--- title: "4 Consumption Quotes By Kenneth E. Boulding" description: "4 Consumption quotes by Kenneth E. Boulding. Plus more from Kenneth E. Boulding and more Consumption sayings from other authors." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_activity_i-shall-argue-that-it-is-the-capital-sto_716272.png" --- > [I shall argue that it is the capital stock from which we derive satisfaction, not from the additions to it (production) or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/i-shall-argue-that-it-is-the-capital-stock-from-which-we-derive/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_activity_i-shall-argue-that-it-is-the-capital-sto_716272.png) > [Consumption is the death of capital, and the only valid arguments in favor of consumption are arguments in favor of death itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/consumption-is-the-death-of-capital-and-the-only-valid-arguments-in/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/852/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_argument_consumption-is-the-death-of-capital-and_1184483.png) > [The illusion that consumption - and its correlative, income - is desirable probably stems from too great preoccupation with what Knight calls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/the-illusion-that-consumption-and-its-correlative-income-is-desirable/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_better-off_the-illusion-that-consumption-and-its-co_2054323.jpg) > [The process of consumption is the final act in the economic drama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/the-process-of-consumption-is-the-final-act-in-the-economic-drama/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22a/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_consumption_the-process-of-consumption-is-the-final_2524658.png) ## Other authors on Consumption - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b012/author-ivan-illich-44962.jpg) Ivan Illich 9 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/ivan-illich/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-pope-francis-75890.jpg) Pope Francis 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/pope-francis/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b005/author-barbara-kingsolver-16355.jpg) Barbara Kingsolver 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/barbara-kingsolver/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b023/author-tim-jackson-90897.jpg) Tim Jackson 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/tim-jackson/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b017/author-maurice-strong-65774.jpg) Maurice Strong 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/maurice-strong/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b016/author-ludwig-von-mises-61872.jpg) Ludwig von Mises 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/ludwig-von-mises/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-john-kenneth-galbraith-51720.jpg) John Kenneth Galbraith 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/john-kenneth-galbraith/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-john-holdren-51619.jpg) John Holdren 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/john-holdren/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b013/author-jeanbaptiste-say-48124.jpg) Jean-Baptiste Say 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/jean-baptiste-say/) - [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b009/author-erich-fromm-33632.jpg) Erich Fromm 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/erich-fromm/) - [E. F. Schumacher 5 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/e-f-schumacher/) ## More by Kenneth E. Boulding > [ \[In science any model depends on a pre-chosen taxonomy\] a set of classifications into which we divide the enormous complexity of the real world...… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/in-science-any-model-depends-on-a-pre-chosen-taxonomy-a-set-of/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [If we saw tomorrow's newspaper today, tomorrow would never happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/if-we-saw-tomorrow-s-newspaper-today-tomorrow-would-never-happen/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [It is clear that the building of models is not a purely mechanical process but requires skill of a high order - not merely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/it-is-clear-that-the-building-of-models-is-not-a-purely-mechanical/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [Even personal tastes are learned, in the matrix of a culture or a subculture in which we grow up, by very much the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/even-personal-tastes-are-learned-in-the-matrix-of-a-culture-or-a/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [In view of the importance of philanthropy in our society, it is surprising that so little attention has been given to it by economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/in-view-of-the-importance-of-philanthropy-in-our-society-it-is/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [Humble, honest, ignorance is one of the finest flowers of the human spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/humble-honest-ignorance-is-one-of-the-finest-flowers-of-the-human/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [ \[The question for the behavioral disciplines is simply\] what is better, and how do we get there? ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/the-question-for-the-behavioral-disciplines-is-simply-what-is-better/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [ \[Even the mechanism can be endowed with an image. Thus\] the thermostat has an image of the outside world in the shape of information… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/even-the-mechanism-can-be-endowed-with-an-image-thus-the-thermostat/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [Economic problems have no sharp edges. They shade off imperceptibly into politics, sociology, and ethics. Indeed, it is hardly an exaggeration to say that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/economic-problems-have-no-sharp-edges-they-shade-off-imperceptibly/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [The world moves into the future as a result of decisions, not as a result of plans. Plans are significant only insofar as they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/the-world-moves-into-the-future-as-a-result-of-decisions-not-as-a/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [Mathematicians themselves set up standards of generality and elegance in their exposition which are a bar to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/mathematicians-themselves-set-up-standards-of-generality-and-elegance/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [The concept of need is often looked upon rather unfavorably by economists, in contrast with the concept of demand. Both, however, have