--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The difficulty lies, not in the new…" description: "\"“The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas,” John Maynard Keynes famously observed, “but in escaping from the old ones.”\" — Philip K. Howard" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/philip-k-howard-33727_keynes_the-difficulty-lies-not-in-the-new-ideas_3112584.jpg" --- # The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas,” John Maynard… ![“The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas,” John Maynard Keynes famously observed, “but in escaping from the old ones.” quote by Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/philip-k-howard-33727_keynes_the-difficulty-lies-not-in-the-new-ideas_3112584.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/philip-k-howard-33727_keynes_the-difficulty-lies-not-in-the-new-ideas_3112584.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ade/philip-k-howard-33727_keynes_the-difficulty-lies-not-in-the-new-ideas_3112584.jpg) > ““The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas,” John Maynard Keynes famously observed, “but in escaping from the old ones.”” [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. New ideas are easy; the real challenge is letting go of outdated beliefs. **In simple terms:** Changing old habits is harder than creating new ones. Key Takeaway Question and discard obsolete assumptions. Themes innovation change tradition economics Mood thoughtful critical Type economic philosophical When to use this quote - policy reform - business strategy - personal growth - education Key Concepts cognitive inertia paradigm shift Questions to Reflect On - What old belief holds you back? - How can you test its relevance? A Different Perspective Old ideas may persist despite evidence. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 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/) > [“John Maynard Keynes, the great British economist, died in 1946. But his ghost lives on. 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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/) > [“paraphrase economist John Maynard Keynes: reputations fare better if we are conventionally wrong than if we are unconventionally right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michelle-baddeley/paraphrase-economist-john-maynard-keynes-reputations-fare-better-if/) Michelle Baddeley > [“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 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/) > [“As Maynard Keynes famously observed: “If I owe you a pound, I have a problem, but if I owe you a million, the problem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-chang/as-maynard-keynes-famously-observed-if-i-owe-you-a-pound-i-have-a/) [Gordon Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-chang/) ## More by Philip K. Howard > [“Plato argued that good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will always find a way around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/plato-argued-that-good-people-do-not-need-laws-to-tell-them-to-act/) [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) > [“Uniformity in the common law, consisting of broad principles like the "reasonable person" standard, generally permits adjustment for the circumstances. This type of uniform…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/uniformity-in-the-common-law-consisting-of-broad-principles-like-the/) [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) > [We should stop looking to law to provide the final answer… Law cannot save us from ourselves… We have to go out and try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/we-should-stop-looking-to-law-to-provide-the-final-answer-law-cannot/) [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) > [Human nature turns out to be more complicated than the idea that people will get along if only the rules are clear enough. 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Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) > [“In 2010, 70 percent of federal tax revenue was consumed by three entitlement programs (Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security)”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/in-2010-70-percent-of-federal-tax-revenue-was-consumed-by-three/) [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) > [Coercion by government, the main fear of our founding fathers, is now its most common attribute.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/coercion-by-government-the-main-fear-of-our-founding-fathers-is-now/) [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) > [“We must abandon our belief that human choice denigrates the Rule of Law.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/we-must-abandon-our-belief-that-human-choice-denigrates-the-rule-of/) [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) > [“Automatic law corrodes our freedom”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/automatic-law-corrodes-our-freedom/) [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) > [We've been trained to squint into a legal microscope, hoping that we can judge any dispute against the standard of a perfect society where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/we-ve-been-trained-to-squint-into-a-legal-microscope-hoping-that-we/) [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) > [Rights are not the language of democracy. Compromise is what democracy is about. Rights are the language of freedom, and are absolute because their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/rights-are-not-the-language-of-democracy-compromise-is-what-democracy/) [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) > [“Mindless rules, not accountable officials, are the enemy of freedom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-howard/mindless-rules-not-accountable-officials-are-the-enemy-of-freedom/) [Philip K. Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) [Explore all 14 Philip K. Howard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-howard/) ## 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. 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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": "“The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas,” John Maynard Keynes famously observed, “but in escaping from the old ones.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip K. 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