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…

— Kenneth E. Boulding

If we saw tomorrow's newspaper today, tomorrow would never happen.

— Kenneth E. Boulding

It is clear that the building of models is not a purely mechanical process but requires skill of a high order -…

— 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…

— 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…

— Kenneth E. Boulding

Humble, honest, ignorance is one of the finest flowers of the human spirit

— Kenneth E. Boulding

[The question for the behavioral disciplines is simply] what is better, and how do we get there?

— 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…

— 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…

— 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…

— Kenneth E. Boulding

Mathematicians themselves set up standards of generality and elegance in their exposition which are a bar to understand.

— 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…

— 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…

— 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…

— Kenneth E. Boulding

At the opposite pole from the gift is tribute - that is, a grant made out of fear and under threat. A…

— Kenneth E. Boulding

Reality, in its quantitative aspect, must be considered as a system of populations... The general study of the equilibria and dynamics of…

— Kenneth E. Boulding

The use of isoquants to describe the production function did not develop to any great extent until the thirties.

— Kenneth E. Boulding

Deciding under uncertainty is bad enough, but deciding under an illusion of certainty is catastrophic.

— Kenneth E. Boulding

I shall argue that it is the capital stock from which we derive satisfaction, not from the additions to it (production) or…

— Kenneth E. Boulding

Knowledge exists in minds, not in books. Before what has been found can be used by practitioners, someone must organize it, integrate…

— Kenneth E. Boulding

Economics has been incurably growth-oriented and addicted to everybody growing richer, even at the cost of exhaustion of resources and pollution of…

— Kenneth E. Boulding

[There will be movement toward] behavioral economics... [which] involves study of those aspects of men's images, or cognitive and affective structures that…

— Kenneth E. Boulding

All knowledge is gained through an orderly loss of information.

— Kenneth E. Boulding

The tourist business is a trap, it is a tained honey; Man clearly should have stayed in bed, and not invented money.

— Kenneth E. Boulding

Economists and technologists bring the "bits", but it requires the social scientists and humanists to bring the "wits.

— Kenneth E. Boulding