The parable of the broken window was introduced by Frédéric Bastiat in his 1850 essay Ce qu'on voit et ce qu'on ne voit pas (That Which Is Seen and That Which Is Unseen) to illustrate why destruction, and the money spent to recover from destruction, is actually not a net-benefit to society. The parable, also known as the broken window fallacy or glazier's fallacy, demonstrates how opportunity costs, as well as the law of unintended consequences, affect economic activity in ways that are "unseen" or ignored.
Read more about Parable Of The Broken Window: The Parable, Differing Interpretations, Criticisms
Famous quotes containing the words parable of the, parable of, parable, broken and/or window:
“For many are called, but few are chosen.”
—Bible: New Testament Jesus, in Matthew, 22:14.
In the parable of the marriage of the king’s son.
“Only in the problem play is there any real drama, because drama is no mere setting up of the camera to nature: it is the presentation in parable of the conflict between Man’s will and his environment: in a word, of problem.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“Go and do likewise.”
—Bible: New Testament, Luke 10:37.
Jesus, after telling the parable of the Good Samaritan.
“Ah! on Thanksgiving day, when from East and from West,
From North and from South, come the pilgrim and guest,
When the gray-haired New Englander sees round his board
The old broken links of affection restored,
When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,
And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before.
What moistens the lip and what brightens the eye?
What calls back the past, like the rich Pumpkin pie?”
—John Greenleaf Whittier (1807–1892)
“‘Who is it that this dark night
Underneath my window plaineth?’”
—Sir Philip Sidney (1554–1586)