Nothing is so admirable in politics as a short memory.

—John Kenneth Galbraith

politics memory forgiveness

About John Kenneth Galbraith

Portrait of John Kenneth Galbraith

John Kenneth Galbraith (October 15, 1908 – April 29, 2006), also known as J. K. Galbraith or Ken Galbraith, was a Canadian-American economist, diplomat, public official, and intellectual. His books on economic topics were bestsellers from the 1950s through the 2000s. As an economist, he leaned toward post-Keynesian economics from...

More quotations from John Kenneth Galbraith

I am not quite sure what the advantage is in having a few more dollars to spend if the air is too dirty to breathe, the water is too polluted to drink, the commuters are losing out in the struggle to get in and out of the city, the streets are filthy, the schools are so bad that the young perhaps wisely stay away, and the hoodlums roll citizens for some of the dollars they saved in the tax cut.

—John Kenneth Galbraith

money environmentalism water air city streets schools

Faced with the choice between changing one's mind and proving that there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.

—John Kenneth Galbraith

choice proof changing your mind

Politics is not the art of the possible. It consists in choosing between the disastrous and the unpalatable.

—John Kenneth Galbraith

politics compromise art possibility disaster

The conventional view serves to protect us from the painful job of thinking.

—John Kenneth Galbraith

opinion pain thinking laziness

Where humor is concerned there are no standards—no one can say what is good or bad, although you can be sure that everyone will.

—John Kenneth Galbraith

humor bad good standards

More quotations tagged with “forgiveness”

Almost all our faults are more pardonable than the methods we resort to to hide them.

—Francois de La Rochefoucauld

forgiveness secrecy defects

Forgiveness is a funny thing. It warms the heart and cools the sting.

—William Arthur Ward

forgiveness heart bitterness warmth

Forgiveness is not simply the absolving of an enemy, or one who has done us wrong. Forgiveness must encompass all those things which disturb the tranquility of our soul: the barking dog that robs you of sleep, the heat of summer, the cold of winter. Forgive the ingrown toenail, the flea that bites; forgive the cranky child, wrinkles, a forgotten birthday.

—Barbara Wood

forgiveness peace equanimity tranquility

You don't stop loving someone just because they've hurt you. Yes, what you did hurt me, but I gain nothing if I stay angry with you. But I might gain everything by forgiving you.

—Cassia Leo in Pieces of You

love relationships forgiveness pain hurt anger

Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.

History

7 Feb 2015 Added