--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The flaw in, say, austerity, is that its…" description: "\"The flaw in, say, austerity, is that its success is predicated on the relative exactitude of math rather than the shifting, liquid imperfection of peop..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/steven-weber-18741_austerity_the-flaw-in-say-austerity-is-that-its-su_140726.jpg" --- # The flaw in, say, austerity, is that its success is… ![“The flaw in, say, austerity, is that its success is predicated on the relative exactitude of math rather than the shifting, liquid imperfection of peoples lives.” quote by Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/steven-weber-18741_austerity_the-flaw-in-say-austerity-is-that-its-su_140726.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/steven-weber-18741_austerity_the-flaw-in-say-austerity-is-that-its-su_140726.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/steven-weber-18741_austerity_the-flaw-in-say-austerity-is-that-its-su_140726.jpg) > “The flaw in, say, austerity, is that its success is predicated on the relative exactitude of math rather than the shifting, liquid imperfection of peoples lives.” [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Austerity policies assume precise mathematical outcomes, ignoring the fluid, imperfect realities of people's lives. **In simple terms:** Austerity relies on exact math, not real life. Key Takeaway Consider human complexity in policy design. Themes economics policy humanity uncertainty Mood critical thoughtful Type analytical reflective When to use this quote - budget planning - social welfare programs - public health initiatives - urban development projects Key Concepts macroeconomics social impact mathematical modeling Questions to Reflect On - How can policies reflect lived realities? - What metrics better capture social complexity? A Different Perspective Mathematical precision cannot capture all human variables. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Austerity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/austerity/) [Exactitude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exactitude/) [Flaws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/flaws/) [Imperfection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imperfection/) [Math](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/math/) [Mathematics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mathematics/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) ## Related quotes > [The flaw in, say, austerity, is that its success is predicated on the relative exactitude of math rather than the shifting, liquid imperfection of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/the-flaw-in-say-austerity-is-that-its-success-is-predicated-on-the-2/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) > [As to your Newton, I confess I do not understand his void and his gravity; I admit he has demonstrated the movement of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-the-great/as-to-your-newton-i-confess-i-do-not-understand-his-void-and-his-2/) [Frederick The Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-the-great/) > [Things worthwhile generally don’t just happen. Luck is a fact, but should not be a factor. Good luck is what is left over after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/branch-rickey/things-worthwhile-generally-don-t-just-happen-luck-is-a-fact-but/) [Branch Rickey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/branch-rickey/) > [Cold exactitude is not art; ingenious artifice, when it pleases or when it expresses, is art itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-delacroix/cold-exactitude-is-not-art-ingenious-artifice-when-it-pleases-or-when/) [Eugene Delacroix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-delacroix/) > [Among the minor, yet striking characteristics of mathematics, may be mentioned the fleshless and skeletal build of its propositions; the peculiar difficulty, complication, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-sanders-peirce/among-the-minor-yet-striking-characteristics-of-mathematics-may-be/) [Charles Sanders Peirce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-sanders-peirce/) > [Roque...lined his men up and had them produce all the clothing, jewels, money, and other objects that they had stolen since the last time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-de-cervantes/roque-lined-his-men-up-and-had-them-produce-all-the-clothing-jewels/) [Miguel de Cervantes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-de-cervantes/) > [If art is the poetic interpretation of nature, photography is the exact translation; it is exactitude in art or the complement of art. (1854)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-negre/if-art-is-the-poetic-interpretation-of-nature-photography-is-the/) Charles Negre > [The real trouble with this world of ours is not that it is an unreasonable one. The trouble is that it is nearly reasonable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/the-real-trouble-with-this-world-of-ours-is-not-that-it-is-an-2/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [I think that the exactitude of the photograph has a sort of compelling nature based in its power to duplicate life. But to me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kruger/i-think-that-the-exactitude-of-the-photograph-has-a-sort-of/) [Barbara Kruger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kruger/) > [Life is not an illogicality; yet it is a trap for logicians. It looks just a little more mathematical and regular than it is;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/life-is-not-an-illogicality-yet-it-is-a-trap-for-logicians-it-looks/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [“Exactitude is the lowest form of pictorial gratification.