--- title: "3 Madsen Pirie Quotes - Famous Philosopher" description: "Duncan Madsen Pirie is a British researcher and author. He is a co-founder and current president of the Adam Smith Institute, a UK neoliberal think tank..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b016/author-madsen-pirie-62570.jpg" --- ![Portrait of Madsen Pirie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b016/author-madsen-pirie-62570.jpg) # Madsen Pirie (1940) Philosopher United Kingdom **3** quotes in **34** categories Rate this collection: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet Madsen Pirie is a philosopher from the United Kingdom, best known for *The Omega File: A Comprehensive Review of Government Functions*. ## Quick Facts About Madsen Pirie Born August 24, 1940 Nationality United Kingdom Profession Philosopher Notable works The Omega File: A Comprehensive Review of Government Functions ## About Madsen Pirie Duncan Madsen Pirie is a British researcher and author. He is a co-founder and current president of the Adam Smith Institute, a UK neoliberal think tank which has been in operation since 1977. ## Quotes by Madsen Pirie > [There are no causes of poverty. It is the rest state, that which happens when you don't do anything. If you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madsen-pirie/there-are-no-causes-of-poverty-it-is-the-rest-state-that-which/) Madsen Pirie [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/madsen-pirie-77589_asks_there-are-no-causes-of-poverty-it-is-the_16485.jpg) > [There are no causes of poverty. To ask what causes poverty is like asking what causes coldit is the absence of energy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madsen-pirie/there-are-no-causes-of-poverty-to-ask-what-causes-poverty-is-like/) Madsen Pirie [Absence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/absence/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/madsen-pirie-77589_absence_there-are-no-causes-of-poverty-to-ask-wh_1943778.jpg) > [People often find it easier to refute a fake extreme opponent than a more cautious real one, so they knock down the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madsen-pirie/people-often-find-it-easier-to-refute-a-fake-extreme-opponent-than-a/) Madsen Pirie [Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c0/madsen-pirie-77589_argument_people-often-find-it-easier-to-refute-a_2673960.jpg) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/madsen-pirie/#itemlist", "name": "Madsen Pirie Quotes", "numberOfItems": 3, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are no causes of poverty. It is the rest state, that which happens when you don't do anything. If you want to experience poverty, just do nothing, and it will come…. We should ask what are the causes of wealth and try to recreate and reproduce them.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Madsen Pirie" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madsen-pirie/there-are-no-causes-of-poverty-it-is-the-rest-state-that-which/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/madsen-pirie-77589_asks_there-are-no-causes-of-poverty-it-is-the_16485.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/madsen-pirie-77589_asks_there-are-no-causes-of-poverty-it-is-the_16485.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/35e/madsen-pirie-77589_asks_there-are-no-causes-of-poverty-it-is-the_16485.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are no causes of poverty. It is the rest state, that which happens when you don't do anything. 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We should ask, ‘what are the causes of wealth?’", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Madsen Pirie" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/madsen-pirie/there-are-no-causes-of-poverty-to-ask-what-causes-poverty-is-like/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/madsen-pirie-77589_absence_there-are-no-causes-of-poverty-to-ask-wh_1943778.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/madsen-pirie-77589_absence_there-are-no-causes-of-poverty-to-ask-wh_1943778.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/921/madsen-pirie-77589_absence_there-are-no-causes-of-poverty-to-ask-wh_1943778.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There are no causes of poverty. To ask what causes poverty is like asking what causes coldit is the absence…” — Madsen Pirie", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "People often find it easier to refute a fake extreme opponent than a more cautious real one, so they knock down the straw man instead. It is actually worth the trouble to identify the invalid forms of argument, and to learn their names. Not only can you then avoid them yourself; you can also identify them in opponents. 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