The smartest groups, then, are made up of people with diverse perspectives who are able to stay independent of each other.
James SurowieckiRead
Politically speaking, it's always easier to shell out money for a disaster that has already happened, with clearly identifiable victims, than to invest money in protecting against something that may or may not happen in the future.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Political decisions often prioritize immediate responses to disasters over preventative measures for future risks.
In this quote, James Surowiecki highlights a common flaw in political decision-making, where leaders are more inclined to allocate funds to address past disasters, which have visible and pressing consequences, rather than investing in preventative measures for uncertain future threats. This tendency illustrates a reactive rather than proactive approach to governance, often driven by the desire for immediate impact and visible results.
Themes
PoliticsPreventionInvestmentDisasterRisk
In practice
Example use cases
During a speech on disaster management, one could quote this to emphasize the importance of prevention strategies.
More from James Surowiecki
All quotes →On the simplest level, telecommuting makes it harder for people to have the kinds of informal interactions that are crucial to the way knowledge moves through an organization. The role that hallway chat plays in driving new ideas has become a cliche of business writing, but that doesn't make it less true.
James SurowieckiRead
The history of the Internet is, in part, a series of opportunities missed: the major record labels let Apple take over the digital-music business; Blockbuster refused to buy Netflix for a mere fifty million dollars; Excite turned down the chance to acquire Google for less than a million dollars.
James SurowieckiRead
In a world where companies increasingly know about their business in real time, it makes no sense that public reporting mostly follows the old quarterly schedule. Companies sit on vital information until reporting day, at which point the market goes crazy.
James SurowieckiRead
Linux is a complex example of the wisdom of crowds. It's a good example in the sense that it shows you can set people to work in a decentralized way - that is, without anyone really directing their efforts in a particular direction - and still trust that they're going to come up with good answers.
James SurowieckiRead
It's a familiar truism that at any one moment, financial markets are dominated by either fear or greed. But the healthiest markets are those that are animated by both fear and greed at the same time.
James SurowieckiRead
Similar quotes
While Donald Trump believes in huge tax breaks for billionaires, he believes that states should actually have the right to lower the minimum wage below $7.25. What an outrage!
Bernie SandersRead
Concentrated power can be always wielded in the interest of the few and at the expense of the many. Government in its last analysis is this power reduced to a science. Governments never lead; they follow progress. When the prison, stake or scaffold can no longer silence the voice of the protesting minority, progress moves on a step, but not until then.
Lucy ParsonsRead
The true principle of a republic is that the people should choose whom they please to govern them. Representation is imperfect, in proportion as the current of popular favor is checked. The great source of free government, popular election, should be perfectly pure, and the most unbounded liberty allowed.
Alexander HamiltonRead
Among the numerous advantages promised by a well-constructed Union, none deserves to be more accurately developed than its tendency to break and control the violence of faction.
James MadisonRead
Trouble is, we call politics a game, but it isn't one. There is no referee, and the teams make up the rules as they go along. You can't cry foul or offside in politics. Almost anything goes.
Michael IgnatieffRead
Look at the coded language the Right is using against President Barack Obama. Openly calling him a liar in Congress, saying he is 'not a Christian, he was not born here, he is not one of us.' That makes addressing such issues trickier for the first African-American in the White House.
Jesse JacksonRead