Charles Issawi - Issawi's laws of social motion (1973)

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A Depressing Thought: One cannot make an omelet without breaking eggs — but it is amazing how many eggs one can break without making a decent omelet.

Charles Issawi
Second Law of Committo-Dynamics: The less you enjoy serving on committees, the more likely you are to be pressed to do so.

Charles Issawi
Cynics: Cynics are right nine times out of ten; what undoes them is their belief that they are right ten times out of ten.

Charles Issawi
Petroleum, Law of: Where there are Muslims, there is oil; the converse is not true.

Charles Issawi
Operational Definition of Development: In an underdeveloped country, when you are absent, your job is taken away from you; in a developed country, a new one is piled on you.

Charles Issawi
Social Science Theories: By the time a social science theory is formulated in such a way that it can be tested, changing circumstances have already made it obsolete.

Charles Issawi
Factor of Error: Experts in advanced countries underestimate by a factor of 2 to 4 the ability of people in underdeveloped countries to do anything technical. (Examples: Japanese on warplanes, Russians on the bomb, Iranians on refineries, etc.)

Charles Issawi
Conservation of Evil, Law of: The total amount of evil in any system remains constant. Hence any diminution in one direction — for instance a reduction in poverty or unemployment — is accompanied by an increase in another, e.t., crime or air pollution.

Charles Issawi
Path of Progress: A shortcut is the longest distance between two points.

Charles Issawi
Near and Distant Neighbors: All countries hate their immediate neighbors and like the next but one. (For example, the Poles hate the Germans, Russians, Czechs, and Lithuanians, and they like the French, Hungarians, Italians, and Latvians.)

Charles Issawi
Last Words of Advice: If you pay your taxes and don't get into debt and go to bed early and never answer the telephone, no harm can befall you.

Charles Issawi
Most people do not go to the dentist until they have a toothache; most societies do not reform abuses until the victims begin to make life uncomfortable for others.

Charles Issawi