Failure Quote by Mark Steyn
““America is now a land that rewards failure--at the personal, corporate and state level. If you reward it, you get more of it. If you reward it lavishly as the federal government does, you'll get the Radio City Spectacular of Failure, on ice and with full supporting orchestra. The problem is that, in abolishing failure, you also abolish the possibility of success, and guarantee only the huge sucking statist swamp. From Motown to no town, from the Golden State to Golden Statists. What happens when the policies that brought ruin to Detroit and decay to California are applied to the nation at large?””
About This Quote
Source Essay: The Failure of Rewarding Failure, 2005
Rewarding failure at all levels encourages more failure, creating a bloated, ineffective system that stifles success.
In simple terms: Rewarding failure breeds more failure.
Key Takeaway
Avoid incentivizing failure.
Themes
economics
policy
culture
failure
success
Mood
critical
skeptical
Type
political
economic.
When to use this quote
- government programs
- corporate bonuses
- personal goal setting
- urban planning
Key Concepts
incentive theory
public policy
behavioral economics
Questions to Reflect On
- What incentives truly promote success?
- How can we balance risk and accountability?
A Different Perspective
May oversimplify complex causes of economic issues.
![“[States and the Federal government are] coordinate departments of one simple and integral whole... The one is the domestic, the other the foreign branch of the same government.” quote by Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/401/thomas-jefferson-43_branches_states-and-the-federal-government-are-co_2619.jpg)
