Skip to content

Policy Quote by Bjorn Lomborg

“Wishful thinking is not sound public policy.” quote by Bjorn Lomborg
Download Open image
“Wishful thinking is not sound public policy.”

Bjorn Lomborg

About This Quote

Source Speech: TED Talk, Bjorn Lomborg, 2015

Advocating that policies based on optimistic but unrealistic expectations are ineffective and can waste resources.

In simple terms: Optimistic ideas alone don’t make good policies.

Key Takeaway

Base policies on realistic evidence.

Themes

policy optimism evidence public

Mood

cautious critical

Type

analytical pragmatic

When to use this quote

  • government planning
  • budget allocation
  • environmental regulation
  • healthcare reform

Key Concepts

publicpolicy riskassessment costbenefit

Questions to Reflect On

  • What evidence do you need before supporting a policy?
  • How can optimism be balanced with realism?
A Different Perspective

Idealistic goals may ignore practical constraints and lead to failure.

3.5 out of 5 (5 ratings)

More by Bjorn Lomborg

Explore all 76 Bjorn Lomborg quotes

More Policy quotes

Browse all 5,625 Policy quotes