Economists must always be prepared for surprises: they find many in trying to find order in the universe of their study.

It was at the graduate school at Columbia University that I first met Wesley C. Mitchell, with whom I was associated for many years at the National Bureau of Economic Research and to whom I owe a great intellectual debt.

The dynamic drives of modern economic growth, in the countries that entered the process ahead of others, meant a reaching out geographically; and the sequential spread of the process, facilitated by major changes in transport and communication, meant a continuous expansion to the less developed areas.

Success in war and preservation of a country's social framework as a purpose at least equal in importance to welfare of individuals.

Without justice, the most heinous crimes go unpunished; victims are unable to obtain redress, and peace remains an elusive goal, since impunity generates more hatred, leading to acts of revenge and more suffering.

It's not just the war itself. It's what you do after the war and what structure you put in place and how you make that structure work.

I know that no business contract, no order or commercial consideration can ever be worth the happiness of one's home or the peace of one's mind.

In 1960 I published a book that attempted to direct attention to the possibility of a thermonuclear war, to ways of reducing the likelihood of such a war, and to methods for coping with the consequences should war occur despite our efforts to avoid it.