![]() Robinson (Edward Austin Gossage Robinson) titled “Monopoly” : QI has located a similar remark that appeared a decade earlier in 1941 in a book written by a close colleague of Keynes named E. However, Keynes died in 1946 and this statement has not been found in his writings. Indeed, the entire statement credited to Keynes has a satirical edge. Pangloss and his philosophy in “Candide”. The subphrase “the best results in the best of all possible worlds” alludes to Voltaire’s satirical character Dr. Keynes used to put it, ‘the astonishing belief that the nastiest motives of the nastiest men somehow or other work for the best results in the best of all possible worlds’. The words appeared in 1951 in the book “Christianity and Human Relations in Industry” within a discussion of free markets and “the doctrine of the hidden hand” : The earliest known attribution of the saying to Keynes was found by the outstanding researcher Ken Hirsch who shared his knowledge via Wikiquote. ![]() ![]() This blog post will primarily trace the first variant that uses the word “nastiest”. This variant using the word “nastiest” appeared before the instance using the word “wickedest”, and QI believes that the “wickedest” version was created by modifying the earlier statement. There is another similar maxim attributed to Keynes:Ĭapitalism is the extraordinary belief that the nastiest of men for the nastiest of motives will somehow work for the benefit of all. This interesting quote has engaged the curiosity of many people. Quote Investigator: Note, QI researches sayings that embody a variety of different viewpoints. Someone from the Muckraker Era? Lincoln Steffens? Upton Sinclair? Anyway, Doctor, would you look into this? I thought maybe Shaw had something like this but have come up blank there, too. (I have seen the quote without the two “most”s.) It’s a pretty well-turned phrase though, so somebody must have said it. Also, I do not believe that Lord Keynes would ever say “most wickedest”. ![]() Robinson? Fictional? Anonymous?ĭear Quote Investigator: Many times I have seen the following quote attributed to John Maynard Keynes:Ĭapitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone. ![]()
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