Robert K. Merton Quotes

I wouldn't change a single thing, because one change alters every moment that follows it.

Every cause produces more than one effect.

Every step and every movement of the multitude, even in what are termed enlightened ages, are made with equal blindness to the future; and nations stumble upon establishments, which are indeed the result of human action, but not the execution of any human design.

You never know when you are doing something that is affecting someone.

Good intentions rarely make good policy.

In the economic sphere an act, a habit, an institution, a law produces not only one effect, but a series of effects. Of these effects, the first alone is immediate; it appears simultaneously with its cause; it is seen. The other effects emerge only subsequently; they are not seen; we are fortunate if we force them.

Every action we have is going to have repercussions in ways we could not anticipate.

Ramifications of small decisions can be pretty large.

In an economy, an act, a habit, an institution, or a law, gives birth not only to an effect, but to a series of effects. Of these effects, the first only is immediate; it manifests itself simultaneously with its cause - it is seen. The others unfold in succession - they are not seen. Now this difference is enormous, for it is often true that when the immediate consequence is favorable, the ultimate consequences are fatal, and the converse.

The result of a single action may spread like the circles that expand when a stone is thrown into a pond, until they touch places and people unguessed at by the person who threw the stone.

If only we could see the endless string of consequences that result from our smallest actions. But we can't know better until knowing better is useless.

My worlds collide. When one things happens, it just starts a domino effect - everything else goes on.

Significant consequences can begin very inconsequentially. That's one thing that fascinates me. The other thing that fascinates me is how accident can undermine something that's unfolding, something that might have played out differently otherwise.

Everything we do, even the slightest thing we do, can have a ripple effect and repercussions that emanate. If you throw a pebble into the water on one side of the ocean, it can create a tidal wave on the other side.

Actions can have unintended adverse consequences.

The law of unintended consequences is the only real law of history.

Maybe if I didn't pick up that one person, I wouldn't have picked up forty-two thousand.

Every choice that we makes creates consequences, consequences in the lives of others and we experience them in ourselves, those same consequences, every choice that we make. And by the way the choices that you might think are the most important are not always the most important.

Got the domino effect In the front row passin out

There is something wrong with the way in which we make our decisions. The Government listen too much to the pollsters and the party managers. The trouble is that they are not even very good at politics, and they are entering too much into policy decisions. As a result, there is too much short-termism, too much reacting to events, and not enough shaping of events. We give the impression of being in office but not in power. Far too many important decisions are made for 36 hours' publicity.

In the United States no trend ever arrives at its logical conclusion.

Governing is about selecting.

Nostalgia should not set policy.

The cure can be worse than the illness

A surprising number of government committees will make important decisions on fundamental matters with less attention than each individual would give to buying a suit.