The adversaries of importations and machinery are misled by allowing themselves to form too hasty a judgment from immediate and transitory effects; instead of following these up to their general and final consequences. The immediate effect of an ingenious piece of machinery, is, that it renders superfluous...a certain quantity of manual labor. But its action does not stop here. This result being obtained at less labor, is given to the public at a less price. The amount thus saved to the buyers, enables them to procure other comforts, and thus to encourage general labor.
BASTIAT, M. FREDERIC, Sophisms of Protection (First Series), Human Labor - National LaborThe discovery...has been made; the saving of time, labor, effort, for a fixed result, for a certain number of volumes, is realized. But in what is this manifested? In the cheap price of books. For the good of the consumer,--of society,--of humanity...Society enjoys all, by the abundance of its use, its consumption; and it enjoys all gratuitously. For as [the effect of innovation] is to diminish price, it...renders the production in so far gratuitous.
BASTIAT, M. FREDERIC, Sophisms of Protection (First Series)
[W]e live in world of 'unconstrained' parliamentarianism. When I dare to say unconstrained I mean unconstrained by the feeling of the whole of society and of its fragility...And this is very dangerous, especially when the decision-makers' and legislators' thinking is based on 'an incredible mishmash of pseudosocial science, pop-psychology, vacuous moralizing, rank ideology, and political bias. It is our task to limit the introduction of systemic changes based on such a prioristic backgrounds and motivations, and instead to rely on spontaneous evolution of human institutions.
KLAUS, VACLAV, Society and the Crisis of Liberalism, Policy, Summer 1998-99Every step in human progress, from the first feeble stirrings in the abyss of time, has been opposed by the great majority of men. Every valuable thing that has been added to the store of man's possessions has been derided by them when it was new, and destroyed by them when they had the power. They have fought every new truth ever heard of, and they have killed every truth-seeker who got into their hands.
MENCKEN, H. L., Baltimore Evening Sun, June 29, 1925Government operations tend to be everywhere alike. With individuals and voluntary associations, on the contrary, there are varied experiments, and endless diversity of experience.
MILL, JOHN STUART, On LibertyOriginality is the one thing which unoriginal minds cannot feel the use of.
MILL, JOHN STUART, On Liberty, Chapter 3The initiation of all wise or noble things, comes and must come from individual; generally at first from some one individual.
MILL, JOHN STUART, On Liberty, Chapter 3[T]he only unfailing and permanent source of improvement is liberty, since by it there are as many possible independent centres of improvement as there are individuals.
MILL, JOHN STUART, On Liberty, Chapter 3Who planned for Starbucks? For nail salons? And, let’s be honest, who planned for dot.coms and the warehouses and shipping infrastructure that serve them.
POSTREL, VIRGINIA, Laboratory Rats, Reason, May 2000Every generation has perceived the limits to growth that finite resources and undesirable side effects would pose if no new recipes or ideas were discovered. And every generation has underestimated the potential for finding new recipes and ideas. We consistently fail to grasp how many ideas remain to be discovered. The difficulty is the same one we have with compounding. Possibilities do not add up. They multiply.
ROMER, PAUL, The Fortune Encyclopedia of EconomicsIf liberty has any meaning it means freedom to improve.
WYLIE, PHILIP