their own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/the-concept-of-need-is-often-looked-upon-rather-unfavorably-by/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [Conventions of generality and mathematical elegance may be just as much barriers to the attainment and diffusion of knowledge as may contentment with particularity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/conventions-of-generality-and-mathematical-elegance-may-be-just-as/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [Nothing fails like success, because we do not learn anything from it. We only learn from failure, but we do not always learn the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/nothing-fails-like-success-because-we-do-not-learn-anything-from-it/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) > [At the opposite pole from the gift is tribute - that is, a grant made out of fear and under threat. A threat is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/at-the-opposite-pole-from-the-gift-is-tribute-that-is-a-grant-made/) [Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/kenneth-e-boulding/#itemlist", "name": "4 Consumption Quotes By Kenneth E. Boulding", "numberOfItems": 4, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I shall argue that it is the capital stock from which we derive satisfaction, not from the additions to it (production) or the subtractions from it (consumption): that consumption, far from being a desideratum, is a deplorable property of the capital stock which necessitates the equally deplorable activity of production: and that the objective of economic policy should not be to maximize consumption or production, but rather to minimize it, i.e. to enable us to maintain our capital stock with as little consumption or production as possible.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kenneth E. Boulding" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/i-shall-argue-that-it-is-the-capital-stock-from-which-we-derive/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_activity_i-shall-argue-that-it-is-the-capital-sto_716272.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_activity_i-shall-argue-that-it-is-the-capital-sto_716272.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_activity_i-shall-argue-that-it-is-the-capital-sto_716272.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I shall argue that it is the capital stock from which we derive satisfaction, not from the additions to it…” — Kenneth E. Boulding", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Consumption is the death of capital, and the only valid arguments in favor of consumption are arguments in favor of death itself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kenneth E. Boulding" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/consumption-is-the-death-of-capital-and-the-only-valid-arguments-in/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/852/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_argument_consumption-is-the-death-of-capital-and_1184483.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/852/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_argument_consumption-is-the-death-of-capital-and_1184483.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/852/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_argument_consumption-is-the-death-of-capital-and_1184483.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Consumption is the death of capital, and the only valid arguments in favor of consumption are arguments in…” — Kenneth E. Boulding", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The illusion that consumption - and its correlative, income - is desirable probably stems from too great preoccupation with what Knight calls \"one-use goods,\" such as food and fuel, where the utilization and consumption of the good are tightly bound together in a single act or event. ... any economy in the consumption of fuel that enables us to maintain warmth or to generate power with lessened consumption again leaves us better off. ... there is no great value in consumption itself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kenneth E. Boulding" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/the-illusion-that-consumption-and-its-correlative-income-is-desirable/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_better-off_the-illusion-that-consumption-and-its-co_2054323.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_better-off_the-illusion-that-consumption-and-its-co_2054323.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d1/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_better-off_the-illusion-that-consumption-and-its-co_2054323.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The illusion that consumption - and its correlative, income - is desirable probably stems from too great…” — Kenneth E. Boulding", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The process of consumption is the final act in the economic drama.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Kenneth E. Boulding" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/the-process-of-consumption-is-the-final-act-in-the-economic-drama/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22a/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_consumption_the-process-of-consumption-is-the-final_2524658.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22a/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_consumption_the-process-of-consumption-is-the-final_2524658.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/22a/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_consumption_the-process-of-consumption-is-the-final_2524658.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The process of consumption is the final act in the economic drama.” — Kenneth E. Boulding", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } } ] }, { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/kenneth-e-boulding/#webpage", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/kenneth-e-boulding/", "name": "Consumption Quotes by Kenneth E. Boulding", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/kenneth-e-boulding/#itemlist" }, "primaryImageOfPage": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e1/kenneth-e-boulding-3728_activity_i-shall-argue-that-it-is-the-capital-sto_716272.png" }, "description": "4 Consumption quotes by Kenneth E. Boulding. Plus more from Kenneth E. Boulding and more Consumption sayings from other authors.", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/kenneth-e-boulding/#breadcrumb" } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/kenneth-e-boulding/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Topics", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Consumption", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Kenneth E. Boulding", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/consumption/kenneth-e-boulding/" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```