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Change Comes Not From Men And Women Changing Their Minds, But From The Change From One Generation To The Next.
-John Kenneth Galbraith
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Change Comes Not From

John Kenneth Galbraith
...
Change Comes Not From Men And Women Changing Their Minds, But From The Change From One Generation To The Next.

Understanding the Quote: "change comes not from men and women changing their minds, but from..."

This quote by John Kenneth Galbraith reflects deeply on the theme of change. It connects to the universal human journey of purpose, motivation, and reflection. Often categorized under Change, Peace, Men, the quote offers insight, emotional clarity, and intellectual inspiration to readers worldwide.

Whether you’re a student exploring new ideas, a leader trying to motivate your team, or someone seeking direction in life — this quote provides value. It resonates because it’s more than words — it’s a bridge between experience and wisdom. It shows how John Kenneth Galbraith interprets life's core challenges and triumphs.

Lessons From the Quote

This quote teaches resilience and focus. It reminds readers that no matter where they stand in life, reflection and self-awareness lead to growth. Each word has meaning, and when studied, it becomes clear how impactful thoughtful language can be.

About John Kenneth Galbraith

John Kenneth Galbraith is celebrated for insightful thoughts on change and peace. Their legacy lives on through writings that guide, comfort, and inspire. Discover more on their profile page.

Actionable Takeaways

  • Reflect on how this quote applies to your current life path.
  • Share the message with someone who needs inspiration.
  • Write your thoughts on this quote in a journal or blog post.
  • Use it as a daily affirmation or reminder.

Closing Thoughts

Quotes like this endure because they capture universal truths. They comfort us in solitude and empower us in groups. Carry this quote forward — live by its wisdom, share its message, and keep its essence alive.

