Artistic License Economics/Quotes

"In the Carboniferous Epoch we were promised abundance for all, By robbing selected Peter to pay for collective Paul; But, though we had plenty of money, there was nothing our money could buy, And the Gods of the Copybook Headings said: "If you don't work you die.""

- Rudyard Kipling, The Gods of the Copybook Headings

"Susan: Look... how would you make sure everyone in the world was well fed? Bilious: Me? Oh, well, I... I suppose you'd have to think about the prevalent political systems, and the proper cultivation of arable land, and -- Susan: Yes, yes. But he'd just give everyone a good meal."

- Hogfather

"Human Trader: So the state dictates all careers, sets all production, and seizes all goods. Dwarf: Yep. Human: Then the goods go to privately owned shops, free of charge, but the aristocracy sets all the prices. Dwarf: Right. Human: How do you live with a system like that? Dwarf: I made a really snazzy leather earring a few years ago, so I'm exempt from it all."

- Three Panel Soul on the economy in the game Dwarf Fortress (disabled completely in later versions)