responsibility and honesty for the sake of the economy and for the self-respect of the country.
Edmund PhelpsRead
If they are too big to fail, make them smaller.
George P. ShultzRead
Only government can take perfectly good paper, cover it with perfectly good ink and make the combination worthless.
Milton FriedmanRead