"There is something wonderful in seeing a wrong-headed majority assailed by truth"
About this Quote
Galbraith delights in the moment when a settled crowd meets a stubborn fact. The line champions the drama of dissent: not contrarianism for its own sake, but the relief and beauty that arrive when evidence punctures complacency. A majority can be wrong-headed because people prefer comforting beliefs, herd reassurance, and the authority of habit. Truth does not ask for permission; it intrudes, corrects, and sometimes embarrasses. The spectacle is wonderful because it restores proportion, rewards courage, and reminds us that reality outranks opinion.
As an economist who popularized the notion of the conventional wisdom, Galbraith spent a career prodding respectable errors. He criticized the worship of production, the myth of self-correcting markets, and the indifference to public goods amidst private affluence. To him, economic debates were not only technical; they were moral contests between narratives people want to believe and facts they would rather ignore. Seeing a mistaken majority forced into contact with reality vindicates the lonely work of researchers, reporters, and reformers who assemble proof against the grain.
The line also speaks to the health of a democracy. Majorities are essential for governing but not for discovering what is true. Science advances when experiments refute consensus. Rights expand when courageous minorities confront sanctioned injustice. Galileo, abolitionists, suffragists, and civil rights activists each forced dominant opinions to reckon with stubborn realities. The wonder lies in how swiftly clarity can reorder what seemed permanent.
Yet there is a warning embedded in the pleasure of that moment. The joy should belong to truth, not to factional victory. Calling a majority wrong-headed does not make it so; only disciplined method, transparent evidence, and a willingness to revise one’s own views can do that. Galbraith’s line invites a culture that protects dissent, prizes verification over volume, and takes special satisfaction when careful argument dislodges entrenched error.
As an economist who popularized the notion of the conventional wisdom, Galbraith spent a career prodding respectable errors. He criticized the worship of production, the myth of self-correcting markets, and the indifference to public goods amidst private affluence. To him, economic debates were not only technical; they were moral contests between narratives people want to believe and facts they would rather ignore. Seeing a mistaken majority forced into contact with reality vindicates the lonely work of researchers, reporters, and reformers who assemble proof against the grain.
The line also speaks to the health of a democracy. Majorities are essential for governing but not for discovering what is true. Science advances when experiments refute consensus. Rights expand when courageous minorities confront sanctioned injustice. Galileo, abolitionists, suffragists, and civil rights activists each forced dominant opinions to reckon with stubborn realities. The wonder lies in how swiftly clarity can reorder what seemed permanent.
Yet there is a warning embedded in the pleasure of that moment. The joy should belong to truth, not to factional victory. Calling a majority wrong-headed does not make it so; only disciplined method, transparent evidence, and a willingness to revise one’s own views can do that. Galbraith’s line invites a culture that protects dissent, prizes verification over volume, and takes special satisfaction when careful argument dislodges entrenched error.
Quote Details
| Topic | Truth |
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