John Stuart Mill? Henry George? Herbert Vincent Mills? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Numerous labor-saving machines were designed and built in the nineteenth century, but a prominent political economist was unimpressed. He doubted whether these inventions had lessened the toil of anyone by even a single day. This notion has been attributed to John Stuart …
Tag Archives: John Stuart Mill
Saying Origin: Labor-Saving Devices Don’t Save Labor. They Increase It
John Stuart Mill? Henry George? H. L. Mencken? C. Palfrey? J. E. Jennings? Adam Coaldigger? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Recent progress in artificial intelligence and robotics has led some to believe that work hours will shrink and leisure will grow. However, history suggests a different possibility. Brilliant inventors have created a series of remarkable …
Continue reading “Saying Origin: Labor-Saving Devices Don’t Save Labor. They Increase It”
Quote Origin: What Has Posterity Ever Done for Us?
Groucho Marx? John Stuart Mill? Joseph Addison? Thomas Stafford? Boyle Roche? Adam Neale? Samuel Goldwyn? Bill Nye? Question for Quote Investigator: Making sacrifices now for the people and environment of the future is difficult. This challenge has been encapsulated with a humorous remark. Here are two versions: Groucho Marx often receives credit for this quip, …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: What Has Posterity Ever Done for Us?”
Quote Origin: Your Liberty To Swing Your Fist Ends Just Where My Nose Begins
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.? John B. Finch? John Stuart Mill? Abraham Lincoln? Zechariah Chafee, Jr.? Question for Quote Investigator: I am writing a book on the theme of freedom and would like to include a classic quotation about the pragmatic limitations on liberty. My research has identified several versions of this popular saying: The right …
Continue reading “Quote Origin: Your Liberty To Swing Your Fist Ends Just Where My Nose Begins”
Quote Origin: The Only Thing Necessary for the Triumph of Evil is that Good Men Do Nothing
John F. Kennedy? Edmund Burke? R. Murray Hyslop? Charles F. Aked? John Stuart Mill? Question for Quote Investigator: Here is a challenge for you. I have been reading the wonderful book “The Quote Verifier” by Ralph Keyes, and he discusses the mixed-up quotations that President John F. Kennedy sometimes declaimed in his speeches. Here is …