Politics determines who has the power, not who has the truth.
Paul KrugmanRead
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The wealthy often resist acknowledging systemic inequalities that benefit them.
This quote highlights the tendency of wealthy individuals to react defensively when confronted with the reality of social and economic inequalities. Krugman suggests that those who are advantaged by a 'rigged' system may express outrage or denial when their privilege is called into question, thus highlighting a disconnection between their lived experiences and the struggles faced by others in society.
Themes
WealthInequalityPrivilegeSystemReaction
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech addressing economic disparities, one might use this quote to emphasize the resistance of the wealthy to recognizing their privileges.
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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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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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The goal in the end is not to win elections. The goal is to change society.
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