--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I always believed in animal spirits. It's…" description: "\"I always believed in animal spirits. It's not their existence that is new. It's the fact that they are not random events, but actually replicate in-bre..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/alan-greenspan-1834_actually_i-always-believed-in-animal-spirits-it-s_1608640.png" --- # I always believed in animal spirits. It's not their… ![“I always believed in animal spirits. It's not their existence that is new. It's the fact that they are not random events, but actually replicate in-bred qualities of human nature which create those animal spirits.” quote by Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/alan-greenspan-1834_actually_i-always-believed-in-animal-spirits-it-s_1608640.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/alan-greenspan-1834_actually_i-always-believed-in-animal-spirits-it-s_1608640.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/alan-greenspan-1834_actually_i-always-believed-in-animal-spirits-it-s_1608640.png) > “I always believed in animal spirits. It's not their existence that is new. It's the fact that they are not random events, but actually replicate in-bred qualities of human nature which create those animal spirits.” [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The concept of “animal spirits” reflects innate human drives that shape economic behavior, not random events. **In simple terms:** Human instincts drive markets. Key Takeaway Recognize psychological factors in economics. Themes economics psychology human behavior Mood analytical thoughtful Type explanatory theoretical When to use this quote - policy making - investment decisions - market analysis Key Concepts behavioral economics psychology human nature Questions to Reflect On - How can policymakers account for these instincts? - What are examples of animal spirits in markets? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Actually](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actually/) [Always](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/always/) [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animal spirits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal-spirits/) [Believed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed/) [Believed Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believed-animal-4806721/) [Create](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/create/) [Events](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/events/) [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fact/) [Human](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human/) [Human nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-nature/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [New](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new/) [Qualities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/qualities/) [Random](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/random/) [Replicate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/replicate/) [Spirits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirits/) [Spirits Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirits-existence-6130552/) [Those](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/those/) [Which](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/which/) ## Related quotes > [A capitalist economy hums when leading businessmen are bubbling with animal spirits and are prepared to sink their money into risky ventures.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-johnson/a-capitalist-economy-hums-when-leading-businessmen-are-bubbling-with/) [Paul Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-johnson/) > [“A squiggle, they are believed to be the first animal ever drawn.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-christy/a-squiggle-they-are-believed-to-be-the-first-animal-ever-drawn/) [Bryan Christy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-christy/) > [“It all begins with faith. If we believed animal went to heaven, we wouldn't send them there prematurely”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bangambiki-habyarimana/it-all-begins-with-faith-if-we-believed-animal-went-to-heaven-we/) [Bangambiki Habyarimana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bangambiki-habyarimana/) > [I’ve never believed there is any animal more dangerous than a human being. I never will. It’s the intelligence. It’s the mind that makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-shayne/i-ve-never-believed-there-is-any-animal-more-dangerous-than-a-human/) [Maggie Shayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-shayne/) > [Compassion begets compassion, cruelty begets cruelty. What we give we will ultimately receive. Nonhumans help make us human. They teach us respect, compassion, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bekoff/compassion-begets-compassion-cruelty-begets-cruelty-what-we-give-we/) [Marc Bekoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bekoff/) > [Most, probably, of our decisions to do something positive, the full consequences of which will be drawn out over many days to come, can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/most-probably-of-our-decisions-to-do-something-positive-the-full/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [Humans are amphibians...half spirit and half animal...as spirits they belong to the eternal world, but as animals they inhabit time. This means that while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/humans-are-amphibians-half-spirit-and-half-animal-as-spirits-they-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The human spirit may be likened to the bounty of the sun shining on a mirror. The body of man, ... grows and develops…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdu-l-bah/the-human-spirit-may-be-likened-to-the-bounty-of-the-sun-shining-on-a/) [Abdu'l-Bahá](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdu-l-bah/) > [A certain excess of animal spirits with thoughtless good-humor will often make more enemies than the most deliberate spite and ill-nature, which is on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/a-certain-excess-of-animal-spirits-with-thoughtless-good-humor-will/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [I can't go to