“For many events, roughly 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes.”
Vilfredo Pareto
This quote, or similarly worded versions, is often attributed to Pareto. However, the attribution is almost certainly incorrect. Pareto’s original work, published in his Cours d'économie politique (1896-97), was focused on the distribution of wealth and land ownership across several countries. He never framed his findings as a general principle applying to all causes and effects. That generalization was made decades later by Joseph Juran, an American management theorist, who in the 1940s applied Pareto’s empirical pattern to quality control and other domains, coining the term “Pareto principle” in his honour. Since Pareto himself never conceived of his observation in such broad terms, it is safe to assume he never said or wrote anything resembling this quote.
This quote is commonly attributed to Vilfredo Pareto, but I have not been able to locate a primary source. Use with caution in academic or professional contexts.
”History is a graveyard of aristocracies.”
— Vilfredo Pareto Primary source“Men follow their sentiments and their self-interest, but it pleases them to imagine that they follow reason. And so they look for, and always find, some theory which, a posteriori, makes their actions appear to be logical. If that theory could be demolished scientifically, the only result would be that another theory would be substituted for the first one, and for the same purpose.”
— Vilfredo Pareto Primary source“When it is useful to them, men can believe a theory of which they know nothing more than its name.”
— Vilfredo Pareto Primary source“Assume that the new elite were clearly and simply to proclaim its intentions which are to supplant the old elite; no one would come to its assistance, it would be defeated before having fought a battle. On the contrary, it appears to be asking nothing for itself, well knowing that without asking anything in advance it will obtain what it wants as a consequence of its victory.”
— Vilfredo Pareto Primary sourceMore quotes by Vilfredo Pareto →
“There is always room for a man of force, and he makes room for many.”
— Ralph Waldo Emerson Primary source“Do not do that which you would not have known.”
— Benjamin Franklin Primary source“There are many ways in which it can be helped, but it can never be helped by merely talking about it. We must act. We must act quickly.”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt Primary source“How many seemingly impossible things have been accomplished by resolute men because they had to do, or die.”
— Napoleon Bonaparte Disputed