Unintended consequences

Explore 6 quotes about Unintended consequences

Every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of the society as great as he can. He generally, indeed, neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it... he intends only his own security... and he is in this, as in many other cases, led by an invisible hand to promote an end which was no part of his intention.

Adam Smith

The Wealth of Nations

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Topic

Invisible hand Self-interest Unintended consequences

Author

Adam Smith

Source

The Wealth of Nations

Genre

Economic literature

Language

English

Time

1776 1770s 18th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations. Vol. 2, London: W. Strahan and T. Cadell 1776, bk. 4, ch. 2.

Current Citation

Smith, Adam. The Wealth of Nations, edited by Edwin Cannan. The Modern Library, 2000, bk. 4, ch. 2.

O, what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practise to deceive!

Sir Walter Scott

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Topic

Consequences of lying Unintended consequences Lying

Author

Sir Walter Scott

Source

Marmion

Medium

Poem

Statement Type

Proverbs, aphorisms and adages

Language

English

Time

1808 1800s 19th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Scott, Walter, Sir. Marmion: A Tale of Flodden Field. Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Co./London: William Miller and John Murray, 1808, canto 6, st. 17.

There is scarcely a single man sufficiently aware to know all the evil he does.

François de La Rochefoucauld [François VI, Duc de la Rochefoucauld, Prince de Marcillac]

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Topic

Effect on others Self-awareness Unintended consequences

Author

François de La Rochefoucauld [François VI, Duc de la Rochefoucauld, Prince de Marcillac]

Source

Reflections

Medium

Epigram

Language

French

Time

1678 1670s 17th century

Authentication Score 2

Original Citation

La Rochefoucauld, Francois. Reflexions ou sentences et maximes morales [Reflections; or Sentences and Moral Maxims]. c. 1665.

Current Citation

La Rochefoucauld, Francois. Collected Maxims and Other Reflections, translated by E. H. and A. M. Blackmore and Francine Giguere. Oxford University Press, 2008.

There is an invisible hand in politics that operates in the opposite direction to the invisible hand in the market. In politics, individuals who seek to promote only the public good are led by an invisible hand to promote special interests that it was no part of their intention to promote.

Milton Friedman

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Topic

Special interests Unintended consequences Political theory Politics

Author

Milton Friedman

Genre

Political literature Economic literature

Language

English

Time

1983 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 1

Citation

Friedman, Milton. Bright Promises, Dismal Performance: An Economist's Protest. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1983.

I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I needed to be.

Douglas Adams

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

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Topic

Things work out Unintended consequences Serendipity Good luck

Author

Douglas Adams

Source

The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul

Medium

Novel

Genre

Detective fiction

Language

English

Time

1988 1980s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Adams, Douglas. The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul. William Heinemann, 1988, ch. 13.

The sad truth of the matter is that most evil is done by people who never made up their minds to be or do either evil or good.

Hannah Arendt

The Life of the Mind

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Topic

Evil Unintended consequences

Author

Hannah Arendt

Source

The Life of the Mind

Genre

Philosophical literature

Language

English

Time

1975 1970s 20th century

Authentication Score 3

Citation

Arendt, Hannah. The Life of the Mind. Vol. 1. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1977, ch. 18.