---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: paraphrase economist John Maynard Keynes…"
description: "\"“paraphrase economist John Maynard Keynes: reputations fare better if we are conventionally wrong than if we are unconventionally right.”\" — Michelle B..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/michelle-baddeley-263090_john-maynard-keynes_paraphrase-economist-john-maynard-keynes_1972153.jpg"
---

#  paraphrase economist John Maynard Keynes: reputations fare…

![“paraphrase economist John Maynard Keynes: reputations fare better if we are conventionally wrong than if we are unconventionally right.” quote by Michelle Baddeley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/michelle-baddeley-263090_john-maynard-keynes_paraphrase-economist-john-maynard-keynes_1972153.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/michelle-baddeley-263090_john-maynard-keynes_paraphrase-economist-john-maynard-keynes_1972153.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/michelle-baddeley-263090_john-maynard-keynes_paraphrase-economist-john-maynard-keynes_1972153.jpg)

> ““paraphrase economist John Maynard Keynes: reputations fare better if we are conventionally wrong than if we are unconventionally right.””

Michelle Baddeley

## About This Quote

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

Reputation is safer when aligned with conventional errors than with unconventional truths.

**In simple terms:** Conformity protects reputation.

Key Takeaway

Weigh risks of truth versus conformity.

Themes

reputation conformity truth

Mood

critical thoughtful

Type

quote philosophical

When to use this quote

- business
- academia
- public life

Key Concepts

social dynamics risk assessment professional ethics

Questions to Reflect On

- When is it worth being unconventional?
- How does society reward conformity?

A Different Perspective

Truth can be valuable despite risk.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

## Related quotes

> [“A sound banker is not one who foresees danger and avoids it,” wrote John Maynard Keynes, “but one who, when he is ruined, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-sound-banker-is-not-one-who-foresees-danger-and-avoids-it-wrote/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The economist John Maynard Keynes said that in the long run, we are all dead. If he were around today he might say that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/the-economist-john-maynard-keynes-said-that-in-the-long-run-we-are/)

[Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/)

> [“John Maynard Keynes, the great British economist, died in 1946. But his ghost lives on. When economies around the world contracted sharply in late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-s-blinder/john-maynard-keynes-the-great-british-economist-died-in-1946-but-his-2/)

[Alan S. Blinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-s-blinder/)

> [Friedrich Hayek, who died on March 23, 1992 at age 92, was arguably the greatest social scientist of the twentieth century. By the time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-simon/friedrich-hayek-who-died-on-march-23-1992-at-age-92-was-arguably-the/)

[Julian Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-simon/)

> [John Maynard Keynes essentially said, don't try and figure out what the market is doing. Figure out a business you understand, and concentrate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-buffett/john-maynard-keynes-essentially-said-don-t-try-and-figure-out-what/)

[Warren Buffett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-buffett/)

> [“John Maynard Keynes, the great British economist, died in 1946. But his ghost lives on. When economies around the world contracted sharply in late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-s-blinder/john-maynard-keynes-the-great-british-economist-died-in-1946-but-his/)

[Alan S. Blinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-s-blinder/)

> [Only someone as puffed up and demented as John Maynard Keynes, every left wing fascist's sainted mentor in this connection, could manage to convince…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/only-someone-as-puffed-up-and-demented-as-john-maynard-keynes-every/)

[L. Neil Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-neil-smith/)

> [“When the facts change, I change my mind,” the economist John Maynard Keynes famously said. “What do you do, sir?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate-silver/when-the-facts-change-i-change-my-mind-the-economist-john-maynard/)

[Nate Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate-silver/)

> [“Halfway through the second term of Franklin Roosevelt, the New Deal braintrusters began to worry about mounting popular concern over the national debt. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-f-buckley-jr/halfway-through-the-second-term-of-franklin-roosevelt-the-new-deal/)

[William F. Buckley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-f-buckley-jr/)

> [As John Maynard Keynes taught us in the 1930s, in such situations, government is the only entity with both the motive and the ability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-h-frank/as-john-maynard-keynes-taught-us-in-the-1930s-in-such-situations/)

[Robert H. Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-h-frank/)

> [Leonard Woolf in a letter to Lytton Strachey said he hated John Maynard Keynes "for his crass stupidity and hideous face".](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-woolf/leonard-woolf-in-a-letter-to-lytton-strachey-said-he-hated-john/)

[Leonard Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-woolf/)

> [In 1936, John Maynard Keynes predicted the 'euthanasia of the rentier' before the end of the 20th century. It did not happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-standing/in-1936-john-maynard-keynes-predicted-the-euthanasia-of-the-rentier/)

[Guy Standing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-standing/)

> [As far as I can find, almost no one in the profession - not even luminaries like John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich Hayek, or Irving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-shiller/as-far-as-i-can-find-almost-no-one-in-the-profession-not-even/)

[Robert J. Shiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-shiller/)

> [“The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas,” John Maynard Keynes famously observed, “but in escaping from the old ones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/the-difficulty-lies-not-in-the-new-ideas-john-maynard-keynes-famously/)

[Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/)