Hindu countries where they respect rats and mice, and I can't go camping. I don't like to go into subways,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-can-t-go-to-hindu-countries-where-they-respect-rats-and-mice-and-i/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [Dancing is at once rational & healthful: it gives animal spirits; it is the natural amusement of young people, & such it has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-cobbett/dancing-is-at-once-rational-healthful-it-gives-animal-spirits-it-is/) [William Cobbett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-cobbett/) > [A man's opinion of danger varies at different times, in consequence of an irregular tide of animal spirits; and he is actuated by considerations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-smollett/a-man-s-opinion-of-danger-varies-at-different-times-in-consequence-of/) [Tobias Smollett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-smollett/) > [ I don't like to go into subways, because I always see them \[ mice\]. They are like my naguales \[kindred animal spirits\]. They follow… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/i-don-t-like-to-go-into-subways-because-i-always-see-them-mice-they/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [The markets are moved by animal spirits, and not by reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/the-markets-are-moved-by-animal-spirits-and-not-by-reason/) [John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/) > [But public works, economic protectionism, cheap money, "deficit-financed government spending," and "the animal spirits of the spendthrift in the service of boosting "consumption demand"...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilana-mercer/but-public-works-economic-protectionism-cheap-money-deficit-financed/) [Ilana Mercer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilana-mercer/) ## More by Alan Greenspan > [Crony capitalism is essentially a condition in which... public officials are giving favours to people in the private sector in payment of political favours.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/crony-capitalism-is-essentially-a-condition-in-which-public-officials/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [At the risk of some oversimplification, if the skill composition of our work force meshed fully with the needs of our increasingly complex capital-stock,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/at-the-risk-of-some-oversimplification-if-the-skill-composition-of/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [To succeed, you will soon learn, as I did, the importance of a solid foundation in the basics of education - literacy, both verbal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/to-succeed-you-will-soon-learn-as-i-did-the-importance-of-a-solid/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [I've always argued that this country has benefited immensely from the fact that we draw people from all over the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/i-ve-always-argued-that-this-country-has-benefited-immensely-from-the/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [I cannot conceive of a politically feasible solution to this problem which will overdo cutting the deficit, where overdoing means harming the economy. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/i-cannot-conceive-of-a-politically-feasible-solution-to-this-problem/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Before I met Ayn Rand, I was a logical positivist, and accordingly, I didn't believe in absolutes, moral or otherwise. If I couldn't prove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/before-i-met-ayn-rand-i-was-a-logical-positivist-and-accordingly-i/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [ Skilled shortages in America exist because we are shielding our skilled labor force from world competition. \[Visa quotas\] have been substituted for the wage… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/skilled-shortages-in-america-exist-because-we-are-shielding-our/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [A decline in the national housing price level would need to be substantial to trigger a significant rise in foreclosures, because the vast majority…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/a-decline-in-the-national-housing-price-level-would-need-to-be/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [Although the outlook is clouded by a number of uncertainties, the central tendencies of the projections .. imply continued good economic performance in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/although-the-outlook-is-clouded-by-a-number-of-uncertainties-the/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [At the outset of the creation of the euro in 1999, it was expected that the southern eurozone economies would behave like those in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/at-the-outset-of-the-creation-of-the-euro-in-1999-it-was-expected/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [We may be in a rapidly evolving international financial system with all the bells and whistles of the so-called new economy. But the old-economy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/we-may-be-in-a-rapidly-evolving-international-financial-system-with/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [The guiding purpose of the government regulator is to prevent rather than to create something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/the-guiding-purpose-of-the-government-regulator-is-to-prevent-rather/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [“government regulation cannot substitute for individual integrity.