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Topic
Change
Peace
Men
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Lists
Hayek
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Race
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Addiction
Office
We Have A Swarm Of People In The Stock Market - Not Out Of Knowledge, Not Out Of Expectation, But Out Of Basically A Gambling Instinct, The Hope That Prices Will Go Up.
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People
Expectations
The Conspicuously Wealthy Turn Up Urging The Character Building Values Of The Privation Of The Poor.
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Wealth
Building
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Mistress
Important
Money Is A Singular Thing. It Ranks With Love As Man's Greatest Source Of Joy. And With Death As His Greatest Source Of Anxiety. Over All History It Has Oppressed Nearly All People In One Of Two Ways: Either It Has Been Abundant And Very Unreliable, Or Reliable And Very Scarce.
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Money
Men
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Vietnam
Thanks
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Average
Saving
Pundits Forecast Not Because They Know, But Because They Are Asked.
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Pundits
Knows
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Wish
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Tasks
Done
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Voice
People
Complexity And Obscurity Have Professional Value - They Are The Academic Equivalents Of Apprenticeship Rules In The Building Trades. They Exclude The Outsiders, Keep Down The Competition, Preserve The Image Of A Privileged Or Priestly Class. The Man Who Makes Things Clear Is A Scab. He Is Criticized Less For His Clarity Than For His Treachery.
Men
Class
Competition
There Is An Enormous Thrust In Our Time To Have A Simple Answer. And That Simple Answer Is That All Depends On Alan Greenspan And The Federal Reserve. And Alan, Who Is An Old Acquaintance Of Mine, Is A Marvelous Performer In The Impression He Gives Of Enormously Great Perception.
Simple
Giving
Perception
All, The Intelligent And Stupid, Diligent And Idle, Have Been Swept Along On A Current Of Increased Output That, In The Usual Case, Owed Nothing Whatever To Their Efforts.
Stupid
Intelligent
Effort
If Inheritance Qualifies One For Office, Intelligence Cannot Be A Requirement.
Office
Inheritance
Requirements
Both We And The Soviets Face The Common Threat Of Nuclear Destruction And There Is No Likelihood That Either Capitalism Or Communism Will Survive A Nuclear War.
War
Faces
Nuclear
Ideas Are Inherently Conservative. They Yield Not To The Attack Of Other Ideas But To The Massive Onslaught Of Circumstance With Which They Cannot Contend.
Past
Yield
Ideas
The Industrial System Requires That Prices Be Under Effective Control. And It Seeks The Greatest Possible Influence Over What Buyers Take At The Established Prices.
Influence
Buyers
Smoking Dope And Hanging Up Che's Picture Is No More A Commitment Than Drinking Milk And Collecting Postage Stamps. A Revolution In Consciousness Is An Empty High Without A Revolution In The Distribution Of Power.
Drinking
Commitment
Dope
World War Ii Revealed Two Of The Enduring Features Of The Keynesian Revolution. One Was The Moral Difference Between Spending For Welfare And Spending For War. During The Depression Very Modest Outlays For The Unemployed Seemed Socially Debilitating, Economically Unsound. Now Expenditures Many Times Greater For Weapons And Soldiers Were Perfectly Safe. It's A Difference That Still Persists.
War
Two
Differences
In The United States, Though Power Corrupts, The Expectation Of Power Paralyzes.
Power
Expectations
United States
The Attraction Of Power We Take For Granted In Politics.. But In Economics...the Thrust...is For Pecuniary Return, For Money. And I Have Always Felt That Denies In The Economic World A Very Large Part Of The Motivation.
Motivation
World
Return
Poverty" Pitt Exclaimed "is No Disgrace But It Is Damned Annoying." In The Contemporary United States It Is Not Annoying But It Is A Disgrace.
Poverty
United States
Annoying
In The Usual (though Certainly Not In Every) Public Decision On Economic Policy, The Choice Is Between Courses That Are Almost Equally Good Or Equally Bad. It Is The Narrowest Decisions That Are Most Ardently Debated.
Choices
Decision
Usual
Nostalgia Combines Regularly With Manifest Respectability To Give Credence To Old Error As Opposed To New Truth.
Past
Errors
Giving
In The United States All Business Not Transacted Over The Telephone Is Accomplished In Conjunction With Alcohol Or Food, Often Under Conditions Of Advanced Intoxication. This Is A Fact Of The Utmost Importance For The Visitor Of Limited Funds... For It Means That The Most Expensive Restaurants Are, With Rare Exceptions, The Worst.
Food
Mean
Alcohol
Nothing So Denies A Person Liberty As The Total Absence Of Money.
Liberty
Absence
Deny
Of All The Weapons In The Federal Reserve Arsenal, Words Were The The Most Unpredictable In Their Consequences.
Weapons
Unpredictable
Federal Reserve
The Ideas By Which People . . . Interpret Their Existence And In Measure Guide Their Behavior, Were Not Forged In A World Of Wealth.
Ideas
People
World
Economic Theory Is The Most Prestigious Subject Of Instruction And Study. Agricultural Economics, Labor Economics And Marketing Are Lower Caste Fields Of Study.
Marketing
Fields
Study
Meetings Are Held Because Men Seek Companionship Or, At A Minimum, Wish To Escape The Tedium Of Solitary Duties. They Yearn For The Prestige Which Accrues To The Man Who Presides Over Meetings, And This Leads Them To Convoke Assemblages Over Which They Can Preside. Finally, There Is The Meeting Which Is Called Not Because There Is Business To Be Done, But Because It Is Necessary To Create The Impression That Business Is Being Done. Such Meetings Are More Than A Substitute For Action. They Are Widely Regarded As Action.
Men
Wish
Done
We Can Safely Abandon The Doctrine Of The Eighties, Namely That The Rich Were Not Working Because They Had Too Little Money, The Poor Because They Had Much.
Money
Doctrine
Littles
The Senate Has Unlimited Debate; In The House, Debate Is Ruthlessly Circumscribed. There Is Frequent Discussion As To Which Technique Most Effectively Frustrates Democratic Process.