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa-2/exactitude-is-the-lowest-form-of-pictorial-gratification/) [S.I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa-2/) > [Writing is eternal, For therein the dead heart liveth, the clay-cold tongue is eloquent, And the quick eye of the reader is cleared by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/writing-is-eternal-for-therein-the-dead-heart-liveth-the-clay-cold/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [We debase the richness of both nature and our own minds if we view the great pageant of our intellectual history as a compendium…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/we-debase-the-richness-of-both-nature-and-our-own-minds-if-we-view/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [On the ostensible exactitude of certain branches of human knowledge, including mathematics. The exactness is a fake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-north-whitehead/on-the-ostensible-exactitude-of-certain-branches-of-human-knowledge/) [Alfred North Whitehead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-north-whitehead/) > [Golf is not, on the whole, a game for realists. By its exactitudes of measurements it invites the attention of perfectionists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heywood-hale-broun/golf-is-not-on-the-whole-a-game-for-realists-by-its-exactitudes-of/) Heywood Hale Broun ## More by Steven Weber > [What's hard, it seems, is living up to the words spoken by Jesus Christ, who preached naught but love and mercy and justice and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/what-s-hard-it-seems-is-living-up-to-the-words-spoken-by-jesus-christ/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) > [Everything sells. Like integrity. Like democracy. Like truth. Like deeds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/everything-sells-like-integrity-like-democracy-like-truth-like-deeds/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) > [I know it's sappy, but I bet there's a market for civility and niceness out there that, while probably not as titillating as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/i-know-it-s-sappy-but-i-bet-there-s-a-market-for-civility-and/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) > [I've rarely gotten a good review in my life, yet, to paraphrase Noel Coward, I am happy to console myself with the bitter palliative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/i-ve-rarely-gotten-a-good-review-in-my-life-yet-to-paraphrase-noel/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) > [The right-wing just loves making a big entrance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/the-right-wing-just-loves-making-a-big-entrance/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) > [Meaning and value depend on human mind space and the commitment of time and energy by very smart people to a creative enterprise. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/meaning-and-value-depend-on-human-mind-space-and-the-commitment-of/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) > [No matter what your political persuasion, you can find a guide that makes it quick, easy and painless to exercise your right to vote.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/no-matter-what-your-political-persuasion-you-can-find-a-guide-that/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) > [Let me go out on a limb and suggest that those who see hints of a new class ideology developing around information technology are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/let-me-go-out-on-a-limb-and-suggest-that-those-who-see-hints-of-a-new/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) > [Social media has created a legion of social delinquents, billions of people speaking not their minds but their spleens, venting everything from the gum-cracking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/social-media-has-created-a-legion-of-social-delinquents-billions-of/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) > [A nation is not a budget, no matter how much ideologues want it to be so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/a-nation-is-not-a-budget-no-matter-how-much-ideologues-want-it-to-be/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) > [The guard rails on a highway may restrict some folks from driving the way they want, but those rules mostly end up saving the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/the-guard-rails-on-a-highway-may-restrict-some-folks-from-driving-the/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) > [In the corporate-owned media, men dressed like Ronald Reagan and women dressed like Rita Hayworth disseminate grotesque exaggerations and gossip in authoritative tones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/in-the-corporate-owned-media-men-dressed-like-ronald-reagan-and-women/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) > [The fact is, presidential politics has become a game of inches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/the-fact-is-presidential-politics-has-become-a-game-of-inches/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) > [The GOP/corporate right-wing, it seems, never really considers the consequences of their actions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/the-gop-corporate-right-wing-it-seems-never-really-considers-the/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) > [I tend to be very relaxed on stage, but the nerves have to come out somehow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/i-tend-to-be-very-relaxed-on-stage-but-the-nerves-have-to-come-out/) [Steven Weber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) [Explore all 34 Steven Weber quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/) ## More Austerity quotes > [Mainstream economic theories popular in the last several decades have tended to downplay the government's role in markets and to increase skepticism about even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-mazzucato/mainstream-economic-theories-popular-in-the-last-several-decades-have/) [Mariana Mazzucato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-mazzucato/) > [“It was my good fortune to be linked with Mme. Curie through twenty years of sublime and unclouded friendship. I came to admire her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/it-was-my-good-fortune-to-be-linked-with-mme-curie-through-twenty/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I believe that if we are able to, obviously we need to ensure that we have a robust budget that's balanced, but there's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jagmeet-singh/i-believe-that-if-we-are-able-to-obviously-we-need-to-ensure-that-we/) [Jagmeet Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jagmeet-singh/) > [“South of Larissa the landscape began to change. Jude watched an irrigation machine like a giant stick insect creeping over a field, and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-alkazraji/south-of-larissa-the-landscape-began-to-change-jude-watched-an/) [Paul Alkazraji](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-alkazraji/) > [Too many politicians seem to reach for 'infrastructure' as the default answer to investment, as if roads and bridges were the answer to everything.