Politics determines who has the power, not who has the truth.
Interpretation
Power in politics is decided by authority, not by factual correctness.
This quote by Paul Krugman suggests that in the realm of politics, the distribution of power is often influenced by political maneuvering and authority rather than by an objective truth. It highlights the disparity between what is true and what is accepted or enacted in political spheres, pointing towards the subjective nature of political power dynamics.
In practice
In a discussion on political campaigns, one might cite this quote to emphasize how power dynamics overshadow factual evidence.
Our popular economics writers, however, are not in the business of giving their readers a ringside seat on the research action; with no exception I can think of, they use their books to do an end run around the normal structure of scholarship, to preach ideas that few serious economists share. Often, these ideas are not just at odds with the professional consensus; they are demonstrably wrong, and sometimes terminally silly. But they sound good to the unwary reader.
The raw fact is that every successful example of economic development this past century ... has taken place via globalization.
Wealthy Americans who benefit hugely from a system rigged in their favor react with hysteria to anyone who points out just how rigged the system is.
It’s not about the budget; it’s about the power...So will the attack on unions succeed? I don’t know. But anyone who cares about retaining government of the people by the people should hope that it doesn’t.
The economics profession went astray because economists, as a group, mistook beauty, clad in impressive-looking mathematics, for truth.
The goal in the end is not to win elections. The goal is to change society.
I think that citizens should be skeptical of government power. But I fear it's bled over to cynicism. It is something that is getting in the way of reasoned discussion, and I'm very concerned about how to change that trend of cynicism.
The only guarantee of the Bill of Rights which continues to have any force and effect is the one prohibiting quartering troops on citizens in time of peace. All the rest have been disposed of by judicial interpretation and legislative whittling.
The bedrock of our democracy is the rule of law and that means we have to have an independent judiciary, judges who can make decisions independent of the political winds that are blowing.
Fascism begins the moment a ruling class, fearing the people may use their political democracy to gain economic democracy, begins to destroy political democracy in order to retain its power of exploitation and special privilege.
The government is us; WE are the government, you and I."- Theodore Roosevelt
I am not running for mayor yet. But if it comes to be true that people cannot voice an opinion unless they have been elected, then we are no longer in a democracy.
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