On the first of January of 1929, as a simple matter of probability, it was most likely that the boom would end before the year was out, ... The market wouldn't level out; it would fall precipitately.

The process by which banks create money is so simple that the mind is repelled.

Meetings are a great trap. Soon you find yourself trying to get agreement and then the people who disagree come to think they have a right to be persuaded. However, they are indispensable when you don't want to do anything.

People of privilege will always risk their complete destruction rather than surrender any material part of their advantage

If we were not in Vietnam, all that part of the world would be enjoying the obscurity it so richly deserves.

The total alteration in underlying circumstances has not been squarely faced, As a result, we are guided, in part, by ideas that are relevant to another world. ... We do many things that are unnecessary, some that are unwise, and a few that are insane.