---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is preferable to regard labour…"
description: "\"It is preferable to regard labour, including, of course, the personal services of the entrepreneur, and his assistants, as the sole factor of productio..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/john-maynard-keynes-1380_able_it-is-preferable-to-regard-labour-includ_1227575.jpg"
---

#  It is preferable to regard labour, including, of course…

![“It is preferable to regard labour, including, of course, the personal services of the entrepreneur, and his assistants, as the sole factor of production, operating in a given environment of technique, natural resources, capital equipment and effective demand. This is why we have been able to take…” quote by John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/john-maynard-keynes-1380_able_it-is-preferable-to-regard-labour-includ_1227575.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/john-maynard-keynes-1380_able_it-is-preferable-to-regard-labour-includ_1227575.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/john-maynard-keynes-1380_able_it-is-preferable-to-regard-labour-includ_1227575.jpg)

> “It is preferable to regard labour, including, of course, the personal services of the entrepreneur, and his assistants, as the sole factor of production, operating in a given environment of technique, natural resources, capital equipment and effective demand. This is why we have been able to take labour as the sole physical unit which we require in our economic system, apart from units of money and of time.”

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Keynes argues that labor is the fundamental productive factor, independent of capital, money, or time, within a given technical and resource context.

**In simple terms:** Labor is the core productive element.

Key Takeaway

Focus on labor productivity.

Themes

economics production labor theory policy

Mood

analytical critical

Type

theoretical policy.

When to use this quote

- industrial planning
- business strategy
- public policy
- education curricula

Key Concepts

Keynesian economics factor of production effective demand

Questions to Reflect On

- How can we balance labor focus with technological innovation?
- What policies ensure effective demand?

A Different Perspective

Labor alone cannot drive growth without technology and demand.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Able](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/) [Able Labour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able-labour-3782970/) [Assistants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/assistants/) [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Courses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/courses/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic/) [Economic system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-system/) [Economic systems](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economic-systems/) [Economy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economy/) [Entrepreneur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/entrepreneur/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Equipment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equipment/) [Factors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/factors/) [Factors of production](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/factors-of-production/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Has beens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/has-beens/) [Including](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/including/) [Labour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour/) [Labour Including](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour-including-3782968/) [Labour Sole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labour-sole-3782969/) [Liberalism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/liberalism/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [Natural resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-resources/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Productions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/productions/) [Regard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard/) [Regard Labour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/regard-labour-3782967/) [Resources](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/resources/) [Sole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sole/) [Technique](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technique/) [Units](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/units/)

## Related quotes

> [No, I didn't think of myself as an idealist. I consider myself as a believer in what I regard as the Labour Party's basic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenda-jackson/no-i-didn-t-think-of-myself-as-an-idealist-i-consider-myself-as-a/)

[Glenda Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenda-jackson/)

> [No Keynesian has ever proposed a measure designed to make the individual more productive; for that would require institutional means for enabling him to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-o-kelso/no-keynesian-has-ever-proposed-a-measure-designed-to-make-the/)

[Louis O. Kelso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-o-kelso/)

> [If God had meant there to be more than two factors of production, He would have made it easier for us to draw three-dimension…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-solow/if-god-had-meant-there-to-be-more-than-two-factors-of-production-he/)

[Robert Solow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-solow/)

> [It is inherent in the nature of the capitalistic economy that, in the final analysis, the employment of the factors of production is aimed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/it-is-inherent-in-the-nature-of-the-capitalistic-economy-that-in-the/)

[Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/)

> [It is much more accurate to identify the factors of production as know-how (that is genetic information structure), energy, and materials, for, as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-e-boulding/it-is-much-more-accurate-to-identify-the-factors-of-production-as/)

[Kenneth E. Boulding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-e-boulding/)

> [We do not assert that the capitalist mode of economic calculation guarantees the absolutely best solution of the allocation of factors of production. Such…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/we-do-not-assert-that-the-capitalist-mode-of-economic-calculation/)

[Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/)

> [The one important distinction between the two factors of production is that in a free society, ownership of the human factor, labor, cannot be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-o-kelso/the-one-important-distinction-between-the-two-factors-of-production/)

[Louis O. Kelso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-o-kelso/)

> [All the impoverishing effects of socialism are with us in the U.S.: reduced levels of investment and saving, the misallocation of resources, the overutilization…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-hermann-hoppe/all-the-impoverishing-effects-of-socialism-are-with-us-in-the-u-s/)

[Hans-Hermann Hoppe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hans-hermann-hoppe/)

> [One day, because they realize for some reason or other that they must stop credit expansion, the banks do stop creating new credit to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/one-day-because-they-realize-for-some-reason-or-other-that-they-must/)

[Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/)

> [On the unhampered market there prevails an irresistible tendency to employ every factor of production for the best possible satisfaction of the most urgent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/on-the-unhampered-market-there-prevails-an-irresistible-tendency-to/)

[Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/)

> [Equality of economic opportunity, in the context of private property, means equality of opportunity for the millions of capital-less households of today to buy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-o-kelso/equality-of-economic-opportunity-in-the-context-of-private-property/)

