Business leaders Quote by Thomas Frank
““And so the catastrophe of 1929–33 did to the certainties of laissez-faire economics what science did to nineteenth-century religion and what the slaughter of World War I did to old-fashioned patriotism: it knocked out the props. “Everything nailed down is coming loose,” people used to say back then: The Depression made business leaders into laughingstocks and transformed economic orthodoxy into so many fairy tales.””
About This Quote
Source Book: The Wrecking Crew: How Conservatives Rule, 2012, 2012
The Great Depression shattered confidence in laissez‑faire economics, exposing its fragility and turning former certainties into myths.
In simple terms: Depression disproved free‑market certainty.
Question assumptions, seek evidence.
Themes
Mood
Type
When to use this quote
- policy analysis
- financial planning
- educational curricula
- public discourse
Key Concepts
Questions to Reflect On
- How do crises reshape dominant economic narratives?
- What safeguards prevent repeating past misconceptions?
Economic theories can be swayed by crises, not just data.