--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is often sadly remarked that the bad…" description: "\"“It is often sadly remarked that the bad economists present their errors to the public better than the good economists present their truths. It is ofte..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/henry-hazlitt-2839_laissez-faire_it-is-often-sadly-remarked-that-the-bad_961141.jpg" --- # It is often sadly remarked that the bad economists present… ![“It is often sadly remarked that the bad economists present their errors to the public better than the good economists present their truths. It is often complained that demagogues can be more plausible in putting forward economic nonsense from the platform than the honest men who try to show what…” quote by Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/henry-hazlitt-2839_laissez-faire_it-is-often-sadly-remarked-that-the-bad_961141.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/henry-hazlitt-2839_laissez-faire_it-is-often-sadly-remarked-that-the-bad_961141.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/henry-hazlitt-2839_laissez-faire_it-is-often-sadly-remarked-that-the-bad_961141.jpg) > ““It is often sadly remarked that the bad economists present their errors to the public better than the good economists present their truths. It is often complained that demagogues can be more plausible in putting forward economic nonsense from the platform than the honest men who try to show what is wrong with it. But the basic reason for this ought not to be mysterious. The reason is that the demagogues and bad economists are presenting half-truths. They are speaking only of the immediate effect of a proposed policy or its effect upon a single group. As far as they go they may often be right. In these cases the answer consists in showing that the proposed policy would also have longer and less desirable effects, or that it could benefit one group only at the expense of all other groups. The answer consists in supplementing and correcting the half-truth with the other half. But to consider all the chief effects of a proposed course on everybody often requires a long, complicated, and dull chain of reasoning. Most of the audience finds this chain of reasoning difficult to follow and soon becomes bored and inattentive. The bad economists rationalize this intellectual debility and laziness by assuring the audience that it need not even attempt to follow the reasoning or judge it on its merits because it is only "classicism" or "laissez faire" or "capitalist apologetics" or whatever other term of abuse may happen to strike them as effective.”” [Henry Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Bad economists use half‑truths focusing on short‑term effects, while good economists must explain broader, longer‑term impacts, which audiences find dull. **In simple terms:** Bad economists simplify; good ones explain full effects. Key Takeaway Seek comprehensive analysis of policies. Themes economics policy communication Mood cautious thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - legislative debates - media commentary - academic lectures - public forums Key Concepts critical thinking systems thinking public discourse Questions to Reflect On - How can complex impacts be made engaging? - What tools help illustrate long‑term effects? A Different Perspective Complex explanations can lose audience attention. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bad Economists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bad-economists-388883/) [Capitalist Apologetics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/capitalist-apologetics-1780303/) [Demagogues Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demagogues-bad-1780302/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Good Economists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-economists-388884/) [Laissez faire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laissez-faire/) [Reason Demagogues](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reason-demagogues-1780304/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [It is often sadly remarked that the bad economists present their errors to the public better than the good economists present their truths. 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But the basic reason for this ought not to be mysterious. The reason is that the demagogues and bad economists are presenting half-truths. They are speaking only of the immediate effect of a proposed policy or its effect upon a single group. As far as they go they may often be right. In these cases the answer consists in showing that the proposed policy would also have longer and less desirable effects, or that it could benefit one group only at the expense of all other groups. The answer consists in supplementing and correcting the half-truth with the other half. But to consider all the chief effects of a proposed course on everybody often requires a long, complicated, and dull chain of reasoning. Most of the audience finds this chain of reasoning difficult to follow and soon becomes bored and inattentive. The bad economists rationalize this intellectual debility and laziness by assuring the audience that it need not even attempt to follow the reasoning or judge it on its merits because it is only \"classicism\" or \"laissez faire\" or \"capitalist apologetics\" or whatever other term of abuse may happen to strike them as effective.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Henry Hazlitt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/it-is-often-sadly-remarked-that-the-bad-economists-present-their-2/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Economics" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/it-is-often-sadly-remarked-that-the-bad-economists-present-their-2/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/henry-hazlitt-2839_laissez-faire_it-is-often-sadly-remarked-that-the-bad_961141.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/henry-hazlitt-2839_laissez-faire_it-is-often-sadly-remarked-that-the-bad_961141.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b42/henry-hazlitt-2839_laissez-faire_it-is-often-sadly-remarked-that-the-bad_961141.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is often sadly remarked that the bad economists present their errors to the public better than the good…” — Henry Hazlitt", "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": "Henry Hazlitt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-hazlitt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It is often sadly remarked that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/it-is-often-sadly-remarked-that-the-bad-economists-present-their-2/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-hazlitt/it-is-often-sadly-remarked-that-the-bad-economists-present-their-2/#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 } } ] } ```