5 ms·

Googled that quote and can't find a source; who is it?

• rasz_pl 11y ago
  sounds like Karl Marx
  • Nihilartikel 11y ago
    Just because his economic theories tend to have historically been executed exceedingly poorly by mendacious totalitarian thugs doesn't mean that he couldn't have actually been correct about a thing or two, here and there.
    • Animats 11y ago
      As a general comment, Marx wrote in a period when 1) productivity was much lower and the big problem was still making enough stuff, and 2) most labor was direct labor, so there was a direct relationship between labor inputs and product outputs. Neither of those apply to the developed world today. Many of the developed world's economic problems come from the fact that we no longer need many people to make the stuff and provide the services. US employment in manufacturing, mining, construction, and agriculture is now about 14% of the US workforce. In Marx's day, 80-90%. Marx wrote in an era when capital for enterprises was hard to accumulate. Now we have a capital glut, but a demand shortage. Economic policy-making hasn't caught up to this yet.
      • danieltillett 11y ago
        You are totally right John. Marx is like all the 19th C scientists - things have moved on and most of what he had to say is no longer relevant. He did give the plutocrats a scare for awhile.
        • rasz_pl 11y ago
          I find Das Kapital extremely relevant today.
          • danieltillett 11y ago
            I did say most, not all :)
      • deleted 11y ago
        [deleted]
    • doyoulikeworms 11y ago
      Just because someone says that a quote sounds like Karl Marx doesn't mean they're saying he was incorrect about everything. Defensive, much?
    • tim333 11y ago
      It would hard to fill the 50 volumes of Marx/Engels Collected Works with statements that were entirely false but there is a fair amount of bunk in there too. I don't think Marx is entirely innocent of the suffering that tends to follow when people try to implement his ideas.
• Animats 11y ago
  It's a common statement by stock traders. The original version seems to be from Henry Lloyd, in 1894, writing about "business combinations", at the dawn of antitrust law: "Property to the extent of uncounted millions has been changed from the possession of the many who owned it to the few who hold it".[1] The shorter version shows up in the writings of many stock traders. "The markets are designed to take money from the many and distribute it to the few.", is from Bruce Babcock.[2] "There is a persistent overall tendency for equity to flow from the many to the few. In the long run, the majority loses." is from William Eckhardt.[3] "The purpose of the markets is to redistribute wealth from the many to the few" is from Peter Brandt. [1] http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-1900/excerpt-from-henry-demarest-lloyd-wealth-against-commonwealth-1894.php http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1876-1900/excerpt-from-h... [2] http://www.rb-trading.com/article1.html http://www.rb-trading.com/article1.html [3] http://www.aaii.com/journal/article/market-wizards-advice-doing-the-uncomfortable-thing.touch http://www.aaii.com/journal/article/market-wizards-advice-do... [4] http://peterlbrandt.com/the-purpose-of-the-markets-is-to-redistribute-wealth-from-the-many-to-the-few/ http://peterlbrandt.com/the-purpose-of-the-markets-is-to-red...
  • avn2109 11y ago
    Cool thanks :)