Politics determines who has the power, not who has the truth.
Paul KrugmanRead
The United States in particular and the West in general should be feeling a little embarrassed about all that lecturing we did to the Third World.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote highlights the hypocrisy of developed nations criticizing developing countries while facing their own issues.
Paul Krugman's quote reflects on the moral high ground often taken by the United States and the West in their interactions with the Third World. It suggests that these developed nations may have overlooked their own flaws and challenges while pointing fingers at less developed countries, highlighting a sense of shame or embarrassment for their past attitudes and actions.
Themes
HypocrisyWestDeveloped NationsThird WorldCriticismSelf-Reflection
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion on international relations, this quote can remind us to consider our own actions before judging others.
More from Paul Krugman
All quotes →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.
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The raw fact is that every successful example of economic development this past century ... has taken place via globalization.
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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.
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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.
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The economics profession went astray because economists, as a group, mistook beauty, clad in impressive-looking mathematics, for truth.
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