--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Only in very recent times has the average…" description: "\"Only in very recent times has the average man been a source of savings.\" — John Kenneth Galbraith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_average_only-in-very-recent-times-has-the-averag_3015708.png" --- # Only in very recent times has the average man been a… ![“Only in very recent times has the average man been a source of savings.” quote by John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_average_only-in-very-recent-times-has-the-averag_3015708.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_average_only-in-very-recent-times-has-the-averag_3015708.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_average_only-in-very-recent-times-has-the-averag_3015708.png) > “Only in very recent times has the average man been a source of savings.” [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Modern savings often come from individuals rather than institutions. **In simple terms:** People now save more than before. Key Takeaway Encourage personal financial habits. Themes economics modernity saving Mood analytical reflective Type economic observational When to use this quote - Households - investment decisions - policy debates Key Concepts Consumer behavior financial planning Questions to Reflect On - What drives personal saving trends? - How can institutions support savings? A Different Perspective Savings can be uneven across demographics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Average](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/average/) [Average man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/average-man/) [Man Source](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-source-2391954/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Recent Times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/recent-times-813085/) [Saving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/saving/) [Savings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/savings/) [Source](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/source/) [Source Savings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/source-savings-4856124/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Man is not the source of all things, as the subjective idealists would say. Nor is he the passive observer of all things, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-pirsig/man-is-not-the-source-of-all-things-as-the-subjective-idealists-would/) [Robert M. Pirsig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-pirsig/) > [The individual serves the planning system not by supplying it with savings and the resulting capital; he serves it far more by consuming its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/the-individual-serves-the-planning-system-not-by-supplying-it-with/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [“...only in relatively recent times have people decided that "because I want to" is sufficient reason for annoying others.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-mckibben/only-in-relatively-recent-times-have-people-decided-that-because-i-2/) [Bill McKibben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-mckibben/) > [History gets thicker as it approaches recent times: more people, more events, and more books written about them. More evidence is preserved, often, one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-j-p-taylor/history-gets-thicker-as-it-approaches-recent-times-more-people-more/) [A. J. P. Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-j-p-taylor/) > [It was always tough, but today we are in the throes of something we have never seen in our history. It's clear in recent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sumner-redstone/it-was-always-tough-but-today-we-are-in-the-throes-of-something-we/) [Sumner Redstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sumner-redstone/) > [The most common cause of low prices is pessimism - some times pervasive, some times specific to a company or industry. We want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/the-most-common-cause-of-low-prices-is-pessimism-some-times-pervasive/) [Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/) > [Bailing out people who made ill-advised mortgages makes no more sense that bailing out people who lost their life savings in Las Vegas casinos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/bailing-out-people-who-made-ill-advised-mortgages-makes-no-more-sense/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [Why is it so hard to see that when America had high savings, low taxes and minimal government, the economy grew like a week,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cook/why-is-it-so-hard-to-see-that-when-america-had-high-savings-low-taxes/) [James Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cook/) > [Inflation is not caused by the actions of private citizens, but by the government: by an artificial expansion of the money supply required to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/inflation-is-not-caused-by-the-actions-of-private-citizens-but-by-the/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [I hate weekends because there is no stock market](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-rivkin/i-hate-weekends-because-there-is-no-stock-market/) [Rene Rivkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-rivkin/) > [Your goal should be to pay off your credit card bills in full at the end of each month and set aside money toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/your-goal-should-be-to-pay-off-your-credit-card-bills-in-full-at-the/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [A faithfully kept program of savings and conservative investments can give you more money and a better life than that of your neighbors who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-bryant-quinn/a-faithfully-kept-program-of-savings-and-conservative-investments-can/) [Jane Bryant Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-bryant-quinn/) > [Never invest emergency savings in the stock market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suze-orman/never-invest-emergency-savings-in-the-stock-market/) [Suze Orman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suze-orman/) > [Both fact and logic seem to me to support the view that savings invested in privately owned economic tools of production amount to an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-a-harper/both-fact-and-logic-seem-to-me-to-support-the-view-that-savings/) [F. A. Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-a-harper/) > [It's not just that families can't buy a home or start a business without some savings tucked away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-cooper/it-s-not-just-that-families-can-t-buy-a-home-or-start-a-business/) [Jim Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-cooper/) ## More by John Kenneth Galbraith > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Technology means the systematic application of scientific or other organized knowledge to practical tasks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/technology-means-the-systematic-application-of-scientific-or-other/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [“Men can labor to make sense out of single steps toward the goal without ever pausing to reflect that the goal itself is ludicrous.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/men-can-labor-to-make-sense-out-of-single-steps-toward-the-goal/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Consumer wants can have bizarre, frivolous, or even immoral origins, and an admirable case can still be made for a society that seeks to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/consumer-wants-can-have-bizarre-frivolous-or-even-immoral-origins-and/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [That one never need to look beyond the love of money for explanation of human behavior is one of the most jealously guarded simplification…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/that-one-never-need-to-look-beyond-the-love-of-money-for-explanation/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Agriculture is one economic activity that does not obey the laws of demand and supply.