[Louis O. Kelso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-o-kelso/)

> [Intellectual capital is the most valuable of all factors of production.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/intellectual-capital-is-the-most-valuable-of-all-factors-of-production/)

[Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/)

> [Money is not a part of the visible sector of the economy; people do not consume money. Money is not a physical factor of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-o-kelso/money-is-not-a-part-of-the-visible-sector-of-the-economy-people-do/)

[Louis O. Kelso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-o-kelso/)

> [The boom squanders through malinvestment scarce factors of production and reduces the stock available through overconsumption; its alleged blessings are paid for by impoverishment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/the-boom-squanders-through-malinvestment-scarce-factors-of-production/)

[Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/)

> [This is class war on an international scale, and power is in the hands of those who control the international economic system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/this-is-class-war-on-an-international-scale-and-power-is-in-the-hands/)

[Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/)

## More by John Maynard Keynes

> [Once we allow ourselves to be disobedient to the test of an accountant's profit, we have begun to change our civilization.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/once-we-allow-ourselves-to-be-disobedient-to-the-test-of-an/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [If you owe your bank manager a thousand pounds, you are at his mercy. If you owe him a million pounds, he is at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/if-you-owe-your-bank-manager-a-thousand-pounds-you-are-at-his-mercy/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [There is no subtler, no surer means of overturning the existing basis of society than to debauch the currency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/there-is-no-subtler-no-surer-means-of-overturning-the-existing-basis/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [It has been pointed out already that no knowledge of probabilities, less in degree than certainty, helps us to know what conclusions are true,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/it-has-been-pointed-out-already-that-no-knowledge-of-probabilities/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [Everything is always decided for reasons other than the real merits of the case](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/everything-is-always-decided-for-reasons-other-than-the-real-merits/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [In the long run we are all dead.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/in-the-long-run-we-are-all-dead/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [The power of vested interests is vastly exaggerated compared with the gradual encroachment of ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/the-power-of-vested-interests-is-vastly-exaggerated-compared-with-the/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [It is a good thing to make mistakes so long as you're found out quickly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/it-is-a-good-thing-to-make-mistakes-so-long-as-you-re-found-out/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [When the accumulation of wealth is no longer of high social importance, there will be great changes in the code of morals. We shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/when-the-accumulation-of-wealth-is-no-longer-of-high-social/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [Of the maxims of orthodox finance none, surely, is more anti-social than the fetish of liquidity, the doctrine of that it is a positive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/of-the-maxims-of-orthodox-finance-none-surely-is-more-anti-social/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [The outstanding faults of the economic society in which we live are its failure to provide for full employment and its arbitrary and inequitable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/the-outstanding-faults-of-the-economic-society-in-which-we-live-are/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [I conceive, therefore, that a somewhat comprehensive socialisation of investment will prove the means of securing an approximation to full employment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/i-conceive-therefore-that-a-somewhat-comprehensive-socialisation-of/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [Capitalism is the astounding belief that the most wickedest of men will do the most wickedest of things for the greatest good of everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/capitalism-is-the-astounding-belief-that-the-most-wickedest-of-men/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [Economics is a very dangerous science.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/economics-is-a-very-dangerous-science/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

> [Whenever you save five shillings you put a man out of work for a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/whenever-you-save-five-shillings-you-put-a-man-out-of-work-for-a-day/)

[John Maynard Keynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

[Explore all 246 John Maynard Keynes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/)

## More Able quotes

> [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/)

[Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/)

> [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/)

[Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/)

> [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/)

[Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/)

> [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/)

[Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/)

> [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/)

[Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/)

> [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/)

[Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/)

> [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/)

[Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/)

> [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/)

[Greg Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-perry/)

> [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/)

[Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/)

> [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/)

[Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/)

> [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/)

[Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/)

> [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/)

[Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/)

> [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/)

[Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/)

> [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/)

[Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/)

[Browse all 17,257 Able quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/able/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It is preferable to regard labour, including, of course, the personal services of the entrepreneur, and his assistants, as the sole factor of production, operating in a given environment of technique, natural resources, capital equipment and effective demand. This is why we have been able to take labour as the sole physical unit which we require in our economic system, apart from units of money and of time.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "John Maynard Keynes"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/it-is-preferable-to-regard-labour-including-of-course-the-personal/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Able"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/it-is-preferable-to-regard-labour-including-of-course-the-personal/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/john-maynard-keynes-1380_able_it-is-preferable-to-regard-labour-includ_1227575.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/john-maynard-keynes-1380_able_it-is-preferable-to-regard-labour-includ_1227575.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/283/john-maynard-keynes-1380_able_it-is-preferable-to-regard-labour-includ_1227575.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It is preferable to regard labour, including, of course, the personal services of the entrepreneur, and his…” — John Maynard Keynes",
                "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 Maynard Keynes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-maynard-keynes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It is preferable to regard labour,...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/it-is-preferable-to-regard-labour-including-of-course-the-personal/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maynard-keynes/it-is-preferable-to-regard-labour-including-of-course-the-personal/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
