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There is no such thing as a normal period of history. Normality is a fiction of economic textbooks.

Joan Robinson

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Joan Robinson
Age: 79 †
Born: 1903
Born: October 31
Died: 1983
Died: August 5
Economist
University Teacher
Camberley
Surrey
Joan Violet Robinson
Joan Violet Maurice
Economic
History
Thing
Normality
Textbooks
Period
Periods
Normal
Fiction

More quotes by Joan Robinson

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Marxism is the opium of the Marxists.
Joan Robinson
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An economy may be in equilibrium from a short-period point of view and yet contain within itself incompatibilities that are soon going to knock it out of equilibrium.
Joan Robinson
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The fundamental differences between Marxian and traditional orthodox economics are, first, that the orthodox economists accept the capitalist system as part of the eternal order of Nature, while Marx regards it as a passing phase in the transition from the feudal economy of the past to the socialist economy of the future.
Joan Robinson
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Economic theorists should not make such a production about taking a rabbit out of a hat after having put the rabbit into the hat in full view of the audience.
Joan Robinson
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Income from property is not the reward of waiting, it is the reward of employing a good stockbroker.
Joan Robinson
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Unemployment is a reproach to a democratic government.
Joan Robinson
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There is an unearthly, mystical element in Friedman's thought. The mere existence of a stock of money somehow promotes expenditure. But insofar as he offers an intelligible theory, it is made up of elements borrowed from Keynes.
Joan Robinson
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The first essential for economists ... is to ... combat, not foster, the ideology which pretends that values which can be measured in terms of money are the only ones that ought to count.
Joan Robinson
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A depression is a situation of self-fulfilling pessimism.
Joan Robinson
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Ideology is like breath: you never smell your own.
Joan Robinson
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The orthodox doctrines of economics which were dominant in the last quarter of the nineteenth century had a clear message. They supported laisser faire, free trade, the gold standard, and the universally advantageous effects of the pursuit of profit by competitive private enterprise.
Joan Robinson
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The point of studying economics is so as not to be fooled by economists.
Joan Robinson
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I came away from the talk with the perception that the risk of adverse side effects is so much greater than the risk of cervical cancer, I couldn’t help but question why we need the vaccine at all.
Joan Robinson
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owning capital is not a productive activity.
Joan Robinson
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In all the talk in the Principles (as opposed to the formal analysis) it is not the saving of rentiers but the energy of entrepreneurs which governs accumulation.
Joan Robinson
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Even if the crises that are looming up are overcome and a new run of prosperity lies ahead, deeper problems will still remain. Modern capitalism has no purpose except to keep the show going.
Joan Robinson
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It's a terrible thing to be a worker exploited in the capitalist system. The only worse thing is to be a worker unable to find anyone to exploit you.
Joan Robinson
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The purpose of studying economics is not to acquire a set of ready-made answers to economic questions, but to learn how to avoid being deceived by economists.
Joan Robinson
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Capital' is not what capital is called, it is what its name is called.
Joan Robinson
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When I came up to Cambridge (in October 1921) to read economics, I did not have much idea of what it was about.
Joan Robinson