> [You don't need to be a John Maynard Keynes to understand that if Britain leaves the European market, a border will have to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-davey/you-don-t-need-to-be-a-john-maynard-keynes-to-understand-that-if/)

[Ed Davey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-davey/)

## More Keynes quotes

> [“Keynes died in 1946, exhausted by his wartime efforts. But he had long since demonstrated that neither capitalism nor liberalism would survive very long…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/keynes-died-in-1946-exhausted-by-his-wartime-efforts-but-he-had-long/)

[Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/)

> [The major reason for Keynes's rejection of communism was simply that he could scarcely identify with the grubby proletariat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/the-major-reason-for-keynes-s-rejection-of-communism-was-simply-that/)

[Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/)

> [“Economists who simply advised leaving the economy alone, governments whose first instincts, apart from protecting the gold standard by deflationary policies, was to stick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-j-hobsbawm/economists-who-simply-advised-leaving-the-economy-alone-governments/)

Eric J. Hobsbawm

> [Wicksell's old-fashioned liberalism is reminiscent of John Maynard Keynes' attitude toward conscription during World War I. Keynes opposed conscription, but he was not a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mancur-olson/wicksell-s-old-fashioned-liberalism-is-reminiscent-of-john-maynard/)

[Mancur Olson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mancur-olson/)

> [“As Keynes wrote, with devastating understatement, ‘The age of economic internationalism was not particularly successful in avoiding war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-mishra/as-keynes-wrote-with-devastating-understatement-the-age-of-economic/)

[Pankaj Mishra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-mishra/)

> [My only regret in life is that I did not drink more Champagne - John Maynard Keynes Sorrow can be alleviated by good sleep,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-aquinas/my-only-regret-in-life-is-that-i-did-not-drink-more-champagne-john/)

[Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-aquinas/)

> [“After the war, when the problem of deficient effective demand seemed to have faded into the background, a fresh question came to the fore…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/after-the-war-when-the-problem-of-deficient-effective-demand-seemed/)

[Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/)

> [Where did Keynes stand on overt fascism? From the scattered information now available, it should come as no surprise that Keynes was an enthusiastic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/murray-rothbard/where-did-keynes-stand-on-overt-fascism-from-the-scattered/)

[Murray Rothbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/murray-rothbard/)

> [“At present", Keynes said in 1926, "everything is politics, and nothing policies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-davenport-hines/at-present-keynes-said-in-1926-everything-is-politics-and-nothing/)

[Richard Davenport-Hines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-davenport-hines/)

> [I do not regard the Keynesian revolution as a great intellectual triumph. On the contrary, it was a tragedy because it came so late.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/i-do-not-regard-the-keynesian-revolution-as-a-great-intellectual/)

[Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/)

> [Keynes tried to show that market economies could settle in equilibrium states in which the labour market did not clear, and in which the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ormerod/keynes-tried-to-show-that-market-economies-could-settle-in/)

[Paul Ormerod](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ormerod/)

> [“A sound banker is not one who foresees danger and avoids it,” wrote John Maynard Keynes, “but one who, when he is ruined, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-sound-banker-is-not-one-who-foresees-danger-and-avoids-it-wrote/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“The analysis of the /General Theory /shows that inflation is a real, not a monetary, phenomenon. It operates in two stages (once more giving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-robinson/the-analysis-of-the-general-theory-shows-that-inflation-is-a-real-not/)

[Joan Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-robinson/)

> [As far as I can find, almost no one in the profession - not even luminaries like John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich Hayek, or Irving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-j-shiller/as-far-as-i-can-find-almost-no-one-in-the-profession-not-even/)

[Robert J. Shiller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-j-shiller/)

> [Notwithstanding all the passionate fulminations of the spokesmen of governments, the inevitable consequences of inflationism and expansionism...are coming to pass. And then, very late…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/notwithstanding-all-the-passionate-fulminations-of-the-spokesmen-of/)

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

Browse all 98 Keynes quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“paraphrase economist John Maynard Keynes: reputations fare better if we are conventionally wrong than if we are unconventionally right.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Michelle Baddeley"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-baddeley/paraphrase-economist-john-maynard-keynes-reputations-fare-better-if/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Keynes"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-baddeley/paraphrase-economist-john-maynard-keynes-reputations-fare-better-if/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/michelle-baddeley-263090_john-maynard-keynes_paraphrase-economist-john-maynard-keynes_1972153.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/michelle-baddeley-263090_john-maynard-keynes_paraphrase-economist-john-maynard-keynes_1972153.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6f/michelle-baddeley-263090_john-maynard-keynes_paraphrase-economist-john-maynard-keynes_1972153.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“paraphrase economist John Maynard Keynes: reputations fare better if we are conventionally wrong than if we…” — Michelle Baddeley",
                "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": "Michelle Baddeley",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michelle-baddeley/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“paraphrase economist John Maynard Keynes: reputations...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-baddeley/paraphrase-economist-john-maynard-keynes-reputations-fare-better-if/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-baddeley/paraphrase-economist-john-maynard-keynes-reputations-fare-better-if/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
