“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 , book Manual of Political Economy

page 95.
Manual of Political Economy

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Vilfredo Pareto 14
Italian economist and sociologist 1848–1923

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