"To act on the belief that we possess the knowledge and the power which enable us to shape the processes of society entirely to our liking, knowledge which in fact we do not possess, is likely to make us do much harm."

Friedrich August von Hayek, Austrian Economist

Power, Society, Knowledge, Belief

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"To act on the belief that we possess the knowledge and the power which enable us to shape the processes of society entirely to our liking, knowledge which in fact we do not possess, is likely to make us do much harm."

Exlpore more Power quotes

"There is only one thing for us to do, and that is to do our level best right where we are every day of our lives; To use our best judgment, and then to trust the rest to that Power which holds the forces of the universe in his hands."

Orison Swett Marden, American Writer

Power, Trust, Day, Judgment

"A stone thrown up into the air is bound to fall down, and absolute power is like a huge stone thrown up into the air."

Mehmet Murat ildan, Turkish Philosopher

Power, Truth, Life, Wisdom

"People might say I'm difficult, but did you ever hear anyone describe a label as 'difficult'? By nature, artists should challenge. When they call you difficult, it is a reflection of the imbalance of power."

Michelle Shocked, American Musician

Power, Nature, People, Artists

"Power is the most persuasive rhetoric."

Friedrich Schiller, German Dramatist

Power, Rhetoric

"Strength and success - they are above morality, above criticism. It seems, then, that it is not what you do, but how you do it and what you call it. Is there a check in men, deep in them, that stops or punishes? There doesn't seem to be. The only punishment is for failure. In effect no crime is committed unless a criminal is caught."

John Steinbeck, American Author

Power, Success, Morality, Crime

"It is easy, out of laziness, out of weakness, to throw oneself into the lap of deity, saying, 'I couldn't help it; the way was set.' But think of the glory of the choice!"

John Steinbeck, American Author

Power, Choice, Glory, Responsibility

"The truths of religion are never so well understood as by those who have lost the power of reason."

Voltaire, French Writer

Power, Religion, Reason

"You only have power over people so long as you don't take everything away from them. But when you've robbed a man of everything, he's no longer in your power - he's free again."

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Russian Author

Power, People, Man

"All children have creative power."

Brenda Ueland, American Writer

Power, Children

"My doctrine is this, that if we see cruelty or wrong that we have the power to stop, and do nothing, we make ourselves sharers in the guilt."

Anna Sewell, English Writer

Power, Cruelty, Doctrine, Guilt

Explore more quotes by Friedrich August von Hayek

"It can hardly be denied that such a demand quite arbitrarily limits the facts which are to be admitted as possible causes of the events which occur in the real world."

Cause

"We have indeed at the moment little cause for pride: as a profession we have made a mess of things."

Cause

"We know: of course, with regard to the market and similar social structures, a great many facts which we cannot measure and on which indeed we have only some very imprecise and general information."

Fact

"He will therefore have to use what knowledge he can achieve, not to shape the results as the craftsman shapes his handiwork, but rather to cultivate a growth by providing the appropriate environment, in the manner in which the gardener does this for his plants."

Knowledge

"The progress of the natural sciences in modern times has of course so much exceeded all expectations that any suggestion that there may be some limits to it is bound to arouse suspicion."

Progress

"A claim for equality of material position can be met only by a government with totalitarian powers."

Equality

"The credit which the apparent conformity with recognized scientific standards can gain for seemingly simple but false theories may, as the present instance shows, have grave consequences."

Science

"I regard it in fact as the great advantage of the mathematical technique that it allows us to describe, by means of algebraic equations, the general character of a pattern even where we are ignorant of the numerical values which will determine its particular manifestation."

Character

"We must face the fact that the preservation of individual freedom is incompatible with a full satisfaction of our views of distributive justice."

Fact

"'Emergencies' have always been the pretext on which the safeguards of individual liberty have been eroded."

Liberty