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/agriculture-is-one-economic-activity-that-does-not-obey-the-laws-of/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [If we were not in Vietnam, all that part of the world would be enjoying the obscurity it so richly deserves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/if-we-were-not-in-vietnam-all-that-part-of-the-world-would-be/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Washington is a place where men praise courage and act on elaborate personal cost-benefit calculations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/washington-is-a-place-where-men-praise-courage-and-act-on-elaborate/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [World War II revealed two of the enduring features of the Keynesian Revolution. One was the moral difference between spending for welfare and spending…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/world-war-ii-revealed-two-of-the-enduring-features-of-the-keynesian/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Money is what fueled the industrial society. But in the informational society, the fuel, the power, is knowledge. One has now come to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/money-is-what-fueled-the-industrial-society-but-in-the-informational/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [While it will be desirable to achieve planned results, it will be even more important to avoid unplanned disasters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/while-it-will-be-desirable-to-achieve-planned-results-it-will-be-even/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [A bad book is the worse that it cannot repent. It has not been the devil's policy to keep the masses of mankind in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/a-bad-book-is-the-worse-that-it-cannot-repent-it-has-not-been-the/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Genius is a rising stock market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/genius-is-a-rising-stock-market/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Mr. David Stockman has said that supply-side economics was merely a cover for the trickle-down approach to economic policy—what an older and less elegant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/mr-david-stockman-has-said-that-supply-side-economics-was-merely-a/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [Inventions that are not made, like babies that are not born, are rarely missed. In the absence of new developments, old ones may seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/inventions-that-are-not-made-like-babies-that-are-not-born-are-rarely/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) [Explore all 434 John Kenneth Galbraith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) ## More Average quotes > [I genuinely did not expect more than half our nation to choose to walk away from our long-term allies into the arms of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-reade/i-genuinely-did-not-expect-more-than-half-our-nation-to-choose-to/) [Brian Reade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-reade/) > [There were times last year when people looked at the scoreboard and thought my batting average was the temperature.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-martinez/there-were-times-last-year-when-people-looked-at-the-scoreboard-and/) [Buck Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-martinez/) > [The average condition of the people improving or deteriorating, depends upon whether population is advancing faster than improvement, or improvement than population.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-stuart-mill/the-average-condition-of-the-people-improving-or-deteriorating/) [John Stuart Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-stuart-mill/) > [In comparative terms, there's no poverty in America by a long shot. Heritage Foundation political scientist Robert Rector has worked up figures showing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/in-comparative-terms-there-s-no-poverty-in-america-by-a-long-shot/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [The average well-being of our societies is not dependent any longer on national income and economic growth. ... But the differences between us and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-g-wilkinson/the-average-well-being-of-our-societies-is-not-dependent-any-longer/) [Richard G. Wilkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-g-wilkinson/) > [I really focus more to hit for average, just try to put the ball in play as much as I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juan-soto/i-really-focus-more-to-hit-for-average-just-try-to-put-the-ball-in/) [Juan Soto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juan-soto/) > [You give me enough shots, I'll average 20. You give me a particular system where I stick close to the basket, I'll average 10 rebounds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-bosh/you-give-me-enough-shots-i-ll-average-20-you-give-me-a-particular/) [Chris Bosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-bosh/) > [The average ordinary citizen can do a lot of different things when it comes to the climate crisis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-bender/the-average-ordinary-citizen-can-do-a-lot-of-different-things-when-it/) [Lawrence Bender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-bender/) > [The average American expends more time becoming informed about choosing a car than choosing a candidate. But, then, the consequences of the former choice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-will/the-average-american-expends-more-time-becoming-informed-about/) [George Will](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-will/) > [My phone rings, they call me up and say, 'Chael, your testosterone level is too high.' I say, 'Well, how high was it?' They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chael-sonnen/my-phone-rings-they-call-me-up-and-say-chael-your-testosterone-level/) [Chael Sonnen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chael-sonnen/) > [In one century, we've added 28 years to our average life span - a change so rapid that our brains couldn't possibly have evolved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martha-beck/in-one-century-we-ve-added-28-years-to-our-average-life-span-a-change/) [Martha Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martha-beck/) > [So-called Western Civilization, as practised in half of Europe, some of Asia and a few parts of North America, is better than anything else…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/so-called-western-civilization-as-practised-in-half-of-europe-some-of/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [I feel like what motivates me is what would motivate the regular average person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rico-nasty/i-feel-like-what-motivates-me-is-what-would-motivate-the-regular/) [Rico Nasty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rico-nasty/) > [We're trying to do something so that when the average person uses Pinterest, it has to make the service better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-silbermann/we-re-trying-to-do-something-so-that-when-the-average-person-uses/) [Ben Silbermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-silbermann/) > [The extraordinary woman depends on the ordinary woman. It is only when we know what were the conditions of the average woman's life -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-extraordinary-woman-depends-on-the-ordinary-woman-it-is-only-when/) [Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/) [Browse all 2,816 Average quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/average/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Only in very recent times has the average man been a source of savings.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Kenneth Galbraith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/only-in-very-recent-times-has-the-average-man-been-a-source-of-savings/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Average" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/only-in-very-recent-times-has-the-average-man-been-a-source-of-savings/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_average_only-in-very-recent-times-has-the-averag_3015708.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_average_only-in-very-recent-times-has-the-averag_3015708.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4f1/john-kenneth-galbraith-643_average_only-in-very-recent-times-has-the-averag_3015708.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Only in very recent times has the average man been a source of savings.” — John Kenneth Galbraith", "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": "John Kenneth Galbraith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Only in very recent times has...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/only-in-very-recent-times-has-the-average-man-been-a-source-of-savings/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/only-in-very-recent-times-has-the-average-man-been-a-source-of-savings/#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 } } ] } ```