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mariana-mazzucato/too-many-politicians-seem-to-reach-for-infrastructure-as-the-default/) [Mariana Mazzucato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mariana-mazzucato/) > [You can be creative only when there is abandonment-which means, really, there is no sense of compulsion, no fear of not being, of not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jiddu-krishnamurti/you-can-be-creative-only-when-there-is-abandonment-which-means-really/) [Jiddu Krishnamurti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jiddu-krishnamurti/) > [It is opposition to economic orthodoxy that leads us into austerity and cuts. But it is also a thirst for something more communal, more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-corbyn/it-is-opposition-to-economic-orthodoxy-that-leads-us-into-austerity/) [Jeremy Corbyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-corbyn/) > [When people are running up more and more debt for housing, they call that "real wealth." It exposes what's wrong in the mainstream economics…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/when-people-are-running-up-more-and-more-debt-for-housing-they-call/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [“If the surprise outcome of the recent UK referendum - on whether to leave or remain in the European Union - teaches us anything,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-morritt/if-the-surprise-outcome-of-the-recent-uk-referendum-on-whether-to/) [Alex Morritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-morritt/) > [The world has conducted a massive macro-economic experiment since the cataclysm of 2008. In Europe, the fans of austerity have had their chance, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliot-spitzer/the-world-has-conducted-a-massive-macro-economic-experiment-since-the/) [Eliot Spitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliot-spitzer/) > [We used to be one of the richest countries in the world, but we are now on a path towards under-development. This austerity that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/we-used-to-be-one-of-the-richest-countries-in-the-world-but-we-are/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) > [The emphasis so far on fiscal austerity, while to a degree necessary for the countries facing market funding difficulties, is excessive when carried out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dallara/the-emphasis-so-far-on-fiscal-austerity-while-to-a-degree-necessary/) [Charles Dallara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dallara/) > [And what if we’d been utterly open? Made jokes about the first wife? What if we’d been that kind of family? Well, I would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-miller/and-what-if-we-d-been-utterly-open-made-jokes-about-the-first-wife/) [Sue Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-miller/) > [Extreme concupiscence may be found under extreme austerity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-of-valois/extreme-concupiscence-may-be-found-under-extreme-austerity/) [Margaret of Valois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-of-valois/) > [We have been subject to globalization and financialization and austerity and workers have been thrown under the bus while the one percent is rolling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/we-have-been-subject-to-globalization-and-financialization-and/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) [Browse all 194 Austerity quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/austerity/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The flaw in, say, austerity, is that its success is predicated on the relative exactitude of math rather than the shifting, liquid imperfection of peoples lives.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steven Weber" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/the-flaw-in-say-austerity-is-that-its-success-is-predicated-on-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Austerity" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/the-flaw-in-say-austerity-is-that-its-success-is-predicated-on-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/steven-weber-18741_austerity_the-flaw-in-say-austerity-is-that-its-su_140726.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/steven-weber-18741_austerity_the-flaw-in-say-austerity-is-that-its-su_140726.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/273/steven-weber-18741_austerity_the-flaw-in-say-austerity-is-that-its-su_140726.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The flaw in, say, austerity, is that its success is predicated on the relative exactitude of math rather…” — Steven Weber", "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": "Steven Weber", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weber/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The flaw in, say, austerity, is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/the-flaw-in-say-austerity-is-that-its-success-is-predicated-on-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weber/the-flaw-in-say-austerity-is-that-its-success-is-predicated-on-the/#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 } } ] } ```