House
Technique
Debate
Technology, Under All Circumstances, Leads To Planning; In Its Higher Manifestations It May Put The Problems Of Planning Beyond The Reach Of The Industrial Firm. Technological Compulsions, And Not Ideology Or Political Will, Will Require The Firm To Seek The Help And Protection Of The State.
Technology
Political Will
May
The Questions That Are Beyond The Reach Of Economics-the Beauty, Dignity, Pleasure And Durability Of Life-may Be Inconvenient But They Are Important.
Important
Inquiry
May
No Society Ever Seems To Have Succumbed To Boredom. Man Has Developed An Obvious Capacity For Surviving The Pompous Reiteration Of The Commonplace.
Men
Boredom
Capacity
Wealth, In Even The Most Improbable Cases, Manages To Convey The Aspect Of Intelligence.
Wealth
Prosperity
Finance
But Now, As Throughout History, Financial Capacity And Political Perspicacity Are Inversely Correlated.
Political
Financial
Capacity
Oligopoly Is An Imperfect Monopoly. Like The Despotism Of The Dual Monarchy, It Is Saved Only By Its Incompetence.
Imperfect
Incompetence
Oligopoly
There Is A Common Tendency To Ignore The Poor Or To Develop Some Rationalisation For The Good Fortune Of The Fortunate.
Poverty
Common
Poor
We Shall Have A Race Of Men Who Are Strong On Telemetry And Space Communications But Who Cannot Read Anything But A Blueprint Or Write Anything But A Computer Program.
Strong
Communication
Writing
One Of The Greatest Pieces Of Economic Wisdom Is To Know What You Do Not Know.
Wisdom
Knowledge
Pieces
If You're Rich You Can Buy Books. If You're Poor, You Need A Library.
Book
Library
Needs
I Talked About The Consolidation Of Power In The Hands Of The Corporate Bureaucracy, As Distinct From The Stockholders. To This View, I Still Strongly Adhere.
Views
Hands
Bureaucracy
Those Who Had Been Riding The Upward Wave Decide Now Is The Time To Get Out. Those Who Thought The Increase Would Be Forever Find Their Illusion Destroyed Abruptly, And They, Also, Respond To The Newly Revealed Reality By Selling Or Trying To Sell. And Thus The Rule, Supported By The Experience Of Centuries: The Speculative Episode Always Ends Not With A Whimper But With A Bang.
Reality
Forever
Trying
When People Are Least Sure, They Are Often Most Dogmatic.
Acceptance
People
Rejection
From The Spring Of 1941, I Controlled All Prices In The United States. You Could Lower A Price Without My Permission, But You Couldn't Raise A Price Without My Permission Or That Of My Staff.
Spring
United States
Permission
I Am For A Close Global Association In Trade And Financial Matters, Rather Than The Opposite Possibility Of Excessive Nationalism, As Manifested In The Two World Wars.
War
Two
Opposites
All Successful Revolutions Are The Kicking In Of A Rotten Door. The Violence Of Revolutions Is The Violence Of Men Who Charge Into A Vacuum.
Successful
Men
Doors
The Income Men Derive From Producing Things Of Slight Consequence Is Of Great Consequence. The Production Reflects The Low Marginal Utility Of The Goods To Society. The Income Reflects The High Total Utility Of A Livelihood To A Person.
Business
Men
Income
There Are Days When The Result Is So Bad That No Fewer Than Five Revisions Are Required. In Contrast, When I'm Greatly Inspired, Only Four Revisions Are Needed.
Writing
Four
Revision
If People Are Hungry, Ill-clad, Unsheltered Or Diseased, Nothing Is So Important As To Remedy Their Condition.
People
Important
Hunger
[the] Men Of The Technostructure Are The New And Universal Priesthood. Their Religion Is Business Success; Their Test Of Virtue Is Growth And Profit. Their Bible Is The Computer Printout; Their Communion Bench Is The Committee Room.
Men
Growth
Society
The Only Function Of Economic Forecasting Is To Make Astrology Look Respectable.
Astrology
Looks
Economic
The Inborn Instability Of Capitalism Has Been Part Of The History Of The System For Several Hundred Years.
Years
Hundred
Capitalism
Nothing So Weakens Government As Persistent Inflation.
Government
Economics
Inflation
The Shortcomings Of Economics Are Not Original Error But Uncorrected Obsolescence. The Obsolescence Has Occurred Because What Is Convenient Has Become Sacrosanct. Anyone Who Attacks Such Ideas Must Seem To Be A Trifle Self-confident And Even Aggressive. The Man Who Makes His Entry By Leaning Against An Infirm Door Gets An Unjustified Reputation For Violence. Something Is To Be Attributed To The Poor State Of The Door.
Men
Errors
Doors
In The Assumption That Power Belongs As A Matter Of Course To Capital, All Economists Are Marxians.
Matter
Assumption
Economist
Decision Has Greater Virtue And Force If Taken After There Has Been Eloquent Dissent.
Taken
Decision
Virtue
The Present Age Of Contentment Will Come To An End Only When And If The Adverse Developments That It Fosters Challenge The Sense Of Comfortable Well-being
Challenges
Age
Contentment
The Metropolis Should Have Been Aborted Long Before It Became New York, London Or Tokyo.
New York
Should Have
Cities
All Of The Great Leaders Have Had One Characteristic In Common: It Was The Willingness To Confront Unequivocally The Major Anxiety Of Their People In Their Time. This, And Not Much Else, Is The Essence Of Leadership.
Inspirational
Motivational
Leadership
Where Humor Is Concerned There Are No Standards - No One Can Say What Is Good Or Bad, Although You Can Be Sure That Everyone Will.
Humorous
Standards
Humour
Those Who Yearn For The End Of Capitalism Should Pray For Government By Men Who Believe That All Positive Action Is Inimical To What They Call Thoughtfully The Fundamental Principles Of Free Enterprise.
Believe
Men
Principles
I Feel Very Angry When I Think Of Brilliant, Or Even Interesting, Women Whose Minds Are Wasted On A Home. Better Have An Affair. It Isn't Permanent And You Keep Your Job.
Jobs
Home
Thinking
In Economics, The Majority Is Always Wrong.
Inspirational
Majority
Investing
If You Feed Enough Oats To The Horse, Some Will Pass Through To Feed The Sparrows (referring To "trickle Down" Economics).
Horse
Oats
Sparrows
No Grant Of Feudal Privilege Has Ever Equaled, For Effortless Return, That Of The Grandparent Who Bought And Endowed His Descendants With A Thousand Shares Of General Motors Or General Electric.
Grandparent
Return
Privilege
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