Investing Quote by Ludwig Lachmann
““The Keynesian world is a world in which there are two distinct classes of actors: the skilled investor, ‘who, unperturbed by the prevailing pastime, continues to purchase investments on the best genuine long-term expectations he can frame’, and, on the other hand, the ignorant ‘game-player’. It does not seem to have occurred to Keynes that either of these two may learn from the other, and that, in particular, company directors and even the managers of investment trusts may be the wiser for learning from the market what it thinks about their actions. In this Keynesian world the managers and directors already know all about the future and have little to gain by devoting their attention to the misera plebs of the market. In fact, Keynes strongly feels that they should not! This pseudo-Platonic view of the world of high finance forms, we feel, an essential part of what Schumpeter called the ‘Keynesian vision’. This view ignores progress through exchange of knowledge because the ones know all there is to be known whilst the others never learn anything.””
About This Quote
Keynesian view separates skilled investors from uninformed market participants, ignoring mutual learning and knowledge exchange.
In simple terms: Investors and market participants can learn from each other, but the view separates.
Encourage dialogue between investors and market participants.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- investment strategy meetings
- corporate board discussions
- financial education workshops
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- What mechanisms can foster mutual learning?
- How can managers better incorporate market feedback?
Assumes clear class division; may oversimplify complex market behavior.