--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We should by now have learned that…" description: "\"“We should by now have learned that politics remains national, even if economics does not: the history of the 20th century offers copious evidence that..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/tony-judt-1730_economics_we-should-by-now-have-learned-that-polit_2395091.jpg" --- # We should by now have learned that politics remains… ![“We should by now have learned that politics remains national, even if economics does not: the history of the 20th century offers copious evidence that even in healthy democracies, bad political choices usually trump 'rational' economic calculations.” quote by Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/tony-judt-1730_economics_we-should-by-now-have-learned-that-polit_2395091.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/tony-judt-1730_economics_we-should-by-now-have-learned-that-polit_2395091.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1cc/tony-judt-1730_economics_we-should-by-now-have-learned-that-polit_2395091.jpg) > ““We should by now have learned that politics remains national, even if economics does not: the history of the 20th century offers copious evidence that even in healthy democracies, bad political choices usually trump 'rational' economic calculations.”” [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Politics often overrides economic logic, even in healthy democracies, because national concerns dominate decision‑making. **In simple terms:** Politics beats economics in many cases. Key Takeaway Recognize political influence on economic policy. Themes politics economics decisionmaking democracy nationalism Mood critical analytical Type analytical political When to use this quote - government budgeting - election campaigns - international trade negotiations - public health crises Key Concepts publicchoice politicaleconomy policybias Questions to Reflect On - How do political narratives shape economic outcomes? - When should economic expertise override political preferences? A Different Perspective Economic rationality can be limited by political pressures and public sentiment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Democracies Bad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/democracies-bad-5978720/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Healthy Democracies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healthy-democracies-5351261/) [Learned Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/learned-politics-304057/) [National Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national-economics-5978719/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Rational Economic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rational-economic-2529388/) ## Related quotes > [Healthy democracies require healthy relationships amongst citizens and their governments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-scott/healthy-democracies-require-healthy-relationships-amongst-citizens/) [Phil Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-scott/) > [“Depicting rational economic man as an isolated individual – unaffected by the choices of others – proved highly convenient for modelling the economy, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-raworth/depicting-rational-economic-man-as-an-isolated-individual-unaffected/) [Kate Raworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-raworth/) > [I have yet to meet the famous Rational Economic Man theorists describe. 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It is open markets, it is capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/don-t-let-s-lose-sight-of-what-creates-wealth-it-is-open-markets-it/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) ## More by Tony Judt > [I don't believe in an afterlife. I don't believe in a single or multiple godhead. I respect people who do, but I don't believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/i-don-t-believe-in-an-afterlife-i-don-t-believe-in-a-single-or/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“Markets do not automatically generate trust, cooperation or collective action for the common good. Quite the contrary: it is in the nature of economic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/markets-do-not-automatically-generate-trust-cooperation-or-collective/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“ Lieux de memoire . . . 'exist because there are no longer any milieux de memoire , settings in which memory is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/lieux-de-memoire-exist-because-there-are-no-longer-any-milieux-de/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“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 Second World War had a precipitating effect in that it discredited the empires, as well as bankrupting them. 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For thirty years we have made a virtue out of the pursuit of material…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/something-is-profoundly-wrong-with-the-way-we-live-today-for-thirty/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“Today, neither Left nor Right can find their footing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/today-neither-left-nor-right-can-find-their-footing/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [We have responsibilities for others, not just across space but across time. We have responsibilities to people who came before us. They left us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-judt/we-have-responsibilities-for-others-not-just-across-space-but-across/) [Tony Judt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-judt/) > [“What did trust, cooperation, progressive taxation and the interventionist state bequeath to western societies in the decades following 1945? 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