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/government-regulation-cannot-substitute-for-individual-integrity/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [...our market system depends critically on trust-trust in the word of our colleagues and trust in the word of those with whom we do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/our-market-system-depends-critically-on-trust-trust-in-the-word-of/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) > [It's hard to overemphasize how important Ford's deregulation was. True, most of the benefits took years to unfold-rail freight rates, for example hardly budged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/it-s-hard-to-overemphasize-how-important-ford-s-deregulation-was-true/) [Alan Greenspan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) [Explore all 204 Alan Greenspan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/) ## More Actually quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [I just think my own ambition would not allow me to sit on the gifts that my creator had given me. And so that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janelle-monae/i-just-think-my-own-ambition-would-not-allow-me-to-sit-on-the-gifts/) [Janelle Monae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janelle-monae/) > [I actually like getting out of my comfort zone. It shakes me up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-sheehy/i-actually-like-getting-out-of-my-comfort-zone-it-shakes-me-up/) [Gail Sheehy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-sheehy/) > [You have to talk about why things happened the way they did. You can't actually explain my political life except by a series of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lange/you-have-to-talk-about-why-things-happened-the-way-they-did-you-can-t/) [David Lange](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lange/) > [Failure actually makes you strong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neha-sharma/failure-actually-makes-you-strong/) [Neha Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neha-sharma/) > [There's always that discussion about fiction about how do you market it - these are books for boys, these are books for girls, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-a-weatherly/there-s-always-that-discussion-about-fiction-about-how-do-you-market/) [L.A. Weatherly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-a-weatherly/) > [I'm from Europe, England, and I actually lived in Italy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/i-m-from-europe-england-and-i-actually-lived-in-italy/) [Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adewale-akinnuoye-agbaje/) > [The alternative comedy scene is actually pretty small, I guess.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/casey-wilson/the-alternative-comedy-scene-is-actually-pretty-small-i-guess/) [Casey Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/casey-wilson/) > [I was a very good student. Procrastinating gives me anxiety, and getting a B really ticked me off. Sure, I didn't always want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-loren/i-was-a-very-good-student-procrastinating-gives-me-anxiety-and/) [Josie Loren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-loren/) > [The shelves of many evangelicals are full of books that point out the flaws in evolution, discuss it only as a theory, and almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-collins/the-shelves-of-many-evangelicals-are-full-of-books-that-point-out-the/) [Francis Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-collins/) > [Somebody said that part of my reaction to British cinema is actually, paradoxically, a patriotic one. I'm so disappointed that we're not better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brownlow/somebody-said-that-part-of-my-reaction-to-british-cinema-is-actually/) [Kevin Brownlow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brownlow/) > [I actually do sing sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morten-harket/i-actually-do-sing-sometimes/) [Morten Harket](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morten-harket/) > [I've actually got quite a good memory. I've good recall. It's often things which other people might not notice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-frame/i-ve-actually-got-quite-a-good-memory-i-ve-good-recall-it-s-often/) [Ronald Frame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-frame/) > [Because there is actually something very interesting in Goodfellas, how the style of the film changes as time goes by and based on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-cox/because-there-is-actually-something-very-interesting-in-goodfellas/) [Alex Cox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-cox/) > ['Inequality' has become the political theme/slogan of our time in both Europe and the U.S., yet political leaders do not even bother to consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-singer/inequality-has-become-the-political-theme-slogan-of-our-time-in-both/) [Paul Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-singer/) [Browse all 4,248 Actually quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/actually/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I always believed in animal spirits. It's not their existence that is new. It's the fact that they are not random events, but actually replicate in-bred qualities of human nature which create those animal spirits.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Alan Greenspan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/i-always-believed-in-animal-spirits-it-s-not-their-existence-that-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Actually" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/i-always-believed-in-animal-spirits-it-s-not-their-existence-that-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/alan-greenspan-1834_actually_i-always-believed-in-animal-spirits-it-s_1608640.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/alan-greenspan-1834_actually_i-always-believed-in-animal-spirits-it-s_1608640.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9c8/alan-greenspan-1834_actually_i-always-believed-in-animal-spirits-it-s_1608640.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I always believed in animal spirits. It's not their existence that is new. It's the fact that they are not…” — Alan Greenspan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Alan Greenspan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-greenspan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I always believed in animal spirits....", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/i-always-believed-in-animal-spirits-it-s-not-their-existence-that-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-greenspan/i-always-believed-in-animal-spirits-it-s-not-their-existence-that-is/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```